Possible Identification of RAF Wing Commander Lewis Hodges in 1944 Bhopal POW Portrait

Good evening all,

I am seeking specialist assistance regarding a WWII oil portrait which I believe may depict Wing Commander (later Air Chief Marshal Sir) Lewis Macdonald “Bob” Hodges RAF.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/PZCVFs2T5FdEWHkD8


The painting is signed and dated “1944, Bhopal, India” and is attributed to the Italian POW artist Raffaele Collina (1899–1968), who appears to have been interned in India during the war and is documented as producing portraits and murals while in captivity.

I have attached comparison images and summarised the current evidence below.

AUTHENTICATION / IDENTIFICATION

ARTIST
• Signature and date appear consistent with “R. Collina”, 1944
• Collina documented as an Italian POW in India (Camp 24 / Bhopal area references)
• Contemporary accounts suggest he undertook portrait commissions during internment
• Bonhams previously sold a work attributed to the same artist (2013)

DATE & LOCATION
• Painting dated 1944, Bhopal, India
• Hodges documented serving in India during the later war period
• Collina confirmed active within POW camps in India during this timeframe

UNIFORM & RANK
• RAF pilot brevet accurately depicted
• Sitter shown wearing Wing Commander rank insignia
• Hodges held Acting Wing Commander rank during 1944
• Uniform style appears broadly consistent with RAF wartime portraiture in the India / South-East Asia theatre

FACIAL COMPARISON OBSERVATIONS
The attached comparison images appear to show:
• Similar narrow tapering jawline
• Straight heavy-set eyebrows
• Long straight nose
• Thin upper lip / fuller lower lip
• Similar eye spacing and orbital structure
• Comparable ear position and forehead shape

HISTORICAL CONTEXT
• Hodges was a highly decorated RAF special duties pilot
• Served with No. 161 Squadron (SOE-related operations)
• Later commanded No. 357 Squadron in South-East Asia
• His wartime profile makes a commissioned or commemorative portrait at least historically plausible

CURRENT STATUS
Attribution remains provisional and I am not presenting the identification as definitive fact.

I would be very grateful for any informed opinion regarding:
1. Possible sitter identification
2. Uniform / rank accuracy
3. Artist attribution
4. Historical plausibility of Hodges being portrayed in India during 1944

Any guidance, archival references, or pointers toward relevant RAF / POW / India theatre sources would be greatly appreciated.

Kind regards,

Richard Rowsell

 

Welcome Richard,

Your subject Hodges appears in one thread here, due to his assignment to two squadrons (161 Squadron) helping SOE with flights into Occupied Europe. This passage may help the timeline and post-war photos:

From: The Moon Squadrons

Mitterand re-appears:

So, possibly a source of photos?

Note another French politician, who later became President, was evacuated from France by him in October 1943 and awarded him the Legion d'Honneur. From: L M Hodges , Vincent Auriol - Wikipedia and (behind pay wall with a sketch of him): https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituar...-sir-lewis-hodges-highly-decorated-raf-pilot/

Back to Hodges and his timeline for Hodges being in India could be quite narrow:

From: Lewis Hodges - Wikipedia and Staff College mentioned in: Air Chief Marshal Sir Lewis Hodges

From: Trafford Leigh-Mallory - Wikipedia

Small B&W photo on: HODGES, Lewis Macdonald - The Gerry Holdsworth Special Forces Charity and two different photos: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/33386240/lewis_macdonald-hodges and RAF SPECIAL DUTIES - Hodges, Lewis Macdonald (Bob) A side photo on: https://www.unithistories.com/officers/RAF_officers_H01.html

His Service Number: 33408 and Hodges postings were:

From: https://www.rafweb.org/Biographies/Hodges.htm

 

A recently sold photo and profile: https://www.ebay.com/itm/358361934348?_skw=soe&itmmeta=01KMBPAKWZYZ0AQ4RA2H8AB4XR&hash=item5370092a0c:g:I6oAAeSwY0ppv-0f&itmprp=enc:AQALAAAA4DKQclQvzFwZQpmMrsO4LurLlQ54TR971geuxGfcqqDV1N2W5LNK9dslZaoHQvmXuBEEt/Jgovgfm3vGpylpBdVQxFpu91ndtYDoFGFupglMV2a9te9npOn7ixk/H7HGrnOYBYxB2HFSpuku6haq+tMtswKYv8Vb5UHB+nvl2zInhvbhaDveXL--6Swh9BM5FXhxAEh9YURGAAChOxIRflHNfs05TUSWlNBwXeN3maoa/UsSgqg7a+Aih/oXe+4W+OPdyqraK8BtKtuN73tBORXFCXWItq4Y2Cel0/CG/Qia|tkp:Bk9SR9a-qvaiZw

Would the artist's portrait have been commissioned after his younger brother's death in Burma and passed back to the UK? The death in Burma found in: Military Pilots: June 2008

Might his log books @ RAF Museum (Dept Research and Information Services) help to narrow down date and location? They are:

From: The National Archives | Search other Archives | Accessions to Repositories | Major Accessions to Angus Archives, 2008

 

Many thanks David, this is extremely helpful and exactly the sort of contextual timeline material I was hoping to uncover.

