War memorial at St Martha-on-the-Hill, Surrey

Graham Howard Shepard (1907–20 September 1943) was an English illustrator and cartoonist. He was the son of

Ernest H. Shepard Ernest Howard Shepard OBE Military Cross, MC (10 December 1879 – 24 March 1976) was an English artist and book illustrator. He is known especially for illustrations of the Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic animal and soft toy characters in ''Th ...

, the illustrator of ''

Winnie-the-Pooh Winnie-the-Pooh, also called Pooh Bear and Pooh, is a fictional Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic teddy bear created by English author A. A. Milne and English illustrator E. H. Shepard. The first collection of stories about the character w ...

'' and ''

The Wind in the Willows ''The Wind in the Willows'' is a children's novel by the British novelist Kenneth Grahame, first published in 1908. It details the story of Mole, Ratty, and Badger as they try to help Mr. Toad, after he becomes obsessed with motorcars and gets ...

''. He was educated at

Marlborough College Marlborough College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Independent school (United Kingdom), independent boarding school) for pupils aged 13 to 18 in Marlborough, Wiltshire, England. Founded in 1843 for the sons of Church ...

and

Lincoln College, Oxford Lincoln College (formally, The College of the Blessed Mary and All Saints, Lincoln) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford, situated on Turl Street in central Oxford. Lincoln was founded in 1427 by Richard Fleming, the ...

. At Marlborough he was a member of the college's secret 'Society of Amici'Paths of Progress: A History of Marlborough College by Rt Hon Peter Brooke MP and Thomas Hinde where he found himself a contemporary of

John Betjeman Sir John Betjeman (; 28 August 190619 May 1984) was an English poet, writer, and broadcaster. He was Poet Laureate from 1972 until his death. He was a founding member of The Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architecture, ...

and

Anthony Blunt Anthony Frederick Blunt (26 September 1907 – 26 March 1983), styled Sir Anthony Blunt KCVO from 1956 to November 1979, was a leading British art historian and Soviet spy. Blunt was professor of art history at the University of London, dire ...

, and a close friend of

Louis MacNeice Frederick Louis MacNeice (12 September 1907 – 3 September 1963) was an Irish poet and playwright, and a member of the Auden Group, which also included W. H. Auden, Stephen Spender and Cecil Day-Lewis. MacNeice's body of work was widely a ...

. MacNeice's "He had a date" (1943) is loosely based on the life and death of Shepard. At Oxford he was also a contemporary and friend of MacNeice and

Osbert Lancaster Sir Osbert Lancaster, CBE (4 August 1908 – 27 July 1986) was an English cartoonist, architectural historian, stage designer and author. He was known for his cartoons in the British press, and for his lifelong work to inform the general p ...

. Following in his father's footsteps, he became an illustrator and cartoonist, working for the ''

Illustrated London News ''The Illustrated London News'' appeared first on Saturday 14 May 1842, as the world's first illustrated weekly news magazine. Founded by Herbert Ingram, it appeared weekly until 1971, then less frequently thereafter, and ceased publication in ...

''. Shepard served in the

RNVR The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original Ro ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Lieutenant Shepard was lost along with all but one crew member when their ship, HMS ''Polyanthus'', was sunk by the German submarine '' U-952'' in the mid-Atlantic on 21 September 1943. He was survived by his wife, Ann Faith Shepard, and his young daughter, Minette. Shepard's younger sister,

Mary Shepard Mary Eleanor Jessie Knox née Shepard (25 December 1909 – 4 September 2000) was an English illustrator of children's books. She is best known for the ''Mary Poppins'' stories written by P. L. Travers (1934 to 1988). She used her married na ...

, also became an illustrator, and is best known for her illustrations of

P. L. Travers Pamela Lyndon Travers (; born Helen Lyndon Goff; 9 August 1899 – 23 April 1996) was an Australian-British writer who spent most of her career in England. She is best known for the ''Mary Poppins'' series of books, which feature the eponymous ...

' ''

Mary Poppins It may refer to: * ''Mary Poppins'' (book series), the original 1934–1988 children's fantasy novels that introduced the character. * Mary Poppins (character), the nanny with magical powers. * ''Mary Poppins'' (film), a 1964 Disney film sta ...

''.

References

1907 births 1943 deaths People educated at Marlborough College Alumni of Lincoln College, Oxford English illustrators English cartoonists Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II Royal Navy personnel killed in World War II Royal Navy officers of World War II {{UK-cartoonist-stub