About the Artist Leslie Rockey, , Fine Art publishers and High Quality gifts. Heritage Map Gifts and Countryside China from The Art of Leslie Rockey - Historical Maps of the Cities and Counties of Britain and Scotland and High quality China featuring the many popular designs of the Countryside.

About the Artist (25.5.1920-5.5.2004)
Leslie Rockey's life story was as colourful and varied as the wonderful art he created. Born in a family-owned Devon pub "The Brown Bear" in 1920, moving to a Brighton hotel when he was six, Leslie later joined the RAF for 10 years and travelled the world as Entertainment Officer (including designing and painting the sets), Flight Lieutenant Staff Officer at Fighter Command HQ, and stationed in Canada for three years.

As a bomb disposal officer he risked his life time and time again, disarming live bombs from crashed aircraft. He was blown up in Bristol when inside a building bombed by the Germans.

He was awarded the British Empire Medal for "services to his country."

After his decade in the RAF, Leslie trained at art college in Bournemouth, and qualified as a teacher to become art master at a Lake District secondary school, teaching art at clubs in the area too. He was Youth Officer for the City of Westminster until 1966, then Adult Education and Community Officer for Gosport and Fareham for the next 14 years.

At the age of 83, he was still dedicated to an almost daily routine of creating pen, ink and pencil drawings of his beloved wildlife; spending many hours on the intricate and detailed watercolour and calligraphy that went into his best selling heritage maps; add to this the months of thorough research, visiting towns and cities throughout Britain to take comprehensive photographs and sketches of architecture and landmarks, even before the first image is committed to paper, Leslie never completely retired.

With an ever-growing International reputation as a versatile and respected artist, Leslie's work is owned by the rich, famous and aristocratic, and collected by people around the world. He entrusted his work to the sole and exclusive representation of specialist gift and fine art publishing, distribution and marketing company 'The Art Of Leslie Rockey' - set up in 1999 by his niece.

His love of travel and history first saw Leslie tour much of the UK, taking many photographs and making hundreds of sketches, before creating detailed maps of his favourite places. The commercial potential of these artworks were first spotted by an entrepreneurial bank manager, who offered to clear Leslie's substantial overdraft in exchange for a map featuring the bank to hang on his office wall!

Leslie's close association with the RAF has led to two commissions to design a stained glass window at St George's Church, RAF Halton, one of them in memory of Lord Trenchard, RAF founder.

The Art of Leslie Rockey ( Trading as "Rockey" )
35 Dacre Road, Herstmonceux, East Sussex, BN27 4LP, England, UK
Telephone: 0800 458 0958 Fax: +44 (0) 01323 831550
Email: enquiries@rockey.co.uk Website: www.rockey.co.uk