51st (Highland) Division Plans El Alamein

“This painting by Ian Eadie (pictured above) is one of the key pieces of Scottish war art of the 20th century,” says Patrick. “It depicts the officers of the 51st (Highland) Division examining a sandpit model of the battlefield while planning the offensive at El Alamein in October 1942. The specific objectives on the model are named after Scottish towns within each regimental recruiting district. The painting was commissioned by the division’s officers after the war to commemorate their part in the victory and was painted by Mr Eadie, a former teacher at Dundee College of Art, who was called up in 1940 and was appointed the division’s unofficial war artist.”