John Nicholson

Drawing was also an interest from a very young age and family holidays on the Clyde in the 1930s provided the subject matter for many of his early paintings.

John's longest sail was in very different circumstances. In April 1941 he began a nine-week voyage on the troopship Empress of Asia round Africa to Suez. He often recalled that when he was an army signaller in the 72nd Field Regiment, Royal Artillery, at Tobruk, he heard his colonel berate General Auchinleck for not supplying them with enough armaments. True enough, in a few days they were overrun, and John was injured and taken prisoner of war.

He always bartered his cigarette rations for drawing materials so that he was able to continue his hobby for the four years that he spent in the PoW camps in Italy and Germany.

After the war he married Marian and began work as an engineering draughtsman in Leeds with what was then the GPO. He was awarded the Imperial Service Medal for 45 years of service to what became British Telecom.

In the early 1950s he began receiving commissions. Pen and ink drawings appeared in several shipping magazines and from 1984 until 1987,

John was commissioned to paint all new vessels to the Cal/Mac fleet.

His attention to detail in all his pictures often led to extended correspondence with those wanting a painting of a ship in a particular livery or location. The ease with which he struck up friendships with others interested in ships was remarkable and he maintained contact with a great number of people in this country and abroad.

His regular trips to the Isle of Man resulted in a commission from Captain Jack Ronan to paint three Steam Packet ships for him. In 1993 he was commissioned to do a set of paintings of The Isle of Man Steam Packet ships for postage stamps issued by the Isle of Man Post Office.

John was a renowned marine artist and his works will remain as a permanent memorial to his abiding interest in all things to do with the sea and, for more than 25 years, he provided the PS Waverley with artwork for their postcards, posters, timetables and advertisements - and all completely free of charge.

Early in 1990, the publishers Hart, Maclagan & Will were printing their first book in The Memories of the Clyde series, The Duchess of Fife. They were searching for a suitable front-cover illustration and contact was made with John Nicholson. In 1992 the second title, Steamers of the Clyde, featured all 24 illustrations painted by John Nicholson.

In 1994, Liners of the Clyde was published. This book contained illustrations of 24 liners all painted by John with his own authoritative descriptions. This was a mammoth task for one person, but

John took it on board with his usual enthusiasm and dedication to detail.

He followed this with another work on the steamers of the Clyde and Western Isles with the words provided by himself, Robin Boyd and Iain Quinn.

All of us who have an interest in Clyde steamers and liners have reason to be grateful to John Nicholson for his minute attention to detail, not only in the design but also in the faithful reproduction of colour. Without his illustrations, we would not, now, be aware of the colour schemes of so many vessels of the past.

John was also a landscape artist and many of us were fortunate to receive, at Christmas, a print of one of his delightful miniature paintings.

His great interest in the Maid of the Loch on Loch Lomond resulted in many of his prints being for sale on board.

John spent the last few years of his life supporting his wife, who died a few months before him. He still managed to do some artwork and was busy with a painting right up until his death at the age of 83.

He is survived by his two children and two grandchildren.