Robert Norton Ayton (1915–1985) was a British comics artist and illustrator who worked for the ''

Eagle Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...

'' and

Ladybird Books Ladybird Books are a London-based publishing company, trading as a stand-alone imprint within the Penguin Group of companies. The Ladybird imprint publishes mass-market children's books. It is an imprint of Penguin Random House, a subsidiary o ...

. He was born in

Bowes Park Bowes Park () is situated on the borders of Wood Green, Palmers Green and Bounds Green in London, England. The postcodes for Bowes Park are N postcode area, N13 and N22. The border between the London boroughs of London Borough of Enfield, Enfield ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and educated at the

Harrow School of Art Harrow may refer to: Places * Harrow, Victoria, Australia * Harrow, Ontario, Canada * The Harrow, County Wexford, a village in Ireland * London Borough of Harrow, England * Harrow, London, a town in London * Harrow (UK Parliament constituency) ...

, and may also have attended the

Central School of Art and Design The Central School of Art and Design was a school of fine and applied arts in London, England. It offered foundation and degree level courses. It was established in 1896 by the London County Council as the Central School of Arts and Crafts. ...

and Hammersmith School of Art. He became a commercial artist with several advertising agencies before going freelance, drawing commissions for

Castrol Castrol Limited is a British oil company that markets industrial and automotive lubricants, offering a wide range of oil, greases and similar products for most lubrication applications. The company was originally named CC Wakefield; the nam ...

and

Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...

among others. He was called up for military service during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, but returned to illustrating once demobbed.Eagle Artists - Robert Ayton
Eagle Times, 12 December 2009 He became friends with fellow illustrator Norman Williams, who recruited him for

Marcus Morris Marcus Thomas Morris Sr. (born September 2, 1989) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Kansas Jayhawks befor ...

' new comic, the ''

'', in 1950. He drew "

Jack O'Lantern A jack-o'-lantern (or jack o'lantern) is a carved lantern, most commonly made from a pumpkin, or formerly a root vegetable such as a mangelwurzel, rutabaga or turnip. Jack-o'-lanterns are associated with the Halloween holiday. Its name comes ...

", a historical series about an orphan in the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

, written by

George Beardmore George may refer to: Names * George (given name) * George (surname) People * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Papagheorghe, also known as Jorge / GEØRGE * George, stage name of Giorg ...

. When Williams died in 1957, Ayton drew the final episode of his strip, " The Great Sailor", a biography of

Lord Nelson Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte ( – 21 October 1805) was a Royal Navy officer whose leadership, grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics brought about a number of decisive British naval victories during the French ...

. He left "Jack O'Lantern" in 1959, after which it was drawn by

Cecil Langley Doughty Cecil Langley Doughty (7 November 1913 – 26 October 1985) was a British comics artist and illustrator, best known for his work in the comic ''Knockout'' and the educational weekly ''Look and Learn''. His historical illustrations were used in a h ...

, but lasted only another 31 weeks. After two years away from comics, he drew illustrations for ''

Girl A girl is a young female human, usually a child or an adolescent. While the term ''girl'' has other meanings, including ''young woman'',Dictionary.com, "Girl"'' Retrieved January 2, 2008. '' daughter'' or '' girlfriend'' regardless of age ...

'', before returning to the ''Eagle'' to draw "

The Golden Man "The Golden Man" is an 11,600-word science fiction short story by American writer Philip K. Dick. It was received by the Scott Meredith Literary Agency on June 24, 1953, and first published in the April 1954 issue of ''If (magazine), If'' magaz ...

", a biography of

Sir Walter Raleigh Sir Walter Raleigh (; – 29 October 1618) was an English statesman, soldier, writer and explorer. One of the most notable figures of the Elizabethan era, he played a leading part in English colonisation of North America, suppressed rebellio ...

written by Guy Daniel and Marcus Morris. He went on to produce illustrations for

, the

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

and

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

Bristol, and taught illustration part-time at the

West of England College of Art The University of the West of England (also known as UWE Bristol) is a Public university, public research university, located in and around Bristol, England, UK. With more than 39,912 students and 4,300 staff, it is the largest provider of hi ...

. From 1980 he was a member of the artistic group the Bristol Savages. In 1983 he and his wife Joan, who had no children, moved from Bristol to a smaller house in Nailsea, where two years later, aged 70, he died after a heart attack.

References

British comics artists British illustrators 1915 births 1985 deaths Alumni of the Central School of Art and Design {{UK-comics-creator-stub