"Now Private, that's no way to hold a rifle!" Accession Number: ARTI03210

Description

Depicts a soldier hitting a Japanese soldier on the head with his rifle and being told off for this by a senior officer. Roy George Herbert Fluke (b. 1921) served with the Australian Army during the Second World War, enlisting in September 1942 at Wingham, New South Wales. He was known as Roy Fluke or alternatively Roy George Herbert Fluke and often signed his works of art 'A R Fluke'. He was discharged in December 1946, serving with the 2/2 Light Field Regiment. Born near London in 1921, he came to Australia in 1925. He studied art part-time at the East Sydney Technical College from 1939 to 1941. Serving with the Australian Army from 1942-46, he lost his left leg, and after demobilisation resumed his studies in 1950 under the Commonwealth Rehabilitation Training Scheme. Fluke worked part-time as a teacher and in television as a designer. In 1960 he joined the staff at the National Art School in Sydney. He was a painter, cartoonist and printmaker. He won a number of art Awards and regional art prizes between 1954 and 1961, the South Australian Royal Show Prize in 1957 and the Sulman Prize in 1963.

Details

Accession Number
ARTI03210
Maker
Roy George Herbert Fluke
Classification
Art
Object Type
Work on paper
Physical Description
Medium: pen and ink and wash over pencil on paper
Measurement
Overall: 19.6 cm x 27.9 cm
Medium
pen and ink and wash over pencil on paper
Date Made
1944
Place Made
Whole/Part
Whole
Item Count
1
Credit Line
Acquired
Copyright
Unlicensed copyright

Conflicts

Places

Tags

More like this

"Newspaper report - The Australian troops are now resting!"

Art ARTI03209 Second World War, 1939-1945

Depicts a perspiring Australian soldier struggling to push a roller along the ground, with marching soldiers and a tent in the background of the scene. Roy George Herbert Fluke (b. 1921) served with t

"Goodnite my Lurv"

Art ARTI03207 Second World War, 1939-1945

Depicts a soldier, standing in the foreground, whistling to himself, with a coconut falling from a coconut palm above him onto his head. Roy George Herbert Fluke (b. 1921) served with the Australian A

Studio B, Quiet

Art ARTI03208 Second World War, 1939-1945

Depicts a nervous man, standing beside a microphone, in a radio station studio during the Second World War. Roy George Herbert Fluke (b. 1921) served with the Australian Army during the Second World

Not titled [unknown portrait a soldier]

Art ART94420 Second World War, 1939-1945

Portrait of the head and shoulders of a soldier with his eyes cast downwards. Sidney Fort enlisted with the army during the Second World War in 1941. Serving mostly in New Guinea and Indonesia, he

See more similar items →

Record information

Last modified: 20 August 2025 - 5.01 am