This painting is inspired by the uplifting tale of Flt. Lt. Gatward and his navigator Sgt. Gilbert Fern on June 12, 1942. France had been getting used to Nazi occupation after practically being defeated with only small splinter cells of spy networks working against Germany. Hope was nearly lost until Gatward and Fern made a bold attempt to show solidarity and raise moral of the French people by returning a French flag in a Bristol Beaufighter draping it beautifully over the corner of the Arc de Triomphe