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Skye artist heading to St Petersburg to hand over paintings to Atlantic Convoy museum

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A Skye artist is travelling to St Petersburg later this month to present three of her artworks to a museum that commemorates the courage and sacrifice of those who fought in the Atlantic and Arctic convoys during the Second World War.

Diana Mackie said she was honoured to be able to convey her admiration for the bravery of the men through her striking paintings.

Many Scottish and Russian sailors were involved in the treacherous journeys which involved negotiating some of the roughest seas throughout the conflict and many lost their lives without gaining proper recognition for their heroics at the time.

Winston Churchill said of the Arctic Convoys that they were “the worst journey on earth,” with the seamen involved facing stormy seas and a cold so deep any unguarded touch on metal would strip the skin.

They ran a gauntlet of German warplanes and U-boats to offer vital support to the Soviet war effort.

In May 2018, Mrs Mackie was invited to attend a memorial service for all the Atlantic Convoy veterans, which was held in Poolewe in Wester Ross.

Alongside her were the Russian consul general of Scotland, Andrey Pritsepov, and Her Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant for Ross and Cromarty, Skye and Lochalsh, Janet Bowan CVO.

Mrs Mackie said: “I came away from the event knowing I had to offer something through my art to convey my deep feelings and respect for the bravery and human sacrifices that were made by so many.

“I had the privilege of talking to some of the veterans and I am now in close contact with one of them, Barnie Roberts, who lives in Glasgow.

“He has brought alive some of the missions he was on when based on the Isle of Skye, including the laying of hundreds of mines.”

Mr Roberts served in the Royal Navy from 1942 and finished his service in 1947 on HMS Forth, in Rothesay.

He spent time on mine-laying ships in the Arctic Circle. Ahead of an application for the Arctic Star, he had already received the Africa Star for his contributions in northern Africa.

The Arctic Convoy veteran was one of three – the others James Docherty from Dalmarnock and Edwin Leadbetter, from Newton Mearns – to visit Loch Ewe, from where many of the convoys started, during the May 2018 commemorations.

Mrs Mackie said: “Since the service, my ideas have been developed through meeting with Mr Pritsepov at the Russian Embassy in Edinburgh, where we talked about maintaining the memories of that extraordinary period during the war.

 

“This led to me producing a Triptych using the philosophical approach of how we see the moon in relation to ourselves.

“I was delighted to welcome the Consul General to our home and studio to view the paintings where I was presented with a beautiful book of early Russian photography.

“For our small township of Borreraig to receive the two large Mercedes that arrived at my door was quite an event.”

The works, entitled Clouds Clearing, Moon Rising and Spirit of the Albatross, will be unveiled in St Petersburg later this month.

The artist will travel to Russia on January 28 for a week.

She added: “I have been asked to judge and present prizes to the St Petersburg Schools art competition which is taking place in the city library.

“The formal presentation of the paintings will take place in the College of Admiral Makarov State University.

“The museum is not quite complete, but I am happy to say the paintings have just arrived safely.”

Mrs Mackie has also created a new book Skye: Through an Artist’s Eye, which will be launched at The Three Chimneys on the island on March 21.