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Painted in oils on canvas. 1998. 600mm x 500mm. Selected for the 1998 ‘Aviation Paintings of the Year’ Exhibition The original painting is now in the collection of the Royal Berkshire Hospital. |
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‘Bader’s Bad Show’ On the morning of 14 December 1931, three pilots from No.23 Squadron, RAF Kenley, flew their Bristol Bulldog fighters to Reading Aerodrome on a visit to the recently opened clubhouse of the Reading Aero Club. When it was learned by Club members that one of the three pilots, Pilot Officer Douglas Bader, had performed a particularly skilful aerobatic display at the famous RAF Hendon Air Show earlier in the year, he was asked to ‘put on a show’. As the three aircraft were leaving, Bader turned back with the intention of performing a low-level slow roll across the airfield. A slight error of judgement led to him crashing and, critically injured, he was rushed to the Royal Berkshire Hospital where, both his legs were amputated. Some time later he wrote in his log book, “Cross-country Reading. Crashed slow-rolling near ground. Bad Show!” It was a bitter blow for the athletic 21-year-old but, in time to come, his ‘Bad Show’ at Reading would turn him into a living legend. ___________________
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