1960s

In 1969 I went on a school trip to Russia for a fortnight (I had begun to study Russian in the Sixth Form). We travelled by train across the divided West and East Germany, Poland, and on to Moscow, where we stayed before taking the overnight train to Leningrad (now St. Petersburg). We returned by cruise ship through the Gulf of Finland, stopping at Helsinki and Copenhagen.

I have been to Russia a number of times since then, but at the age of 17 this was by far the most exciting holiday I had ever had. I just had a little ring-bound sketchbook and a pencil and biro to draw with. These scribbles are the only record of that trip, as I didn’t have a camera.

  • Moscow Station, Leningrad
  • Checkpoint Charlie, Berlin Wall
  • East Berlin
  • Insurrection Square , Leningrad
  • Island off Helsinki
  • Street In Moscow
  • View from Lenin Hill Moscow
  • View from Warsaw Railway Station
  • West Berlin
  • Red Square, Moscow