Old Bill

The first time I glimpsed my eyes on the figure of Ole Bill was last Summer at the Imperial War Museum in Lambeth Road, London. I was there because my boyfriend is into everything and anything related to the war, especially WWII; from the technologies and weapons used, to the uniforms and propaganda (I assure you he isn't a fanatic who sleeps caressing a gun under the blankets...well, never checked, I hope so though!). He's just keen to learn about history. To be honest, I didn't really share this interest of his, but after the visit I found that the museum wasn't boring as I had expected it to be, and there were an array of interesting things to admire and learn about. 

The Imperial War Museum of London is part of five museums, disbursed in different venues in London and England. These museums are dedicated to all aspects of the wars of the past century (anyone remember the “big boat” on the Thames? It's the HMS Belfast, a former light cruiser which is now part of this group of museums).

The Imperial War Museum is located in the building of the former Bethlem Royal Hospital. When we entered the main hall we came face to face with a range of war vehicles, planes and cannons from the two World Wars. To cut a long story short, one of these vehicles was an old bus, the Ole Bill bus.

I was immediately charmed by its old design and style and by some of the details on the vehicle. It was one of the B43 buses requisitioned from public service and used during the First World War as a vehicle for transporting troops to the front-line. Once the buses reached the French front, they were repainted with camouflage colours and used for military purposes (for transportation, as ambulances and even as mobile pigeon lofts). When the war ended, the buses were repurchased by transport companies and reused for public services. 

The bus you see in the museum was used on the London bus routes 8 and 9 until 1920 when it was bought by the Auxiliary Omnibus Companies Association. The new owners refurbished it as a memorial to the buses used during the First World War, and they renamed it “Old Bill” as the famous wartime cartoon character created by Bruce Bairnsfather. So on the front of the vehicle you can see the little head of the cartoon character with the helmet on!

 

Old Bill was very popular during the war period, especially for those troops that relied on him as a morale booster. The cartoon character was an old man with a big moustache and a pipe always in his mouth. In the stories about him, he is always accompanied by Alphie, a young troop mate.

The creator and author, Bruce Bairnfather, choose to set the stories on the war front because he was a soldier himself during the conflict. Coming from a family of soldiers, he tried, but failed to join military academes, therefore he joined an infantry regiment from which he resigned in 1907 to pursue art studies. But, when the First World War broke out he rejoined the army and fought in France until he was hospitalised for an injury. I'm saying all this because it was thanks to that time that he spent in the hospital that he created the series. The series was published on the tabloid Bystander that spoke about life on the front, the series that included the figure of Old Bill.

Visit the Imperial War Musuem at http://www.iwm.org.uk/

Check out Old Bill Historic Transport at http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=359

Kitchen Sink

John Bratby, The Toilet 1955

Kitchen Sink realism describes a British cultural movement that developed in the late 50s and early 60s in theatre, art, novels, films and television.

Before the 1950s, the cultural side of the UK’s working class was often portrayed in situations like drawing room plays (scenes set in the drawing room of a house) . Drawing room plays were developed in the Victorian period as a source of guest entertainment. They had always been  a highlighted point for social criticism and through the ages, came to be considered as the opposite of a ‘well-made play’.

The works of the Kitchen Sink were created so as to change these opinions that society held at that time.

The Britain of today is still in many ways a society defined by class, but back in the 50s, divisions were far harsher and rigid.

The term in itself in the UK derived from an English expressionist painting done by John Bratby (1928-1992) which contained an image of a kitchen sink.

Social Realism became the kitchen sink style.

Social Realism as an artistic movement depicted both social and racial injustice, economic hardship and life struggles in general. The artists illustrated the domestic situations of working class Britons. They spent their off-hours drinking in pubs so as to explore social issues and political controversies.

Kitchen Sink painters celebrated the everyday life of ordinary people.  They focussed their work deliberately on the unglamorous, everyday objects and scenes based on industrial and working-class themes.  Commonplace subject matter became centre of attention to emphasise the rooted ideas that the artists held. Daily life was portrayed through cluttered kitchens, kitchen utensils,  furniture.

The movement choose to celebrate what was banal in the lives of ordinary people as an attempt to make art more relevant and accessible and at the same time, make a clear social statement.

As well as the artistic movement, British cinema and drama also started to take a look at the direct conflict between working-class and middle class society. New wave films were created, and the sources that inspired them gave voice to a working-class that for the first time, was gaining some economic power.

The lives of working-class and middle class characters became the centre of attention in every day dramas, many of which are still the highlight of British television today, soaps like Eastenders and Coronation Street.

And so this is why us British are such huge fans of our long beloved soaps!

Check out more here http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/445176/index.html