Philip Zec is now widely regarded as the most important political cartoonist of World War Two. From 1939 to 1945 he produced 1529 cartoons for the Daily Mirror which caught brilliantly the defiance of the British people at war. Some of his finest drawings are reproduced in these pages. Two cartoons made history: the first, the notorious ‘seaman on the raft’ cartoon was astonishingly misinterpreted in Downing Street and led to a furious debate in Parliament: the second, a moving evocation of the folly of war gives the book its title and marks the sixtieth anniversary of VE Day on 8th of May. Written by the cartoonist’ss brother Donald, the award-wining journalist and author, Don’t Lose It Again hallmarks a unique talent which contributed significantly to the British war effort. This book is probably the most incisive biography of a political cartoonist since Sir David Low’s own autobiography 49 years ago
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Review by Dr Bex Lewis (2005-6)
Philip Zec, designer of the poster ‘Women of Britain, Come Into the Factories‘, did not see himself as a propagandist, rather as an observer, although he was happy for his work to be used as propaganda. His brother Donald, well known as a (film) journalist/ biographer, writes this engaging text, not as a brother, but as one who recognised the importance of Zec’s work.
The commissioning of the book was triggered by Dr Tim Benson’s (Political Cartoon Society) purchase of Zec’s iconic cartoon, published in celebration of VE Day: ‘Victory and Peace In Europe: Don’t Lose it Again’.
Despite the fact that Zec destroyed most of his original images because he didn’t think they were good enough, the book is well illustrated, largely in black and white. The images, most from the Second World War (or shortly before), are clearly contextualised. Both the book and the images present the Second World War through the eyes of gifted observers, with Philip Zec clearly contributing to the ‘mythical memory’ of the Second World War through powerful and memorable images.
An enjoyable, highly illustrated read – the book follows Zec’s beginnings on the edges of Bloomsbury, his training at St Martin’s College of Art, his move into advertising illustration, and his friendships with Strube, Low and the columnist Cassandra on the Daily Mirror. As a socialist and a Jew, Zec had strong political and social awareness – he was drawn into political cartooning as it was evident the country was on the brink of war (he could not stay on the sidelines drawing goods for sale). Soon after the war commenced, Zec produced the first of a series of cartoons for the Daily Mirror, poking fun at the Dictators (putting himself on Hitler’s blacklist). Zec was not a ‘funny’ cartoonist, producing strong messages, unafraid to shock, although he found the realities of the German concentration camps too shocking to convert into cartoons. Zec was loved by ‘the boys’ in the Armed Forces, and raised controversy with Churchill (see pp.74-81). Post-war, he threw his support behind the Labour Party, continuing his work as a political cartoonist until his death in 1983.
