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Derek has a son, John, who has served in the Territorial Army Unit, Ten Para. in 2008 one of John's Army friends was telling him the story of an engagement in Afghanistan and said how much he would like to have a painting which would capture the drama of that particular moment. John immediately volunteered his Dad. it took Derek some time to agree to venture into this unfamiliar subject matter but in fact that painting, The Hammer, was to be one of several scenes of combat which he would paint in the next sixteen years, each one requiring hours of preliminary research into positions, weapons and uniform, and all of them pro bono.
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Below, The Hammer, oil on board, 54 inches x 72 inches, 2012
British troops engage with the Taliban at Scaramanga AO, Helmund Province, Afghanistan, 2008. Commissioned in memory of all who fought that summer, by Nick Myers, Adjutant of 2 Para, in 2011. Now hanging in Colchester Barracks |
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North Africa, 1943, The Battle of Tamera From an original oil painting (54 x 72 inches) by Derek Chambers
Commissioned by Lt.Col.Duncan Mann 2 Para Co February 2016 - August 2018, to mark the 75th anniversary of the battle
Between the 7th and the 29th March 1943, on land near the village of Tamera, the 1st Parachute Brigade inflicted a decisive defeat on the Axis forces in Tunisia. This battle brought to an end five months of fighting in North Africa, during which the 1st Parachute Brigade suffered 1,700 casualties, took over 3,500 prisoners and inflicted over 5,000 casualties on the enemy. In the course of the operation, the German soldiers came to admire the fighting ability of the paratroopers, christening them "Rote Teufel" - Red Devils. Such was the standing of the paratroops in enemy eyes that on the journey away from Tamera, as the train carrying the Brigade slowly passed a prisoner-of-war camp, the inmates, catching sight of the red berets, ran from their tents to cheer their former adversaries. As Commander 18th Army Group, General Alexander, stated in his message of congratulations to the Brigade: "Such distinctions are seldom given in war and then only to the finest fighting troops”.
North Africa, 1943, The Battle of Tamera From an original oil painting (54 x 72 inches) by Derek Chambers
Commissioned by Lt.Col.Duncan Mann 2 Para Co February 2016 - August 2018, to mark the 75th anniversary of the battle
Between the 7th and the 29th March 1943, on land near the village of Tamera, the 1st Parachute Brigade inflicted a decisive defeat on the Axis forces in Tunisia. This battle brought to an end five months of fighting in North Africa, during which the 1st Parachute Brigade suffered 1,700 casualties, took over 3,500 prisoners and inflicted over 5,000 casualties on the enemy. In the course of the operation, the German soldiers came to admire the fighting ability of the paratroopers, christening them "Rote Teufel" - Red Devils. Such was the standing of the paratroops in enemy eyes that on the journey away from Tamera, as the train carrying the Brigade slowly passed a prisoner-of-war camp, the inmates, catching sight of the red berets, ran from their tents to cheer their former adversaries. As Commander 18th Army Group, General Alexander, stated in his message of congratulations to the Brigade: "Such distinctions are seldom given in war and then only to the finest fighting troops”.
