HMAS Sydney fighting the SMS Emden

by John Charles Allcot

Dimensions:

43.5 cm × 59 cm

Medium:

Watercolour on paper

Setting:

WW I (1914-1918)

Courtesy of the Australian National Maritime Museum

This watercolour by John Allcot depicts the attack on the German light cruiser SMS Emden by HMAS Sydney in November 1914 off the Cocos-Keeling Islands.

About John Charles Allcot
John was born on 14 November 1888 in England, and at the age of 14 John was apprenticed to lithographers, and attended classes at the Liverpool Institute and School of Art. In 1906 he worked in the Mersey tugboats and next year sailed as a deck-boy in the barque, Invermark. He loved painting and would scrounge ship's paint, sailcloth and handkerchiefs with which to depict the sea, ships and life on board.

Arriving in Sydney in the Miltiades in 1909, Allcot signed on with the old clipper, Antiope. He worked in coastal, island and intercolonial vessels out of Sydney before giving up the sea in 1912. He then supported himself by painting theatre sets and obtained commissions for ship paintings from Sydney photographers. In the 1940s he painted the seas for ship-models built by the sculptor Robert Klippel.

Allcot’s studio became a meeting-place for those interested in ships, paintings and models. Regular visitors included maritime artists Oswald Brett and Ian Hansen. Allcot used water-colour, gouache and oils to paint his ships.

Allcot showed impeccable attention to detail in his ship paintings and in 1954 his painting of the Cutty Sark was presented to the Duke of Edinburgh.

His work is represented in private and public collections in Australia and abroad.

More paintings by John Charles Allcot
About HMAS Sydney (l)
HMAS Sydney was a Town Class, Light Cruiser; one of three ordered in 1910 which were part of the initial Australian fleet unit. On 4 October 1913 Sydney formed part of the Australian Fleet Unit that ceremonially entered her namesake harbour to a welcome from tens of thousands of spectators who turned out to welcome the arrival of ‘their’ fleet.