Cyril Kenneth Bird
(1887-1965), 'Fougasse'; caricaturistSitter in 31 portraits
Cartoonist best known for his editorship of Punch magazine and his iconic World War II propaganda posters. During World War I he was seriously injured and invalided out of the British Army. He first contributed to Punch in 1916 while convalescing, and also contributed to several other British newspapers and magazines, including the Graphic and Tatler. His adopted pseudonym was based on the fougasse, a type of French mine. He was art editor of Punch from 1937 to 1949, then editor until 1953. During World War II, he worked for free for the Ministry of Information, designing humorous but effective propaganda posters including the famous 'Careless Talk Costs Lives' series.
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David Harvey
26 October 2021, 11:00
Bird was elected Master of the Art Worker's Guild in 1951