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Thomas was born in Newport, Wales to Job Thomas, a sculptor.
When he left school he was apprenticed as a commercial
metal engraver, specialising in the design of brass
door plates. In the early 1900s Thomas moved to London
and his work began to make his war in to magazines and
newspapers, and he 'quickly made his way to the front
rank of humorous cartoonists'. His work was published
in Punch Magazine, Evening News, London
Opinion, The Graphic, and The Bystander.
Married and living in Hatch End, Middlesex, prior to
the First World War Thomas also designed advertisements
and theatrical and commercial posters, which demonstrated
a strong awareness of German design.
In the First World War Thomas designed the 'Arf a
Mo, Kaiser' campaign for the Weekly Despatch tobacco
fund campaign, through which he became known nationally,
and raised £250,000 to provide troops with tobacco
and cigarettes. Thomas designed posters during both
world wars, mostly for the National Service and the
railways in the Second. His two designs for 'Is Your
Journey Really Necessary?' were used as posters by
the Railway Executive Committee from 1942 to 1944,
and occasionally as a newspaper advertisement. Thomas
was a notable member of the London Sketch Club in
the 1940s. He was one of many Punch Magazine artists
influenced by Phil May. Thomas produced several cartoon
books including Red and Black: A Book of Drawings
(1928), Cartoons and Character Drawings (1936),
Fun at the Seaside (1944), Fun on the Farm
(1944), A Mixed Bag (1945), Fun in the Country
(1946) and A Trip on a Barge (1947).
Information collated from: Darracott, J.,
and Loftus, B., Second World War Posters, 1972
(1981 edition), p.56; Spartacus Schoolnet, 'Bert Thomas',
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/ARTthomas.htm,
accessed September 21 2003; Farman, J., 'galleryonthegreen.co.uk',
http://www.galleryonthegreen.co.uk/mainfiles/sketch/history.htm,
accessed October 3 2003
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