EXTRACTS: Don Lawrence Art (illustrators special) © 2018 The Book Palace (144 PAGES in Full edition)

Netherlands that in celebration of the artist’s 75th birthday in 2003, Queen Beatrix gave permission for Lawrence to be made a Knight in the order of Oranje-Nassau. The proclamationwas signed and themedal was to be presented at a later date by the Dutch Ambassador to England. Sadly, Lawrence, a heavy smoker, suffered from emphysema and was admitted to hospital suffering from pneumonia; he died the following day, on Monday, December 29, 2003, surrounded by his family. Lawrence’s illness and deathmade the presentation of his medal impossible; the proclamation was instead given to Lawrence’s widow, Elisabeth, following Don’s burial. D onald Southam Lawrence was born in East Sheen, a suburb of London, on November 17, 1928. His father, Herbert Lawrence, had married Nellie Grace Altrop ( née Martin) in 1923 and the family quickly expanded, with Raymond John Lawrence born in 1925 and Pamela June Lawrence born in 1927. The Lawrences grew up in what Don later described as “an ordinary house, one of a row of terraced houses leading down to Richmond High Street.” He was educated at St. Paul’s boarding school in Hammersmith where his brother had already proved himself academically excellent in the classics, Greek and Latin. Lawrence, however, later claimed not to have left so good an impression and “took refuge from academic studies by doing art. I had to force myself to do it because it’s not something I have a natural talent for.” “I doodled. I couldn’t stop doodling in class and I would get beaten for it. It was just something I couldn’t stop doing. I wasn’t really interested in lessons much, so I tended to draw whenever I could.” As a lad, Lawrence read boys’ papers Rover and Champion , which featured text stories rather than comic strips. Although he saw one or two American comics, including Dick Tracy, he was never a great comic reader, preferring to play games with toy soldiers and cowboys. He “freaked out” the first time his parents took him to the cinema to see Treasure Island and, unwilling to repeat the experience, he would stay home while his siblings went to see the latest films. With no major influence, his desire to draw was just “an urge to doodle.” Even he was the first to admit that he was not especially good—not even the best in his class—but he persevered, especially after he had seen one of his classmates draw a battle between galleons. “I was transfixed by the way he Lawrence drew illustrations, strips and covers for Dolphin , a slim magazine for children given away in shops. 8 © Don Lawrence