Bert Thomas

---

title: "Bert Thomas" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["world-war-i-artists", "20th-century-british-war-artists", "1966-deaths", "1883-births", "punch-(magazine)-cartoonists", "british-people-of-world-war-i", "british-people-of-world-war-ii", "people-from-newport,-wales", "propaganda-cartoons", "artists'-rifles-soldiers", "british-editorial-cartoonists", "british-poster-artists", "british-caricaturists", "british-army-personnel-of-world-war-i", "members-of-the-order-of-the-british-empire", "world-war-ii-artists", "welsh-editorial-cartoonists", "welsh-caricaturists"] description: "British political cartoonist" topic_path: "history" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bert_Thomas" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary British political cartoonist ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]

Field	Value
name	Bert Thomas
honorific_suffix	MBE
image	Herbert Samuel ('Bert') Thomas from NPG.jpg
caption	Portrait (undated, artist unknown)
birth_name	Herbert Samuel Thomas
birth_date
birth_place	Newport, Monmouthshire, Wales
death_date
death_place	London, England
resting_place	Kensal Green Cemetery, London, England
resting_place_coordinates
occupation	Political cartoonist
known_for	{{Plainlist
spouse	Elizabeth Florette Bowen
children	6
awards	MBE
::

| honorific_prefix = | name = Bert Thomas | honorific_suffix = MBE | image = Herbert Samuel ('Bert') Thomas from NPG.jpg | caption = Portrait (undated, artist unknown) | birth_name = Herbert Samuel Thomas | birth_date = | birth_place = Newport, Monmouthshire, Wales | death_date = | death_place = London, England | resting_place = Kensal Green Cemetery, London, England | resting_place_coordinates = | education = | occupation = Political cartoonist | known_for = {{Plainlist|

• Work for Punch magazine
• Wartime propaganda posters | spouse = Elizabeth Florette Bowen | children = 6 | awards = MBE

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8b/INF3-276_Anti-rumour_and_careless_talk_Put_a_sock_in_it!.jpg" caption="Ministry of Information]] during the Second World War"] ::

Herbert Samuel Thomas (13 October 1883 – 6 September 1966) was a British political cartoonist contributing to Punch magazine and the creator of well-known British propaganda posters during the First and Second World Wars.

Career

Thomas joined Punch in 1905 and contributed until 1935. During the First World War he was in the Artists Rifles.

Thomas' political cartoons started to be included in gallery exhibitions as artistic caricatures as early as 1913, in an exhibition on the Strand by the Society of Humorous Art and in 1916 his cartoon against the Clyde strikers with the Kaiser saying "pass friend" to a striker was a featured exhibit in an exhibition of war cartoons in the Graves Galleries on Pall Mall.

In 1918 he became nationally known for his cartoon "Arf a mo, Kaiser", drawn in ten minutes for the Smokes for Tommy Weekly Dispatch campaign.{{citation|title=Seduction Or Instruction?: First World War Posters in Britain and Europe |first1=James|last1=Aulich|first2=John |last2=Hewitt |publisher=Manchester University Press|year=2007|isbn=9780719075902|page=115}} The cartoon raised nearly a quarter of a million pounds towards "comforts" (tobacco and cigarettes) for front line troops and the image was re-drawn and used during the Second World War with the caption "Arf a mo, 'itler". The Germans banned the "Arf a mo, 'itler" cartoon and to ensure British prisoners did not have their comfort parcels confiscated, he created a variation with the caption "Are we downhearted?"

He was made MBE in the 1918 Birthday Honours.

Personal life

Thomas married Elizabeth Florette Bowen (1887/8–1949) on 7 October 1909. They had four sons and two daughters. His son Peter also drew cartoons for Punch.

Thomas died at his home at 33 Inverness Terrace, Bayswater, London, on 6 September 1966, from a stroke. He was buried at Kensal Green Cemetery, London.

The sculptor Ivor Thomas (1873–1913) was his brother.

Bibliography

References

References

1. Mark Bryant, ‘Thomas, Herbert Samuel (1883–1966)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/66126, accessed 18 June 2012]
2. (7 September 1966). "Mr. Bert Thomas". The Times]}}{{dead link.
3. Wilson, Andrew R.. (2008). "War, Virtual War and Society: The Challenge to Communities". Rodopi.
4. (4 March 1915). "Better Labour Outlook. The Clyde Strikers Returning, Causes Of Discontent.". The Times]}}{{dead link.
5. (4 December 1913). "Humour In Art. The Value Of The Grotesque". The Times]}}{{dead link.
6. Gosling, Luci. (2008). "Brushes and Bayonets: Cartoons, Sketches and Paintings of World War I General Military". Osprey Publishing.
7. J. Bourne. (2001). "Who's Who in World War One". Taylor & Francis.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::