Help To Identify Royal Navy Painting

[Guest]

Bob Jones from Ottawa Canada here. Recently found this beautiful
water colour sticking out of a trash can, (some people truly are
philistines).
After extensive online research I have come up little information.
I can not identify the artist primarily because I'm not sure if I'm
reading his signature properly. To me it looks like VIELTON, but I also
tried NIELTON, VI ELTON, NI ELTON & dozens of other variations.
Might anyone recognize the artist?

Here's what I have discovered:
The painting is entitled "The Vanguard"
The ships featured are Left to Right:

HMS Tiger - (Battlecruiser)
HMS Royal Sovereign - (R-Class - Revenge Class Battlecruiser)
HMS Octavia - (M-Class - Admiralty M Class Destroyer)
HMS Princess Royal - (Lion-Class Battlecruiser)
HMS Warspite - (Queen Elizabeth Class Battleship)
HMS Lion - (Battlecruiser)
HMS Queen Elizabeth - (Queen Elizabeth Class)
HMS Repulse - (Renown-Class Battlecruiser)
HMS Revenge - (Revenge-Class Battleship)
HMS Nerissa - (M-Class Destroyer)
HMS Reknown - (Battlecruiser)

The closest I can determine is that some of these ships were at the
Battle of Jutland, (although apparently the HMS Queen Elizabeth was
dry docked at the last minute). Is it possible that this painting is a
depiction of a portion of the pre-battle fleet?
The painting is not dated as far as I can see but the lettering style,
matting, frame and mounting appear to be period to WW1.
It also appears to be mixed media - water colour, ink and perhaps
gouache.

I find the painting quite awesome and if anyone has any additional
information, it would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers,
Bob
 

[Skipman]

There's a V T Elton Royal Naval Reserve, Temporary Midshipman on H.M.S. Tiger August 1916  Western Morning News - Tuesday 15 August 1916

 

Mike

[johnboy]

very clean and bright,

[gmac101]

Only Tiger, Princess Royal, Warspite, Lion, Revenge and Nerissa were at Jutland.  They were generally in different units only; Tiger and Princess Royal were in the same unit, the 1st Battle Cruiser Squadron.  (Lion was their Flagship)

 

It may be an Illustration of the ships he served in (though that's a lot of ships ) or perhaps a group of comrades ships

 

 

[charlie962]

38 minutes ago, Skipman said:

V T Elton Royal Naval Reserv

Good find. Victor Taylor Elton married in Ontario and died Ontario 1979. Seems to have gone to Ontario Agricultural College 1921.

Service Card here at Discovery National Archives

 

Charlie

Edited 17 September , 2018 by charlie962

[BillyH]

3 hours ago, Bob Jones said:

Recently found this beautiful water colour sticking out of a trash can, (some people truly are philistines).

 

Personally, I would agree with the 'trash can' option.

 

BillyH.

[IPT]

1 minute ago, BillyH said:

Personally, I would agree with the 'trash can' option.

 

 

Billy, you're a Philistine.  You're a Billistine.

[BillyH]

- - - - - and always have been 

 

BillyH.

[Gibbo]

All the battleships and battlecruisers featured were present at the surrender of the German High Seas Fleet on 21  November 1918. My source, The Great War at Sea: A Naval Atlas 1914-1918 by Marcus Faulkner does not list the destroyers present.

 

The ships are not in the formation used to escort the Germans into captivity but they might be putting to sea to meet the Germans and not yet formed themselves into formation.

[TeeCeeCee]

To me it's just a view of the Grand Fleet. Nice find.