BRITAIN AT WAR – AS SEEN BY A ‘KAMP KAT’
Mystery artist’s work set to fetch thousands at auction after lying undiscovered in an attic for five decades...
COMICAL drawings of a wartime cat created by an unknown soldier are set to sell for thousands of pounds after languishing in an attic.
Richard Minton, from Newcastle, is selling the handdrawn illustrations, which feature a feline’s take on Army camp life during the Second World War.
He said they were drawn by a soldier who didn’t make it back from the war. The two manuscript books were rescued by a friend in the camp, Richard’s uncle.
They were kept in a loft for 50 years before Richard inherited them in about 1990.
The 67-year-old said: “I immediately loved the artwork and camp cat story.
“I took the manuscripts to a war museum in London, but they said they had archives of material and didn’t know what to do with them. I then took them to an antiques expert, who dismissed them as prints.
“I wasn’t very impressed as they were clearly pencil work. I also took them to an Army museum in Shropshire. They were very nice and loved them, but didn’t seem to know what to do with them.
“I don’t want them to be hidden away for another 70 years. I want them to be seen and enjoyed.”
The ‘author’ uses the name Little Purr. The camp cat – or kamp kat – and the books take a look at everyday camp life from the cat’s perspective.
Readers see Maurice the Mess Officer having a sly taste of a banger (sausage); a football match, the ‘norty’ soldiers, the ‘charr waller’ enjoying his tea; Curley doing the spud bashin’; the medical room full of ‘pore urted soldiers’ and Mush the rat catcher ‘wi sum of mi dreaded enemies’.
Jim Spencer, a paper and books specialist at Hansons Auctioneers, has hailed the artwork as ‘brilliant’.
He said: “The misspelt words add to the childlike charm and fit in beautifully with the imagery.
Bearing in mind these books were created 79 years ago, what we also have here is a flavour of Army life during the 1939-45 conflict. They are both art and historical record.”
The books, bound in crude wrap-around folders made of salvaged Army supplies, are to be sold at Hansons Auctioneers’ Library Auction on July 5, with an estimate of £2,000 to £4,000.
Jim said: “When I opened the folders, my eyes must’ve lit up. I just kept saying ‘I love it’. The vendor was visibly lifted by this response, as he’d finally found someone who appreciated them.
“The blended crayon reminded me of the work of artist Raymond Briggs. The naïve style was so charming. I’ve handled 13th and 14th century manuscripts, but this was the most remarkable illustrated work I’d ever assessed.
“I suspect many militaria specialists would’ve overlooked the significance of these illustrations. These aren’t medals, or weapons, or uniforms, and they’re not even depicting the battlefield. But I looked at these as a work of art.
“All the incidental detail of passing time in camp. The artist captures everything so perfectly, from peeling potatoes to cleaning between toes. He even captures the texture of itchy bedsheets. It’s art – brilliant art.”
The manuscripts will be sold at Bishton Hall, Wolseley Bridge, near Stafford. For details or to arrange a free valuation, email jspencer@hansonsauctioneers. co.uk.