Two intriguing mosaics are to be found on properties in Clifton. One, in Upper Belgrave Road, depicts Jack Harding another, in Miles Road, shows Squadron Leader Eric P Dowling. They are the work of Oliver Budd, an East Sussex based expert in mosaic portraiture (www.buddmosaics.co.uk).

Jack Harding was the property owner’s father-in-law. He grew up in the Mendips and served during the War as a Private in Singapore. Sadly he went missing in action, never to be found. The mosaic is based on an old mono image of Jack, used by Oliver Budd to create a colour painting on which he modelled the mosaic. It depicts the Mendips, a BSA motorbike, which Jack used to ride around the Cheddar Gorge, and bombers crossing the sky.

Squadron Leader Eric P Dowling, also a relative of the owner, was from Glastonbury. An RAF navigator, he flew 29 missions in World War II before being shot down and captured. He helped excavate the tunnel at Stalag Luft III for the breakout later feature in ‘The Great Escape’. He survived the War and went on to work in Norway as an RAF crash investigator, later joining British Aerospace.