'The Eyes of the Fleet' RMG PV3442, William Lionel Wyllie

'The Eyes of the Fleet'
Inscribed, as title, by the artist and signed in ink, lower right, this drawing was reproduced in Wyllie and M.F. Wren's 'Sea Fights of the Great War (1918) f. p. 144. This shows British First World War destroyers at sea in stern view. The principal one is an Admiralty 'V' or 'W' class in the period 1917-1918. The first of the Admiralty 'V' class entered service in June 1917. The vessel on the left is an 'M'- or 'R'-class destroyer. Wyllies ink title inscription repeats one underneath written earlier in pencil. This and the fairly finished nature of the drawing suggest it was one intended for reproduction, though it may not have been done specifically for his own 'Sea Fights' book, only used there from existing 'stock', as the firming up of the inscription in ink might suggest.