HALFWAY through the First World War the Herefordshire artist, Brian Hatton, was tragically killed in action at the age of only 28.

He had already shown himself to be brilliantly gifted, not only with acute powers of observation but also an amazing visual memory which allowed him to see views and events which he drew later with extraordinary accuracy and vitality.

Brian Hatton was especially attracted to drawing horses and had been inspired by the Shire horses at the farm of James Powell in Breinton, near where he lived.

It was about 'Hatton's Horses' that Robin Thorndyke went to speak to the members of the Ross Vaga Probus Club on January 8, and show a marvellous collection of Hatton's drawings and paintings.

When adults asked the five-year-old Brian to draw a horse, he would ask them, 'What kind of a horse?', so able was he, even by that age.

When he was 12, he painted 'Carting Sand', a stunning view of laden horses which won him a Gold Medal and an invitation to visit Princess Louise at Kensington Palace. His painting was seen subsequently by King Edward.

By the age of 13, Brian Hatton was a hugely accomplished equestrian artist. He illustrated novels, poems, myths and legends.

More than 1,000 of Hatton's paintings and drawings can still be seen in Hereford at the Museum Resource and Learning Centre and Robin Thorndyke has created the Brian Hatton Trail to take people to views that inspired this great local artist a century ago.

Vaga Probus is a men only group that meets twice a month in Ross. Visitors are very welcome, please contact the secretary on 01989 218295 for details.