Peace and thanksgiving. Long live the King

Pen and ink picture of King George VI by Dennis Albert Jones, 1945.

Dennis Jones was born in Church Street, Henley on Thames on 7th August 1929. He was 16 when he created this picture, which was one of many drawn by local people at the time to commemorate the end of the second world war. They were displayed in shop windows around the town, although it is not known which window this particular picture was displayed in. Dennis became a prolific artist during his life, but sadly died in December 1999. Many of his paintings still survive.

Dennis was the only son of Joseph Jones, also a resident of Henley, who served with the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry (later known as the Parachute Brigade) who was sadly killed in action in Belgium fighting a rearguard action covering the evacuation of the BEF at Dunkirk. Joseph Jones is commemorated on the wall of Henley Town hall as one of the 'fallen' who came from Henley.