Bruce Bairnsfather

The famous cartoonist of World War 1 was a captain in the 3rd Battalion Royal Warwicks serving in the trenches in France. He was the Machine Gun Officer until he was invalided home after the battle of Ypres. He contributed regularly to The Bystander and his character Old Bill became the representative of all soldiers who experienced the horror and absurdity of trench warfare.
He was born in India in 1887, the son of an officer who had served in the Cheshires. Both his parents were involved in the arts, his mother was a painter and his father a musician. Back in England they lived in Bishopton near Stratford upon Avon. Bruce joined the Militia Battalion in 1905 but later transferred to the Cheshires for a short time. He trained at Hassall Art College but also had jobs in engineering. In September 1914 he was commissioned into the 3rd (Service Reserve) Battalion Warwicks.
After the war he worked in the theatre, acting and producing but still produced cartoons. In World War 2 he was the official cartoonist to the American Forces in Europe. He died in 1959.

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