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“Loop-the-loops and landscapes since 1916.”
At Montague Watersby's Flying Circus we chart a course through clouds and time — stitching together Victorian dreams, soaring machines, and dashing aerial duels. Our art is a whimsical salute to the daring, the dapper, and the delightfully airborne.
CATALOGUE ENTRY NO. 14
Hurrah the 20 Minuters
Step right up and feast your peepers on a scene so daring, so dashing, and so dangerously under-advised, it could only come from the cloud-kissed chronicles of Captain Montague Watersby (Late of the RFC, Early of the Theatre).
A jubilant salute to the daring young pilots of the Royal Flying Corps, “Hurrah the 20 Minuters!” captures the electric chaos of a dogfight in vivid, layered detail. Inspired by the infamous nickname given to fledgling aviators whose average combat lifespan was heartbreakingly brief, this piece fuses comic-book punch with vintage reverence.
The scene shows a spirited British scout in blue and olive—surely Monty Watersby himself—looping past a crimson Fokker in an aerial ballet of pluck and peril. Clouds burst with motion, while sunbursts and spinning propellers conjure the adrenaline of the Great War skies. Below, a tattered ribbon bears the rallying cry of countless unrecorded heroes:
“Hurrah the 20 Minuters!”
Part homage, part satire, and wholly human, this framed work reminds us that courage sometimes comes wrapped in silk scarves, moustache wax, and rhubarb sweets.
SIZE: 180mm x 180mm
Hand coloured - Hand cut - Hand assembled
Flight Lieutenant Montague A. Watersby, RFC (Ret.)
Born in 1891 on a windswept estate near Kings Lynn, Norfolk, Montague Watersby was raised with the scent of salt air and the distant sound of larks above the fens. A thoughtful and eccentric young man, he developed a love for both the open sky and open sketchbooks—often combining the two in charcoal and ink.
At the outbreak of war, Watersby joined the Royal Flying Corps in 1915. He served with 23 Squadron, flying everything from Spads to Camels, developing a reputation as both a skilled pilot and an inveterate doodler of enemy aerodromes.
A Curious Trademark: Montague was never without a small tin of rhubarb and custard sweets, kept in the inside pocket of his flight jacket. “For diplomacy,” he’d say with a grin—handy if forced down behind enemy lines or needing to charm a local farmer for directions.
The sweets, with their vivid pink and yellow stripes, eventually inspired the signature colour scheme of his aircraft—earning him the affectionate moniker:
“The Rhubarb Rascal.”
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Mid 1917: Izel-le-Hameau, France
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Late 1917: Bailleul, France
Post-War Life: After the war, Watersby launched “Mr. Montague Watersby’s Flying Circus”, a whimsical traveling show featuring aerobatic displays, sketched landscapes from the air, and his now-iconic candy-coloured aircraft. Equal parts airman, artist, and showman, he brought the spirit of the Great War’s flying years to country fairs, galleries, and school fields.
He was known to recite Keats before takeoff, paint the sunrise from 8,000 feet, and always offer a boiled sweet to young admirers.
