The Australian War Memorial Collection. Test site
Depicts the dejected figure of Kaiser Wilhelm II slumped in his throne, overshadowed by the huge winged figure of Death, a skeleton wearing a robe and carrying a sickle. This cartoon was published in Dyson's book, 'War Cartoons' (1916) with the following commentary, 'this cartoon...belongs to a period of war sufficiently advanced for all the joy of battle and cocksureness of mission and triumph to have been whelmed...the Kaiser is here a far ghastlier and more tragic figure than bony Death. This is the Kaiser after he has really undergone 'the change of heart' we are fighting to bring about in Germany, the Kaiser who goes about whining "Ich habe es nicht gewollt"...militarism is already conscious of its bankruptcy'.
Dyson's anti-German cartoons drawn after the publication of 'Kultur Cartoons' in 1915 were probably done in 1916 for the 'Daily Sketch' journal because before January 1916 and the introduction of conscription Dyson's cartoons concentrated on fighting conscription. From 1915, a number of Dyson's caricatures were published, characterised by his response to Germany's military monarchy. Using a figure loosely based on the Kaiser, Dyson identified the 'common enemy' and attacked it with vigour.
When some of his anti-German cartoons were published in 1915, they were accompanied by the following foreword; 'Mr. Dyson...responds to all the fearful pressure of this war in cartoons. He perceives a militaristic monarchy and national pride a threat to the world, to civilisation, and all that he holds dear, and straightaway he sets about to slay it with his pencil...he turns his passionate gift against Berlin."
Will Dyson was the first Australian official war artist to visit the front during the First World War, travelling to France in December 1916, remaining there until May 1917, making records of the Australian involvement in the war. He was formally appointed as an official war artist, attached to the AIF, in May 1917, working in France and London throughout the war. His commission was terminated in March 1920.
Depicts the figure of the god of war, Mars, standing astride a canon and tearing up a piece of paper, a deed, on which is written ; 'I, Mars, God of War, hereby do promise To Germany Kingship over all
Depicts a caricature of two men (one possibly the British Prime Minister, or a thin and fat German man walking) standing above a landscape with thousands of young men below heading towards the recruit
This cartoon was published in 'Daily Sketch', London, 8 May 1916, on the anniversary of the sinking of the SS Lusitania, in effect blaming the government of the United States for the sinking and death
Depicts a caricature of Kaiser Wilhelm II climbing up a huge pile of human skulls, representing war dead, while smoking ruins appear in the background. Dyson's distinctive biting satire aimed at war a
Depicts the figures of a Prussian officer, holding his helmet in his left hand, the female figure of Columbia, standing holding a sword and the female figure of Humanity, with wings and a small child
Depicts a figure of a Prussian officer and a man, possibly the British Prime Minister, standing on top of a hill, with surprised expressions on their faces, while airplanes circle around them and over
This cartoon was published in 'Land and Water' 4 December 1915, in London, and comments on the German idea that the East had been made to take the place of Paris, Calais and Petrograd, Russia as the '
Depicts the cartoon published in the London 'Daily News', 26 October 1915, commenting on the execution of Edith Cavell, a British nurse accused by the Germans of being a spy. The slumped and bloodied
Depicts a German family scene, consisting of a mother, holding baby and scolding a small child for disturbing her father. The father, a German officer in uniform, slumps wearily in a chair. The captio
Depicts the figures of two German men; one is standing and crying, while the other is seated at a desk, writing in a ledger book. The text accompanying this cartoon, when it was published in the 'Dail