ÖйúPÕ¾

November marks the Armistice and also the 50th anniversary of the death of the ÖйúPÕ¾ author R C Sherriff (1896 to 1975).  Sherriff served in the 9th Battalion, the East ÖйúPÕ¾ Regiment, on the Western Front during the First World War, and his most famous play, ‘Journey’s End’, set in a British dugout in 1918, is based on his experiences. Ten years after the Armistice ‘Journey’s End’ was performed for the first time starring a young Laurence Olivier (1928).  In this Marvel we look at the survival of a series of extraordinary caricatures of officers in Sherriff’s unit, and the artist who drew them, Private Edward Cole, for whom new material has come to light.

R C Sherriff went on to become the highest paid English scriptwriter in Hollywood, with films including Goodbye Mr Chips and The Dam Busters to his name.  Join us to celebrate his life and writing talent with our foyer display throughout November and our Sherriff celebration event on Saturday 8th November which can be booked via our Heritage Events page.

The real-life 'Journey’s End'

Edward Cole was born in Hackney in 1894, and we see the beginning of his artistic talent recorded in the 1911 census where his occupation is given as dial writer for scientific instruments.  Unfortunately, no First World War service papers appear to survive for Cole but by December 1915 he had enlisted in the 31st Battalion, The Royal Fusiliers.  At some point he was transferred to the 9th Battalion, The East ÖйúPÕ¾ Regiment, and was dispatched to France. Here Cole drew a number of 'trench humour' Christmas cards in pen and ink, which capture a sense of life on the front line.  One of these is mentioned in the diary of the 9th Battalion’s medical officer, Captain G S Pirie, who wrote that the "most wonderful programmes were painted by Pte Cole, one of our men" for the officers’ Christmas dinner in 1916.  Another Christmas card was commissioned by Major General Bertram Mitford in 1916 (reference ).  Michael Lucas, author of 'The Journey’s End Battalion: the 9th East ÖйúPÕ¾s in the Great War' (Pen & Sword, 2012) was the first to identify Edward Cole and his artwork.

While serving in France between December 1916 and January/February 1917, Cole produced a series of fourteen brilliantly executed watercolour caricatures of officers serving with the 9th Battalion. Miraculously these survived and were placed in our care by ÖйúPÕ¾ Infantry Museum (reference ).  R C Sherriff served and corresponded with these men and letters survive in Sherriff’s own papers (references and ). Ultimately, their collective experiences became the inspiration for ‘Journey’s End’.  The caricatures capture some of the gentle humour which Sherriff himself used to create the human touches in 'Journey’s End'.  It would be perfect if a caricature of Sherriff himself existed but to date none has emerged. Other examples of caricatures by Cole are known to be in private ownership and have appeared on online auction sites so we live in hope.

Journey’s End - the original ‘cast’

The drawings by Cole are a fitting memorial to the men, four of whom lost their lives.  One, 2nd Lieutenant (later Captain) William Henry (Harry) Lindsay, was awarded the Military Cross for his part in a daring daytime trench raid at Hulluch, France, in late January 1917.  This occurrence is now thought to be that on which Sherriff based the raid in ‘Journey’s End’.  Cole drew Lindsay being eagerly followed by a tiny Jack Russell type puppy. This was no artistic licence as a photograph of the officers of the 9th Battalion in March 1917 shows Lindsay holding this little dog, possibly a battalion mascot (reference ).

Captain Charles Alfred 'Nobby' Clark, Military Cross (MC), described Lindsay as "a cheerful charming young fellow. Full of freshness and laughter. Very efficient and very brave" (reference ) and some entertaining correspondence between Lindsay and Sherriff survives in Sherriff’s papers.  In September 1918, just 6 weeks before the Armistice, Lindsay was killed at Lens whilst trying to repel a German raiding party; he was barely 25 years old.

