The battleship 'Vanguard' is shown at Devonport Dockyard (probably in Dock No. 10) in the period July to December 1947 for refit after the Royal Tour of South Africa early in the year. She is flying the Union flag (as a jack) and the white ensign and has a STAAG director on the quarterdeck. Behind 'Vanguard' are several other vessels: the one in the adjoining dry-dock is the Colony-class cruiser 'Newfoundland' which underwent a prolonged refit at Devonport from December 1946 to November 1952 and was then laid up in reserve. Beyond the 'Vanguard's' aft superstructure is the Town-class cruiser 'Newcastle' undergoing a refit, which took from 23 September 1946 to December 1947. The two towers of the Factory are visible in the distance and the hills behind Plymouth can be seen on the far left. The artist has adopted a high viewpoint to show the 'Vanguard' positioned diagonally across the painting. A number of figures are shown on the deck and other groups of workers are shown on the dock-side, together with a yellow and black lorry marked 'RN' on the side.

'Vanguard' was launched on 30 November 1944 and completed in April 1946. She refitted at Portsmouth for the Royal Tour of South Africa (early 1947) after which she was again refitted at Devonport from June 1947 to February 1948. She refitted again between November 1948 and January 1949 and between 6 October and 4 November 1949. She was the Royal Navy's last serving battleship, finaly decommisioned and sent to the breakers in 1960.

The artist worked for the 'Illustrated London News' and the 'Sphere'. During the Second World War he painted naval actions with a closely observed and highly detailed finish, presenting a heightened sense of the drama of events such as this, and these appeared as double-page spreads.