Captain Bruce Bairnsfather

Captain Bruce Bairnsfather became world-famous during the First World War as creator of Old Bill, the blob-nosed walrus moustached old soldier who appeared in many of his cartoons depicting life at the Front. Published weekly in “The Bystander” magazine from 1915 they caught the imagination of both the men on the front line, and their families back home. Bairnsfather became a household name and published volumes of his cartoons sold over a million copies. In 1916 he was transferred to the Intelligence Department of the War Office, and officially appointed “Officer Cartoonist,” touring the French, Italian and American armies in this capacity.

Captain Bruce Bairnsfather, once described as “The Man who Won the War” and “the world’s greatest cartoonist” died in Littleworth on 29th September 1959 at the age of 72. In a career lasting forty five years he had done an enormous amount of different things, almost always accompanied by Old Bill, and almost fifty years after his death still has a large following among enthusiasts and collectors worldwide.