Reading about the recent theft of a valuable Leonardo da Vinci painting from a Scottish castle reminded me of an incident which took place in 1957 at Butlins Holiday Camp in Pwllheli, north Wales, where I was the public relations officer.

Each camp had a small chapel on site and some ten years before, Billy Butlin had ordered his agents to buy a number of religious paintings with the specification that each should be large and cost no more then 50 guineas (£52.50).

One of these paintings, measuring 7ft by 5ft 6in, duly arrived at Pwllheli.

When my London head office asked me to supply something for publication in Butlin Church News, a small annual newspaper provided for those using the holiday camp chapels, I thought immediately of the painting and asked my photographer to take a shot of it.

However, the painting hadn't been cleaned for many years, if ever, and was very dark.

The photographer protested he would have to rig up special lighting but even then he doubted if the end result would be fit for publication.

I suggested that, as an experiment, he first take a simple flash photo.

Miraculously, the photograph showed the painting as if it had only recently been painted. All the fine detail invisible to the human eye was now revealed.

The photo was never used in Butlin Church News but more than 20 years later the painting was "discovered". It had been listed as "whereabouts unknown" by art authorities.

It was identified as Lamentation Of The Dead Christ by the renowned Scottish artist William Dyce, who painted it in 1835.

In 1983, the painting was auctioned in London. It fetched £125,000 but would be worth much more today.

Unfortunately, Billy Butlin, who had become Sir Billy, was by then no longer of this world so wasn't able to celebrate the fortuitous outcome of his 50 guinea investment.

-John Rackham, Brighton