Today is of course the 76th anniversary of D-Day. War artist (and mater children's boom illustrator) Edward Ardizzone travelled with British troops as the D-Day invasion took place, sketching on the landing craft as the men prepared to hit the beach.
#DDay76
Before the war Ardizzone wrote and illustrated the first book that would bring him to fame: Little Tim and the Brave Sea Captain, published by Oxford University Press. Post-war he did many Penguin covers for children's books.
But in 1940 Edward Ardizzone began to work full-time for the War Office as an official war artist. He followed the British Expeditionary Force to France and covered it's retreat through Dunkirk.
The War Office felt Ardizzone’s intimate and understated style would help Britons better understand the War and what life in the forces was actually like. After France, Ardizzone was posted to Cairo and then Italy, before joining British troops for the D-Day landings.
Edward Ardizzone won many awards for his illustrations during his lifetime, and a blue plaque commemorating his work can be seen at Albion Quay in Ipswich.
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