Your point regarding the potentially narrow India window for Hodges in 1944 is particularly interesting and may prove quite important when weighing the plausibility of the portrait attribution.

I will definitely look further into the log books held via the RAF Museum / Research & Information Services to see whether movements, transit points, or temporary postings can help narrow down whether a Bhopal connection is remotely plausible.

I am also currently exploring records relating to the artist Raffaele Collina through the India Office Records / British Library collections, particularly regarding Italian POW camp administration and Camp 24 references. The surviving POW notation I currently have for Collina is:

“COLLINA, Raffaele; Capt.; 177953; Inf.; 24, 10, 11, R 25-10-46.”

I have also spoken with a gallery local to Collina’s home town and they did not dispute that the painting was likely by him during his internment in India, which was encouraging from the artist attribution side.

I also have a later-in-life image of Hodges obtained from RAF Piccadilly material which appears broadly compatible with the portrait and some of the later photographs you kindly linked.



Out of interest, do you personally think the sitter could plausibly be Hodges? Thus far, he is the only RAF Wing Commander of roughly the correct age, eye colour etc that I have been able to place in India during the relevant 1944 timeframe.

The references and links you provided are genuinely appreciated — especially the chronology around Staff College / Bomber Command / Jessore, which helps tighten the possible timeframe considerably.

Many thanks again for taking the time to respond.

Kind regards,

Richard

 

One aspect I am also considering is the reason such a portrait may have been commissioned in the first place.

From what I have been able to gather, Italian POW artist groups in India were frequently employed on artistic and decorative work within the camps and surrounding military establishments. This appears to have included not only murals and decorative painting, but also commissioned portraits of officers and senior personnel.

Collina’s contemporaries within the Italian POW artist circles seem to have undertaken similar work during internment, particularly where individuals already had formal artistic training prior to the war. That makes the existence of a commissioned RAF officer portrait in India during 1944 seem historically plausible to me, especially if connected to a temporary posting, transit period, or commemorative purpose.

Part of what interests me is whether the portrait was simply a private commission, or whether there may have been some wider context behind it — for example linked to morale, memorialisation, staff postings, or wartime patronage of POW artistic work.

Another point which may or may not be relevant is that the painting was ultimately acquired in Norfolk, and Hodges later became closely associated with Norfolk through his command of RAF Marham. Obviously that does not prove provenance in itself, but it does at least create an interesting geographic link between the sitter candidate and the painting’s later history.

If anyone has come across comparable examples of RAF or British officers being painted by Italian POW artists in India, I would be extremely interested to hear about them.

 

Richard,

Hodges was born 1 March 1918 and passed 4 January 2007. The genealogy site I use does not help to identify his younger brother. The text cited states:

From: Military Pilots: June 2008

I have tried the CWGC, but cannot identify any of those with the surname being linked to him. There are others here who have paid access to Ancestry who might be able to help. I don't think his brother was in the RAF.

You refer to:

I would suggest the 'R' is Released, 'Inf' is Infantry and '177953' is either his POW Number or his Italian Service Number. Slightly puzzled his release was so late in 1946, although returning former Italian POWs may not have been a priority for shipping. The other numbers could be the POW Camps he had been in.

I cannot recall if there are threads here for Italian POW in India and POW Camp numbers. There is one for those in South Africa. Italian POWs came after the surrender in Abyssinia (300k plus), North Africa at various points (est. 300k plus) and in Italy itself before September 1943 (when Italy ceased being a belligerent).

 

Ah, some answers:

From: https://www.i-b.com/docs/IB_BIO_RAFFAELE_COLLINA_ENG.pdf

So, he could have become a POW in Abyssinia or North Africa.

There is one Italian website that I will not access, which refers to him (translated):

See: A Vado Ligure la mostra su Raffaele Collina, 50 opere documentano l’intera produzione del Maestro vadese - Il Vostro Giornale

Curiously he has this 1945 painting too: https://www.mutualart.com/Artwork/Portrait-of-a-young-lady-with-sweetheart/3AFBF6934E5A8AE9

This was sold by Bonhams in 2013. From: https://www.invaluable.com/artist/c...tRpM8yxMxeRbwxt3UZJCKwFc5zdevAdmmYR7J_KL8CN8b and Bonhams : Raffaele Collina (Italian, 1899-1968) Portrait of a young ladt with sweetheart brooch Portrait of a young lady with sweetheart brooch

Note Hughes married Elizabeth Blackett in 1950 and they had two sons. Unable to identify her, let alone the sons.

