A half-length portrait to left in a buff parka and holding a pair of binoculars. Painted at the Merchant Navy convalescent home at Limpsfield in about 1943, the painting was received by the Museum from the War Artists' Advisory Committee in 1946. The portrait intentionally presents a strong and powerful image of a British sailor holding binoculars, an essential attribute for a sailor. The sitter does not confront the viewer but the positioning of his head implies that he is ever vigilant, as also implied by the binoculars. The strong use of colour also confirms the artist's intentions.

At the outbreak of the Second World War Bernard Hailstone joined the auxiliary Fire Service and did portraits of his comrades as well as scenes of the Blitz. In 1941 he was made an official war artist and was attached to the Ministry of Transport. In 1944 he went to South-East Asia to paint Lord Mountbatten and key members of his staff. He later became President of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters.