My father Graham Walsh was born in Ferndale in the Rhondda Valley on 30th August 1917 into a mining family. He was the second of four children and had a very happy childhood playing on the mountain behind their house. At school he worked hard and soon found that he had a passion for drawing and painting. When he left school he started a course at Cardiff School of Art, but sadly WW2 came along and he volunteered for the RAF serving throughout the war in the RAF Signals with a radar unit mainly in Egypt. He did not give up his passion even then and took every opportunity to draw and paint the things around him as you will see in his works.
On returning from war his parents had moved to London to live in Finchley where his father had taken up the post of General Secretary of NACODS. Not wishing to give up his art Graham enrolled in Finchley School of Art and Design and did his diploma there under the watchful eye of JC Moody.
I have started this blog as I feel that his art is something I want to share with others. My house and loft are full of his work and it seems a shame that it only gives pleasure to my family, when, in the modern world, it could reach many more people.
Enjoy!
Graham Walsh 
Your dad was a lovely person and teacher, I think he was the only one that actually understood me. I was very small for my age and had the micky taken out of me a lot but he somehow made me feel better about myself and my size and made me feel I was as good as the bigger kids. He helped me with my confidence. His class was the only one I liked and concentrated in, he wouldn’t allow people to mock me. When my son started at the school your father knew straight away who he was and he took him under his wing. Your father really wanted Robin to go further in his art work but sadly my son could only paint or draw when “in the mood” and he is still the same today. Shame really as he is very good.
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