Have you seen the handwriting which maybe his on this? See the 4th image: https://www.ebay.it/itm/285829771451

 

Interesting thread regarding Lewis Hodges who rose to Air Officer rank.

He will always be associate with Tempsford home of Special Duties squadrons Nos 138 and 161 squadrons. Both squadrons were within the Bomber Command No 3 Group structure.

Lewis Hodges joined No 138 Squadron at Tempsford in November 1942 along with Hugh Verity, Hodges to fly Halifaxes to conduct parachute operations and Hodges to fly Lysanders.

Hugh Verity penned his "We Landed by Moonlight" in1978, a detailed publication of clandestine operations over enemy territory with many references to Lewis Hodges. Certainly, a good read to those who are interested in the secret infiltrations into France.

Lewis Hodges wrote the forward to Verity's book as Air Chief Marshal Sir Lewis Hodges.KCB,CBE,DSO and bar,DFC and bar. At the time Lewis Hodges had retired to the Netherlands

 

That's very useful thank you, good to see other Collina works from the same time while interned.

Also interesting that Hodges retired to the Netherlands so the picture must have been with a family member or a in somewhere like RAF Marham before I bought it.

Are there any other candidates for the sitter you think? I don't think there is as there are no other mod 20's wing commanders in India in 1944

 

Hello,

Several sources (Daily Telegraph, Independent, Bob Quirk etc) have Hodges as the OC No. 357 Special Duties Squadron at Jessore from Dec 1944 until 21 April 1945 when he is N/E sick. Makes no further appearance in the ORB after this date.

Hodges brother: https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2511506/derek-macdonald-hodges/

Lewis Hodges married Elizabeth Blackett at Chelsea in the June 1950 Qtr. Sons David M. (b. Kensington, June 1952 Qtr) and Nigel M (b. Shipston, September 1955 Qtr)

Regards,

Dave

 

No idea about other potential sitters for a portrait.

Where was his command, 357 Squadron? We have this, slightly edited:

From: Military Pilots: June 2008

The two cities are a long way apart, Bhopal is in central India and Jessore (now known under another name) was in West Bengal, now just over the border into Bangladesh.

As alieneyes has added he arrived in December 1944 to command 357 Squadron and left on 21/4/1945 when he was ill. Hodges I now assume he left his command in 1944 to visit Bhopal, or before he reached his command he was in Bhopal. Not sure how we can determine that, for e.g. he went to attend a meeting, collect a plane, visit his staff etc.

My recollection is that Bhopal was an industrial town. Something to look at another day.

Potentially his sons could be alive still. We do have two genealogy expert members - so I can ask them to see if they can add more, plus Hodges's wife.

 

I have requested the RAF museum to look for the log books, I had previously spoken to them so hopefully they will help again.

Information on the family would be amazing thank you.

 

There was a RAF base @ Bhopal, but Wiki only refers to this post-war. See: RAF India - Wikipedia

It was and is in Madhya Pradesh Province (before 1947 it was a Princely state) and home during the war to: Detachment** - No 140 Repair & Salvage Unit (xxx 1943 - xxx 1944) and No 3 Detachment** - No 141 Repair & Salvage Unit (xxx 1944 - xxx xxxx). It is now known as Raja Bhoj Airport.

From: Stations-B

Elsewhere the base was the home of ‘Servicing Elements’ and for the initial handover of new Tempest fighter-bombers to two RAF squadrons in 1943.

No.9 Squadron was based there in WW2, which appears to have been a photo-recon unit. See: , Indian Air Force - Database

From: https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/1060036304 Dated 1944/01/10

Slight snag, Camp 24 was not @ Bhopal.

From: POW Camps in India - FIBIwiki Scroll down to Italian prisoners of war for some options.

Slightly edited for brevity:

From: Bhopale: Bairagarh near Bhopal

Bairagarh is now within the city limits and appears to still have a civilian / paramilitary camp role.

See: POW Camps in British India mainly for captured Italians

 

Thanks for this, really appreciate your time.

From my understanding Collina was in;
Early captivity
Camp 24 (Clement Town / Dehradun area)
Later transfer
Camp 10 (Bhopal Group)
Later transfer
Camp 11 (Bhopal Group)
1946
Repatriated/released