Cecil George Charles King (1881-1942) – British artist

 Found by Ognyan Hristov and posted on the Artists of the First World War Facebook page on 20th March 2026 

Cecil George Charles King was born on 6th August 1881 in Gunnersbury, Hounslow, London, UK.  His parents were Geroge F. King, a Merchant and Barge Owner and his wife Alice. 

Cecil initially studied engineering but, in a change of profession, he chose to study art instead in London at the Goldsmiths School of Art and the Westminster School of Art. He also studied in Paris, where he worked with Jean-Paul Laurens and Théophile-Alexandre Steinlen.

Beginning in August 1917, Cecil worked under Norman Wilkinson at Burlington House (Royal College of Art) as his "right-hand man" in the newly established wartime Dazzle Camouflage Team (1917–1918), designed to camouflage British merchant ships.

Cecil's obituary in “The Times” newspaper of 10th December 1942 states that Ceco; served in the trenches during the First World War. Records also indicate that he was a Captain in the 25th (County of London) Cyclist Battalion of the London Regiment and later with the Army Cyclist Corps.

Sources: Wikipedia, Find my Past, https://www.facebook.com/groups/385353788875799

Charles Pears, RI ROI, RSMA (1873 – 1958) - British artist

 Found by Ognyan Hristov and posted on the Artists of the First World War Facebook page on 3rd April 2026

Charles Pears was born in Pontefract, Yorkshire, UK on 9th September 1873. His parents were George W. Pears, a hosier and outfitter and his wife, Sarah M. Pears, who were both from Pontefract.

Charles studied nearby at East Hardwick and Pomfret College, where he started a lifelong appreciation of Canaletto. Beginning in 1890, Charles worked as an illustrator throughout his career. His early illustrated works were included in msagazines – “The Yellow Book”, “Punch” and “The Graphic” and in the volume entitled “Salt-Water Poems and Ballads” by John Masefield.

Commissioned as an officer into the Royal Marines during the First World War, Charles also worked as an official War Artist during both the First and Second World Wars. 

From 1913 to 1936, Pears was a prolific poster artist, working for London Underground.   He also created posters for the Empire Marketing Board, the Metropolitan Railway, Southern Railway, London, Midland & Scottish Railway, London & North Eastern Railway and Great Western Railway and later  created works for British Railways.

Charles moved to Saint Mawes, Cornwall in semi-retirement, and died in Truro on 28th January 1958. He is commemorated in an annual prize awarded by the Royal Society of Marine Artists, the Charles Pears Memorial Award

Sources:  Wikipedia, Find my Past and https://www.facebook.com/groups/385353788875799

Illustration:  Transporting the troops, 1917, lithographPlate 64 from the Transport by Sea set, in “The Great War: - Britain's Efforts and Ideals” series, commissioned by the British Department of Information; published by the Fine Arts Society, London, 1917: