The Australian War Memorial Collection. Test site
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 deaths of American civilians by not buying immunity from attack by the German navy. It depicts a number of male and female corpses, on the sea bed, one of whom rises upwards towards a man looking out of a porthole, on the edge of a submarine, calling out a message to the dead below. When published in the 'Daily Sketch' the cartoon was accompanied by the following text; ' The U boat murderer (to American victims): "It's your own fault, your Government would not make it worth our while not to do it!". This cartoon was also published in Dyson's 'War Cartoons' (London, 1916) with this caption; 'This cartoon of the "Lusitania" Anniversary is full of tragic interest and suggestion. It represents the German military authority as being willing to avoid murder if he is properly paid. His idea of proper payment is the sacrifice of British naval sea-power when directed against Germany in the scheme of Blockade with the destruction of the German "Freedom of the Seas" in time of war. The agony and distress of the innocent, haggard victims of German butchery are in suggestive contrast to the blatant, bestial face of the German U-boat Commander above'. 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 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
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
Depicts a figure of a German officer, in uniform wearing a helmet and cape, looking behind him at a fire burning, while in front of him is a man holding a bill with the words 'Reply to America' on it.
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 a caricature of Kaiser Wilhelm, with the figure of a horned and cloven hoofed beast (possibly the Devil), standing in front of the figure of the United States President Woodrow Wilson, seated
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
Depicts the figure of Julius Caesar, emperor (in the guise of a German officer) standing on top of a dais, surveying the scene before him of the sinking and bombing of a ship (possibly the Lusitania)
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
