A DECKHAND on the Milford Haven steam trawler Maretta is the subject of a powerful and moving exhibition opening this May at the Torch Theatre in Milford Haven.

Artist Donald Sinclair Swan FRSA (1918–2004), who once served as a deckhand on the Maretta, had a lifelong connection with the sea. From an early age, he was fascinated by ships—often dreaming of them or sketching their outlines in pencil. His passion for the ocean, especially the rugged beauty of the North Atlantic, is reflected in the collection now on display in the Joanna Field Gallery. Most of the works have never been seen before.

Born in Glasgow, Donald was the son of a Presbyterian minister and a former primary school teacher. He was educated at Glasgow High School but left at sixteen to join the Clan Line shipping company, determined to pursue a life in the Merchant Navy. The move came as little surprise to his father, who himself had spent years under sail before taking up the ministry.

As his daughter Mary explains, a life at sea was never a question for Donald—it was a calling.

“In 1938, with the Second World War looming, Dad transferred to the Royal Navy, serving on HMS Barham as a cadet midshipman,” she said. “By 1939 he was a Sub Lieutenant on HMS Wessex, heading into the Western Approaches. In 1940, he was posted to HMT Northern Sun, a requisitioned trawler, but contracted tuberculosis in 1941 and had to be discharged.”

The illness nearly cost Donald his life. He survived a spontaneous pneumothorax against the odds but was advised never to undertake strenuous work again. During his recovery, he turned to his childhood dream: becoming an artist.

With help from an ex-serviceman’s grant, Donald studied at the Glasgow School of Art and the Patrick Allan Fraser School of Art at Hospitalfield, Arbroath. Influential tutors included Hugh Crawford RSA and James Cowie RSA.

In 1945, he moved to London, living an unsettled life between the capital, Glasgow and eventually Cornwall. A promising spell working with Royal portrait painter Sir James Gunn was interrupted when he had to return north to care for his ailing parents.

By 1948, feeling stronger and eager to return to sea, Donald signed on as mate of the Thames sailing barge Carina. Then, in 1949, he joined the crew of the Maretta as a deckhand—drawn once again to the open sea.

“He joined the fishing fleet at a time when the industry was booming,” said Mary. “After the war, many trawlers had been requisitioned and fish stocks were healthy. Milford Haven had become a thriving fishing port.”

It was during this time that Donald wrote to an old school friend from his lodgings at The Seaman’s Bethel, Charles Street:

“As you’ll have guessed from my address, the old curse has got me and I’m off to sea again… this time for deep sea trawling. Hard work and good money—and I hope to God it lays my ghosts for keeps.”

“From my window I can see a destroyer anchored in the Roads where we lay ten years ago… The ghosts it brings up are quite unbelievable, quite beyond anything I’d expected or prepared for. Still—hard work and Atlantic air may work wonders.”

The experience proved pivotal. Donald sketched prolifically during his time aboard the Maretta, capturing the daily life, physical strain, and quiet dignity of trawlermen. Later, he would turn many of these sketches into finished artworks.

In the 1950s, Donald returned to Cornwall and married fellow artist Elizabeth Lane. The couple raised three children in a cottage near St Ives. He went on to exhibit his work on board the Cutty Sark in 1969, marking the ship’s centenary, and took on major commissions including paintings of the Mayflower, HMS Bounty, HMS Endeavour, and Suhaili, the yacht sailed solo around the world by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston.

In 1972, the family moved back to Scotland, where Donald continued painting maritime scenes—particularly Clyde paddle steamers—and turned his hand to pottery. Alongside Elizabeth, a Leach-trained potter, he established the Castle-an-Dinas Pottery in Cornwall and later the Isle of Cumbrae Pottery in Scotland.

Donald’s ability to sketch quickly and from life also helped him in portraiture—particularly with children. As he once wrote from the Bethel, “At the moment I’m earning my keep very nicely by drawing people…”

His “Time and Family” portrait series, a visual family history spanning 40 years and three generations, was exhibited multiple times in Scotland and Cornwall.

He and Elizabeth returned to Cornwall in 2000. Donald continued to paint until shortly before his death in November 2004. His final portraits, of his nephew’s children, were sent to Canada just weeks before he died. Elizabeth continued to paint into her 80s, passing away in 2021.

“When I found the drawings, I knew Dad would have wanted them shown in Wales,” said Mary. “With his connection to Milford Haven, the Torch Theatre seemed like the perfect place. I hope people who visit will see something of their own lives in his work.”

The exhibition includes watercolours, oils, and impressionistic sketches—some bearing the names of other trawlers and fellow crew members. One haunting piece, Up Trawl, Ballet of Sleeping Deckies, shows the sheer exhaustion of life at sea. The artworks serve not only as pieces of art but as a record of a vanished way of life—and a tribute to those who lived it.

The exhibition runs throughout May at the Torch Theatre’s Joanna Field Gallery, during Box Office opening hours. For more information, visit www.torchtheatre.co.uk or call (01646) 695267.