EXTRACTS: Illustrators issue 10 © 2015 Book Palace Books (96 PAGES in Full edition)

43 Officers Mess with a fresco depicting the history of England, a job for which he was eminently qualified. When he was demobbed he was eager to get back to drawing, but the paper shortage was biting and life was difficult for artists returning to civy street. Towards the end of the War, Pat had come across the Puffin Picture Books and conceived the idea of writing and illustrating a book on armour for the series. The Middle Ages had been a particular interest of his since childhood and he had no difficulty in producing a mock up and selling the suggestion to Penguin Books. They liked the idea and Pat produced A Book of Armour , but the paper shortage resulted in publication being delayed for years. Pat undertook a number of small illustrating jobs during the late 1940s, including adventure strips for two ‘one off ’ comics: Zoom , published by the Children’s Press of Glasgow in 1947 and Laugh Fun Book , by Philmar. A far more important job that Pat undertook shortly after the Second World War—and one that was to have far-reaching consequences for his future career—was for the prolific children’s books publisher, Thames Publishing Co. For this firm Pat produced all the illustrations for Robin Hood and His Merry Men , an annual-sized volume, published in October 1949 for the Christmas trade. The book included eight colour plates, a full- colour wrap-around dust jacket and eighty black and white line drawings. The book was very successful and remained in print for many years. Later editions contained only four coloured plates and an even later edition was reduced in size and contained only the black and white illustrations. It ABOVE LEFT: Nicolle was a dedicated researcher as is evidenced by this painting of a detail from Trajan's column depicting Roman legionaries from the Dacian Wars. ABOVE RIGHT: The front cover and an interior page from Nicolle's best-selling 'A Book of Armour'. One of the most popular in the range of Puffin Picture Books, the book remained in print for many years, providing Nicolle with sufficient funds to cover school fees for both his sons.