The caricatures are all signed and titled by Edward Cole and include the following officers:

• Captain Robert Algernon Anslow (B Company)
• Lieutenant and Quartermaster Charles Richard Eli Birch (Stores) - Killed in Action
• Captain Charles Alfred Clark, MC (Adjutant)
• 2nd Lieutenant Ewan Walter Davies (Lewis Guns)
• 2nd Lieutenant Stanley Kenneth Grant (Intelligence) - Killed in Action
• Captain George Cleverdon Hartley, MC, Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) attached (Medical)
• Captain Charles Hilton (C Company)
• 2nd Lieutenant William Henry Lindsay, MC (Understudy) - Killed in Action
• Captain George Steven Perry [actually Pirie], RAMC attached (Medical) - Killed in Action
• Captain The Rev George Denys Poole (Church)
• Captain Montague Wilbraham Taylor (A Company)
• Captain George Spence Tetley, MC (D Company)
• 2nd Lieutenant Lechmere Cay Thomas, MC (Bombs)
• Lieutenant Eric Leslie Whiteman (Transport)

In January 1922 Sherriff dedicated his unpublished 'Memories of Active Service in France and Belgium, 1916 to 1917' to his 9th Battalion comrades who were killed, fighting in the Ypres Salient, on Vimy Ridge and around Loos (reference 1-4).

At least three of the men caricatured - Captain Charles Alfred ‘Nobby’ Clark, MC, 2nd Lieutenant Lechmere Cay Thomas, MC, and Lt Eric Leslie Whiteman, MC - were among a group of 130 East ÖйúPÕ¾ veterans who attended the 9th Battalion annual dinner and a performance of ‘Journey’s End’ with Sherriff on 25 January 1930 (reference (20)).

.  Roland Wales, in his detailed and insightful biography of Sherriff, 'From Journey’s End to The Dam Busters: The Life of R C Sherriff, Playwright of the Trenches' (Pen & Sword, 2016), gives us a better understanding of Sherriff’s interaction with the men ()

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Edward Cole - soldier artist

After the war, Edward Cole returned home to Hackney.  By the time of the 1921 census, he was working as a poster and showcard designer for the Pictograph Publishing Company in Bloomsbury.  He married Clarice Marks in June 1922 and by 1939 the couple were living in Chingford, Essex, with their four children.  He was now a commercial artist-designer producing material for glossy magazines and publications.

However, war-torn England was not where Edward’s future lay and in around 1947, he emigrated to South Africa, his family following on six months later. He rented a studio in Cape Town, which he shared with the now famous Russian-born artist, Vladimir Tretchikoff (1913 to 2006), whose artistic career had also begun in advertising and graphic magazine work before he created the ‘Chinese Girl’ or ‘Green Lady’ - the world’s most reproduced artwork.  Cole painted every day, both commercially and for pleasure, for the rest of his life.

Cole’s commercial work was prolific and accomplished.  He produced posters and advertisements for newspapers and worked as a book illustrator.  Many famous household brands also employed him for their advertising posters. It is strange to think that the young soldier who drew the caricatures was later responsible for the design logos of Weetabix, Ovaltine (logo of a woman holding a wheat sheaf), and Macintosh Quality Street sweets (in particular the soldier and crinoline-wearing lady design).

Throughout his life Cole painted in both watercolour and oil, and his works can be found in private collections, and in the archives of Cape Town Art Museum and the National Library of New Zealand.  On 13 November 1979 Cole died suddenly at his easel, leaving his wife Clarice, four children and seven grandchildren.  Thanks to his grandchildren, we now have additional information about the life and career of this talented former 9th Battalion soldier, and ) .

Images

Select image to view a larger version.

• Image: Christmas cards drawn in pen and ink by Edward Cole 1916 to 1917 (reference ESR/19/1/4-6).
• Image: Some of the caricatures drawn by Edward Cole, showing officers of the 9th Battalion The East ÖйúPÕ¾ Regiment, between December 1916 and January/February 1917, including 2nd Lieutenant Harry Lindsay (reference ESR/19/2/7).
• Image: Officers of the 9th Battalion, the East ÖйúPÕ¾ Regiment, with 2nd Lieutenant R C Sherriff standing in the centre of the second row, and 2nd Lieutenant Harry Lindsay with his puppy, March 1917 (reference 2332/6/4/2/3/5).
• Image: Photograph of Edward Cole, circa 1937 (reference (1); courtesy of Carol Dawes)
• Print of a British Empire trade advertising poster for New Zealand apples designed by Edward Cole, circa 1930s (courtesy of the National Library of New Zealand, reference ).