Seeing it Through - Thank you, Fire Fighters... Accession Number: ARTV00328

Description

British Second World War poster features a female fire fighter, in uniform, driving a fire truck. Beneath the image is 3 stanzas of poetry by A.P Herbert. This is one of a series of 6 posters commissioned by London Transport which combines portraits by Eric Henri Kennington (b.12 march 1888 d. 13 April 1960. British artist and sculptor and an official war artist during both wars) with poetry by Sir Alan Patrick Herbert (A.P. Herbert English Humorist, novelist, playwright and law reform activist). Each poster features a portrait of an member of the London Transport workforce and alludes to the heroicised notion that by doing their daily work, these people in their commonplace occupations are 'seeing it through' that is, helping the war effort.

Kennington also created many pastel portraits and lithographs. His Second World War portraits are distinctive for their use of intense colours. During the Second World War Kennington was personally commissioned to do work for the Ministry of Information by Edwin Embleton. Darracott and Loftus describe how in both wars "his drawings and letters show him to be an admirer of the heroism of ordinary men and women", an admiration which is particularly notable in the poster series "Seeing it Through".

Details

Accession Number
ARTV00328
Artist
Eric Henri Kennington
Publisher
London Transport
Printer
The Baynard Press
Classification
Art
Object Type
Poster
Measurement
Overall: 81.5 cm x 56.5 cm
Medium
offset lithograph on paper
Date Made
1944
Place Made
Whole/Part
Whole
Item Count
1
Credit Line
Transferred from the AWM Research Centre 1979
Copyright
Unlicensed copyright

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Last modified: 24 September 2025 - 2.11 am