INF3-276 Anti-rumour and careless talk Put a sock in it!

Herbert Samuel Thomas (13 October 1883 – 6 September 1966) was a British political

cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and ...

contributing to '' Punch'' magazine and the creator of well-known British propaganda posters during the First and Second World Wars.

Career

Thomas joined ''Punch'' in 1905 and contributed until 1935. During the First World War he was in the

Artists Rifles The 21 Special Air Service Regiment (Artists) (Reserve), historically known as The Artists Rifles is a regiment of the Army Reserve. Its name is abbreviated to 21 SAS(R). Raised in London in 1859 as a volunteer light infantry unit, the regimen ...

. Thomas' political cartoons started to be included in gallery exhibitions as artistic caricatures as early as 1913, in an exhibition on the Strand by the Society of Humorous Art and in 1916 his cartoon against the Clyde strikers with the

Kaiser ''Kaiser'' is the German word for "emperor" (female Kaiserin). In general, the German title in principle applies to rulers anywhere in the world above the rank of king (''König''). In English, the (untranslated) word ''Kaiser'' is mainly ap ...

saying "pass friend" to a striker was a featured exhibit in an exhibition of war cartoons in the Graves Galleries on Pall Mall. In 1918 he became nationally known for his cartoon "Arf a mo, Kaiser", drawn in ten minutes for the '' Smokes for Tommy'' Weekly Dispatch campaign. The cartoon raised nearly a quarter of a million pounds towards "comforts" (tobacco and cigarettes) for front line troops and the image was re-drawn and used during the Second World War with the caption "Arf a mo, 'itler". The Germans banned the "Arf a mo, 'itler" cartoon and to ensure British prisoners did not have their comfort parcels confiscated, he created a variation with the caption "Are we downhearted?" He was made MBE in the

1918 Birthday Honours The 1918 Birthday Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of The King, 3 June a ...

Personal life

Thomas married Elizabeth Florette Bowen (1887/8–1949) on 7 October 1909. They had four sons and two daughters. His son Peter also drew cartoons for ''Punch''. Thomas died at his home at 33 Inverness Terrace, Bayswater, London, on 6 September 1966, from a

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

. He was buried at Kensal Green Cemetery, London. The sculptor Ivor Thomas (1873–1913) was his brother.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Bert World War I artists 1966 deaths 1883 births Punch (magazine) cartoonists British people of World War I British people of World War II People from Newport, Wales Propaganda cartoons Artists' Rifles soldiers British cartoonists British Army personnel of World War I Members of the Order of the British Empire World War II artists British war artists Welsh editorial cartoonists