Fougasse
Kenneth Cyril Bird 1887 - 1965
Was a cartoonist and humourist who made a unique contribution to Britain's home-front during WW2. Bird signed his work Fougasse. A name he took from an unpredictable form of French land-mine in WWl. He and his comrades discovered, through bitter experience, that the bomb was likely to go off at any time.
Bird's own personality was anything but explosive. He was remembered by his colleagues at Punch as a quiet and withdrawn man. His drawings and cartoons, like HM Bateman's, offer a social commentary on British middle-class anxieties in the middle decades of the last century.
Fougasse was commissioned by RoSPA to produce illustrated guides for road safety during the 1930's. The objectives of RoSPA were achieved by appeal to the ideal of courteous driving and road-side manners. Similarly, his posters for London Transport show passengers how their behaviour can make the transport system work better for everyone. Fougasse always acknowledged these posters as propaganda. Indeed, he devised a series of guidelines for the successful communication of propaganda messages through humour.
The stoic good humour of the British people during WW2 is one of the founding mythologies of the home-front. The popular experience of the war is recalled by reference to the ubiquitous Careless Talk posters that Fougasse drew for the MInistry of Information. The posters (as can be seen above) were published as a series of eight drawings in many formats. They were displayed in any public place and in many military establishments. Each of the drawings shows Hitler and Goering, in absurd poses, evesdropping on an unsuspecting public. The posters succeed in making a serious point light-heartedly. Although printed in very large editions during the war, the posters are rare today. Examples in good condition are extremely difficult to find.
Measures 12,1/2" x 8" (32 x 20 cm).
For more information please contact us: CoolStuffAcrossThePond
