This portrait of Lieutenant Commander Edward Dudley Norman depicts him in action at work. It is a profile view of him kneeling on the ground to look up a periscope, another member of the crew climbing up a ladder behind him to his right. On the left can be seen various machinery and pipes. Apart from the title of this portrait there is nothing to indicate his rank as Lieutenant Commander, as he is simply wearing a plain navy blue boiler suit. His dark hair is greying at the temples and he has a large mole on his right hand cheek. Norman was awarded the DSC in 1941. This portrait is signed but not dated, and still in the original frame from the War Artists Advisory Committee. [The original WAAC number is LD. 3739].

William Dring (1904-90) earned his reputation as a fine draughtsman and portrait painter whilst studying under Henry Tonks at the Slade School of Art between 1922 and 1925. He worked as a teacher of drawing and painting at the Southampton School of Art until 1940 when he was employed by the War Artist Advisory Committee, first as official war artist to the Admiralty and later to the Air Ministry. He made a large number of portrait drawings of individuals and groups, all remarkable for their informality. Dring travelled extensively to complete his commissions. The drawing is always precise and carefully modelled using pastel, a medium in which he specialised, and which allowed him to capture the likeness and spirit of his subjects quickly and under a variety of circumstances