During the Second World War, Britain’s skies were transformed by the drone of aircraft, factory workers toiled around the clock to produce new types of fighters and bombers, and newsreels told stirring stories of aircrews’ courage and survival.

From within the Ministry of Information in central London, dozens of artists were commissioned by the War Artists Advisory Committee to record these activities – among them Eric Ravilious, Evelyn Dunbar, Paul Nash and Mervyn Peake.