THE release last year of The Railway Children Return sparked many memories for people locally.

A much-anticipated sequel to the classic 1970 movie, The Railway Children, it was filmed like the original on the Keighley & Worth Valley line and took in many of the same locations.

The sequel has gone on to attract much acclaim.

Amongst those who captured the essence of the filming for the first movie was artist and teacher Peter Kenneth Cowley Jackson.

And his contribution – and wider portfolio of work – is recorded by Silsden arts supporter Colin Neville, curator of the Not Just Hockney website.

He says: "To mark the filming of The Railway Children in 1970, scores of local people bought copies of a print produced by Peter depicting the actors, crew and recognisable residents mingling at the top of Haworth Main Street.

"By the time the film was launched, Peter had become a familiar figure in and around the village with his sketchbook.

"Over 800 prints of the original painting were made and sold and the image caught the public's attention for its naturalness, detail and luminosity of colouring. And it was the start of a particularly fruitful period for the artist."

Peter Jackson, also known as Ken or PKC to his students and friends, was born at Windhill, Shipley, in September 1930.

He studied initially at Shipley Art College. He then gained a scholarship to study at Leeds College of Art and was subsequently awarded an advanced scholarship with the Royal College of Art (RCA) in London.

In 1966, after gaining associate membership of the RCA, Peter moved back to Shipley to work as a freelance artist and as an art teacher at the old Haworth Secondary School.

Following his work around The Railway Children Peter's career took a major step forward when in 1979 he was commissioned to paint a portrait of former Prime Minister Harold Wilson, to celebrate his period in office as Chancellor of the University of Bradford.

More than a dozen other painting commissions for academic and professional associations followed and subjects included Donald G Hopewell, long-time president of the Bronte Society, in 1982.

Colin says: "All of Peter's portrait paintings really stand out for the painstaking detail of the artwork, and for the way the colour shines out from the canvas. This is work that will stand the test of time."

Peter died in 2006.