Angus Clifford Racey Helps (1913–1970) was an English children's author and illustrator. His books were written in a simple style and feature woodland creatures and birds, with illustrations by the author. He is known also for illustrating

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s and

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Biography

Helps was born in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

on 2 February 1913, to Clifford R. Helps and his wife Dorothy (née Davis), who had married in

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

in 1911. He spent his childhood in the hamlet of

Chelvey Brockley is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England. The parish is within the unitary authority of North Somerset, about south of Nailsea, and includes the village of Chelvey. According to the 2011 census it had a population of 277. His ...

, Somerset. He was privately educated at a vicarage and later at

Bristol Cathedral School Bristol Cathedral Choir School is a mixed gender non-selective musical Secondary Academy, located in the Cabot area of Bristol, England. Until 2008 it was known as Bristol Cathedral School. It is situated next to Bristol Cathedral, in the cent ...

. Speaking in a 1966 television interview, Helps traced his story-telling back to his schooldays, when he began to write stories for a sick younger cousin. On leaving school he entered the antiquarian book trade and attended the

West of England College of Art The University of the West of England (also known as UWE Bristol) is a public research university, located in and around Bristol, England. The institution was know as the Bristol Polytechnic in 1970; it received university status in 1992 and ...

. Helps married Irene Orr on 8 April 1936. A daughter, Anne, was born in July 1937, and a son, Julian, in 1949 or 1950. He used to tell his young daughter a bedtime story every night. His first notable success as an author and artist came 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 opposing ...

with stories written for her. When the war came, Anne was packed off to a less noisy part of the country, but she still insisted on her story, and so Helps wrote them down for her, drew pictures to illustrate them, and sent them on. During that time, Racey and Irene lived in Shepton Mallet, Somerset, and were hosts to many young American soldiers based in the town, besides running a hairdressing salon. On one occasion a publisher happened to drop in and pick up one of Helps's handwritten, illustrated booklets. Helps was invited to London to discuss publication of future work. For a while the family lived in

Clevedon Clevedon (, ) is an English seaside town and civil parish in the unitary authority of North Somerset, part of the ceremonial county of Somerset. It recorded a parish population of 21,281 in the United Kingdom Census 2011, estimated at 21,442 ...

, Somerset, then moved to

Saltford Saltford is a large English village and civil parish in the Bath and North East Somerset unitary authority, Somerset. It lies between the cities of Bristol and Bath, and adjoins Keynsham on the same route. Saltford Manor House (built about 116 ...

near Bath, and in 1962 on to Barnstaple, Devon, where the scenic countryside provided further inspiration for Helps's pictures. Racey Helps suffered a fatal heart attack at his Barnstaple home in 1970, at the age of 57.

Publication

Helps's stories were published initially by

Collins Collins may refer to: People Surname Given name * Collins O. Bright (1917–?), Sierra Leonean diplomat * Collins Chabane (1960–2015), South African Minister of Public Service and Administration * Collins Cheboi (born 1987), Kenyan middle- ...

and later by the Medici Society. He contributed to several children's annuals published by Collins. Much of his work was published also by

Rand McNally Rand McNally is an American technology and publishing company that provides mapping, software and hardware for consumer electronics, commercial transportation and education markets. The company is headquartered in Chicago, with a distribution ...

in the United States, where he illustrated several books written by Helen Wing. At least ten of his picture books appeared in German. At least one appeared in Danish.''Fransiskas Fodselsdag'' (London: Medici Society, 1964).

Partial bibliography

References

External links

Racey Helps postcard checklist
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Helps, Racey 1913 births 1970 deaths English children's writers British children's book illustrators Writers from Bristol People from Somerset Writers from Barnstaple Writers who illustrated their own writing Artists from Barnstaple