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He is most famous for his illustrations for Winnie-the-Pooh, AA Milne’s popular series of children’s books. Yet EH Shepard did far more than draw what he came to regard as “that silly old bear”: he also created an array of work from the First World War, an archive of which has just been compiled.

The images, one of which is exclusively reproduced above, have never been publicly available before. They were created while Shepard was serving at the Somme, Arras and Passchendaele, and depict daily life for British soldiers in the Great War. While they show the style familiar from Shepard’s children’s books, they more closely reflect the political and social sketches he regarded as his main strength.

“Much coverage of the war has inevitably been about the enormous casualties, but

“Shepard shows us behind the scenes of the war, into both the domestic and the personal”

Shepard shows us behind the scenes, into both the domestic and personal, and also the aftermath – sometimes poignant and sometimes humorous,” says James Campbell, the curator of a new book featuring the illustrator’s drawings and letters. “He often looks at the lighter side of the war, gently mocking well-known national stereotypes.”

The fact that the illustrations were split between a number of institutions, including the University of Surrey, meant that the full extent of the collection had not previously been known. They often take the form of unfinished sketches, and together reveal more about Shepard’s life and career. Having already worked on illustrated editions of books including Aesop’s Fables, he served as an army officer from 1915 until the end of the war – continuing to send back work for the satirical magazine Punch while he did so.

“These war illustrations act as a bridge between Shepard’s early work and the later maturity of his images for Winnie-the-Pooh,” says Campbell. “They demonstrate an increasing confidence and economy of line that nonetheless conjures up life and movement – something that he was to exploit so successfully in his later animal drawings.”

As with many men of his generation, however, Shepard also had a tragic personal connection to the war. Letters included in the new collection relate the death of his brother, Cyril, who was killed on the first day of the battle of the Somme on 1 July 1916. “This material offers a very personal view of the war, from the tragedy of Shepard’s brother’s death to the humour of cartoons teasing the Germans and the British ‘Tommy’ alike,” says Campbell. “The incredible range of his talent, from technical drawings to cartoons and sketches, shows the highs and lows of this conflict.”

Shepard’s War has just been published by LOM Art. An accompanying exhibition runs at House of Illustration in London until 10 January 2016: houseofillustration.org.uk

A previously unseen illustration by EH Shepard shows a sergeant major drilling new recruits. “Shepard depicts a scene that could be on any parade ground – but he somehow communicates the anxiety and innocence of the new recruits,” says James Campbell,...

A photograph of EH Shepard taken before he left for war in 1915. The illustrator sent drawings home from the front throughout the conflict

Battle lines One of Shepard’s war illustrations, dating from 1916. In the caption, the officer enquires: “So you want me to read your girl’s letter to you?” The soldier replies: “Sure, sir, and as it’s rather private, will you please stuff some cotton...