'When the 'ell is it goin' to be strawberry', Bairnsfather Ware tea cup, 1919 (c)

Earthenware cup, no maker's mark. White body with overglazed sepia transfer printed decoration of a cartoon by Lieutenant Bruce Bairnsfather entitled, 'When the 'ell is it goin' to be strawberry'. The reverse shows a bird perched on a wooden stump supporting barbed wire strands. Printed around the rim are illustrations of a mess tin, a cap, a water bottle, a helmet, a pot of jam and a bucket riddled with bullet holes.

Charles Bruce Bairnsfather (1888-1959) served with the Royal Warwickshire Regiment on the Western Front during World War One (1914-1918). Before the war he had attempted to make his living as a commercial artist and he continued to sketch while at the Front.

The horror of trench warfare had a profound effect on the young infantry officer but it was the stoic good humour of his men that inspired most of the cartoons he produced. Encouraged by his work's popularity with officers and men alike, Bairnsfather submitted a cartoon entitled, 'Where Did That One Go To?', to the 'The Bystander' magazine and it was accepted and published. Compilations of his cartoons, notably the 'Fragments from France' series, followed. Bairnsfather's artwork was reproduced widely in various forms and became the subject of successful theatrical and film productions.

Invalided home, Bairnsfather became quite a celebrity but the British authorities seemed disinclined to promote the artist or his work. Bairnsfather was however in demand from Britain's allies and he went on to work with the French, Italian and United States armies.

The cartoon on this cup is also known as 'The Eternal Question...When the 'ell is it going to be strawberry' shows a British 'Tommy', on the Western Front during World War One (1914-1918), pipe in mouth, dipping bread into a pot of plum and apple jam. Bairnsfather's original cartoon was an observation on the lack of variety of jam avaialble at the Front, at least in the early years of the war, and the apparent preponderance of plum and apple as a flavour.

One of three cups from a tea service made up from different items of Bairnsfather Ware, 1919 (c).