Open AccessThis article deals with a handpainted calender for 1945 painted by a South African artist, Peter Ogilvie. He was a prisoner of war in Stalag 344 Germany during which time he painted the calender for a Canadian prisoner of war.
During his sojourn with her parents, the Canadian presented this calender to the mother of Mrs Erica Balland and the latter has returned it to South Africa after 41 years, to be preserved for posterity.
The widow of Peter Ogilvie was traced in Somerset-West and the calender shown to her. She, in turn revealed, that a friend of Peter Ogilvies, Newman Robinson had written a diary dealing with his and Ogilvie's experiences during the Second World War. Ogilvie was responsible for the drawings in the diary.
In this manner, much of the history of the time when the calender was painted has been preserved and is related in the article below.