Ronald Searle
Although Searle published the first St Trinian's cartoon in the magazine Lilliput in 1941, his professional career really begins with his documentation of the brutal camp conditions of his period as a prisoner-of-war of the Japanese in World War II in a series of drawings that he hid under the mattresses of prisoners dying of cholera.Liberated late in 1945, Searle returned to England, where he published several of the drawings in fellow prisoner Russell Braddon's The Naked Island.I think that’s why I never really left my prison cell, because it gave me my measuring stick for the rest of my life... Basically all the people we loved and knew and grew up with simply became fertiliser for the nearest bamboo.At least one of his drawings is on display at the Changi Museum and Chapel, Singapore, but the majority of his originals are in the permanent collection of the Imperial War Museum, London, along with the works of other POW artists.[8] They depict the Australian soldier Henry "Lofty" Cannon, who Searle credits with saving his life while they were prisoners of war.In addition to advertisements and posters, Searle drew the title backgrounds of the Sidney Gilliat and Frank Launder film The Happiest Days of Your Life.[3] In 2007, he was decorated with one of France's highest awards, the Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur, and in 2009, he received the German Lower Saxony Order of Merit.Significantly, he was an important influence on the work and style of both Gerald Scarfe[16] and Ralph Steadman — with who there is an obvious link with the scratchy, ink splotting style they all use — along with Chris Riddell, as well as inspiring and corresponding in late life with Martin Rowson to whom he gave a precious set of pens that he had bought in Paris.His work has had a great deal of influence, particularly on American cartoonists, including Edward Gorey, Pat Oliphant,[18] Matt Groening,[19] Hilary Knight,[20] and the animators of Disney's 101 Dalmatians.
Ron SearleCambridgeDraguignansatiricalcartoonistSt Trinian's SchoolGeoffrey WillansMolesworthParkside SchoolAnglia Ruskin UniversityRoyal Engineers287th Field Company, RESingaporeMalayafell to the JapaneseChangi PrisonDeath RailwayberiberimalariaNuremberg trialsAdolf EichmannKaye WebbHaute ProvenceSt Trinian'sLilliputprisoner-of-war of the JapaneseWorld War IIcholeraRussell BraddonImperial War MuseumJohn MennieJack Bridger ChalkerPhilip MeninskyAshley George OldState Library of VictoriaHolidayThe New YorkerSunday ExpressNews ChronicleAlex AtkinsonSidney GilliatFrank LaunderThe Happiest Days of Your LifeBritish Art Medal SocietyThose Magnificent Men in their Flying MachinesMonte Carlo or Bust!Dick Deadeye, or Duty DoneH.M.S. PinaforeThomas Fattorini LtdPisanelloRoyal MintBirmingham MintWilhelm Busch MuseumHanoverGeorge I of HanoverNational Cartoonists SocietyReuben AwardCommander of the Order of the British EmpireChevalier de la Légion d'honneurLower Saxony Order of Meritpolitical cartoonsGerald ScarfeRalph SteadmanChris RiddellMartin RowsonS. J. PerelmanEdward GoreyPat OliphantMatt GroeningHilary Knight101 DalmatiansJohn LennonIn His Own WriteA Spaniard in the WorksD. B. Wyndham-LewisCecil Day-LewisOliver PhilpotPatrick CampbellH. E. BatesChristopher FryThe Diverting History of John GilpinWilliam CowperRichard HaydnGeoffrey GorerAngus WilsonRobert GravesCharles DickensJames ThurberE. W. HildickKildare DobbsGilbert and SullivanIrwin ShawTom LehrerLee WardlawJeffrey ArcherRoger LewisMusée Tomi Ungerer/Centre international de l’illustrationWar artistWayback MachineVictoria and Albert MuseumHudson's Bay CompanySteve BellValerie GroveDesert Island DiscsOECD ObserverThe SpectatorFrankfurter AllgemeineLe MondeRadio TimesWinsor McCay AwardBrad BirdEric GoldbergWalt PeregoyBørge RingTerry GilliamMark HennKatsuhiro OtomoSteven SpielbergPhil TippettDidier BrunnerDon LuskLee MendelsonJoe RanftPhil RomanIsao TakahataDale Baer