Bruce Bairnsfather (1887-1959) - Captain Bruce Bairnsfather was a British humourist and cartoonist during WW I. Prior to the war, Bairnsfather who was born in India, worked as an electrical engineer, then drew advertising sketches for Lipton’s tea, Players’ cigarettes, Keen’s mustard and Beecham’s pills. In 1914, he joined the Royal Warwickshire Regiment and served with a machine gun in France.
After he was hospitalized in 1915, with shell shock and hearing loss, he began to draw cartoons about life in the trenches. His most famous character was “Old Bill”, who was an old soldier with a walrus moustache and balaclava. His cartoons were great morale boosters for the troops. The most famous of the cartoons shows Old Bill and another trooper in a muddy hole, being shelled – Bill advises – “If you knows of a better ‘ole, go to it”. He also wrote cartoons for the Allies during WW II.
Bairnsfather's drawings were published in a series of books entitled: 'Fragments from France'. He also published two books on his war experiences, 'Bullets & Billets' (1916) and 'From Mud to Mufti' (1919). They also appeared in the Bystander, a British weekly tabloid magazine that featured reviews, topical drawings, cartoons and short stories.
Due to the immense popularity of Bairnsfather’s illustrations, it was inevitable they would soon appear on postcards – and they did! Published by the Bystander as ‘Fragments from France’, fifty four of the artists best cartoons - printed in sepia on soft card - were released in nine sets of six cards each. Many of them depicted 'Old Bill', the "Tommy's favourite wartime character.”
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