This painting, by Emile Antoine Verpilleux, shows an RFC airman carrying a Marconi pole which was used to support a wireless aerial. The Royal Flying Corps quickly mastered the use of wireless telegraphy and established a system of air-to-ground communication in which the wireless and Marconi 'mast' were integral. This RFC Corporal, a Wireless Operator, would have assisted the artillery in targeting enemy positions by receiving signals from an Observer in the air and passing them on to the camouflaged gun position, which can be seen in the background of the painting.
