Unknown Frank Bellamy: Boeing B-17G and Cunard's QE2

 

U.S. Bomber

Continuing looking at the Polaroids which Alan Davis shared with us, we have another couple of mysteries - or are they? 

BOMBER 

Russell Jenkins kindly told me what this bomber was. It's a Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress of the 8th Air Force which was based in England during WWII. I have not found where this might have been published - if at all. Could this have been a present from Frank Bellamy to someone? Or perhaps a commission? There were several local bases near Kettering. As Bellamy told Mike Tiefenbacher and Jerome Sinkovec, the creators of the magazine Menomonee Falls Gazette, which reprinted many "Garth" strips:

When I was in the army during the war I was at one time next to a U. S. Unit. My home was surrounded by the U. S. 8th Air Force. Yes, I have a soft spot and affection for the United States, hence my thanks to you for looking at my work. [MFG #81 -  July 2nd, 1973]

Bellamy was stationed at Barnard Castle, Co. Durham during the War, as well as Whitby, Yorkshire and Welbeck Abbey, Nottinghamshire. The bases referred to around Kettering were likely to be Grafton Underwood (USAAF Station 106), Harrington (USAAF Station 179), Deenethorpe (USAAF Station 128) and Polebrook (USAAF Station 110). 

CUNARD SHIPS 

Cunard's QE2 artwork by Frank Bellamy

I remember, in 1965 I owned a toy boat made of rigid plastic approximately 32 inches in length (80cm), white, with little plastic green detachable lifeboats. In my memory I called it the Queen Elizabeth the Second (or more affectionately, the QE2) but I'm now suspicious of that memory as the QE2 was launched on 20 September 1967 and took her maiden transatlantic voyage on 2 May 1969. Memories play tricks on us!  

KMP Partnership formed in 1964 - all three partners were existing directors of agencies - and rapidly won clients such as Texaco and the Salvation Army as well of course for our purposes, Cunard. Apparently Kingsley Manton and Palmer (KMP Partnership) took over the Cunard advertising account in 1966. The publicity for the liner was going great guns in the Autumn of 1968 

I have no information regarding the commission except payment data which the late Nancy Bellamy kindly shared. 

In August 1968, Bellamy was expecting a cheque for £84. This was made up of £52-10-0 + £31-10-0. In November he banked the cheque. At the time he was drawing "Thunderbirds" in TV21 every week and being paid £80 for his two colour pages. Why are there two combined payments, well, it might be that he delivered the image above but also this image lacking the 'pop-outs' below

Cunard's QE2 -basic by Frank Bellamy

In the first of these two images we can see many 'pop-outs' which show aspects of the new liner. In 'Crop 1' there are twin propellers, a large cabin space (?), a common area on the ship (?) and a range of knobs and button, presumably showing up to date technology

Crop 1

The two propellers were outward turning LIPS Controllable Pitch props. The radio alignment seems to me to say the customer has many choices of buttons and knobs for automation, but I couldn't see anything like it viewing interior shots from the time. As for the spaces drawn, the design of the interiors was described as a departure from the "old style," with cabins featuring clean lines, functional spaces, and modern, often bright, 1960s colours.   

In 'Crop 2' we see a pop group with 4 guitars , the antenna mast, the funnel, two propellers and two single beds.  

 Why does the funnel get highlighted? According to a brochure at the time:

One of the most immediately striking things about the QE2 is its unconventional funnel. The funnel  itself was developed by the Cunard technical department after lengthy testing in the wind tunnel at the National Physical Laboratory at Teddington, Middlesex. Many models were constructed and tested before the final design was approved, the result being what is probably the most technically advanced funnel ever to be fitted to a passenger vessel. In the words of James Gardner A traditional smokestack proved out of the question after the first wind tunnel tests. In a functional design, performance had to take complete priority, and the final structure comprises (a) a relatively small diameter smokestack, (b) a large air outlet vent and (c) a wind scoop mounted on the fan house which covers the air intake. 

And the antenna assembly?

On QE2, the streamlined funnel will carry four inconspicuous notch aerials which will transmit a clear signal regardless of the direction of the ship. There are other notches for receiving and VHF communications. 

Then there's the second image of the QE2 racing with two speedboats.  The ship was one of the fastest ocean liners at the time of her launch in 1969, capable of reaching speeds of up to 34 knots. Commonly speedboats reached speeds between 30 to 50 knots (approximately 56 to 93 km/h or 35 to 58 mph). 

So a lot of firsts. Bellamy's designs were paid for by the new agency but were they used anywhere? Brochures of the time exist (as well as prior to launch) but so far I have not found anything to say they were published. Can you help?

The bow of the QE2 - with the company name visible - (Picture by Ultra7 c/o Wikipedia)

There's a great interview with one of the founding members of KMP, Brian Palmer on Dave Dye's "Stuff from the Loft". Michael Gallagher's article on the QE2 publicity is a really interesting read for those who want more information - no mention of Bellamy on that forum, unfortunately.

Unknown Frank Bellamy series continued: Castrol GTX and John Bull

 Five years ago(!) I started a series using various Polaroids that Alan Davis saved from Frank Bellamy’s studio after his death - which is fifty years ago this year!

I was looking at some images on my computer and felt it was time to pick this up and do this during Bellamy's anniversary year. In the article referenced above I stated: Alan has other images that are worth discussing. Well, let's get started and give them names and show them here so if any Internet Detectives fancy having a go at offering opinions, we might identify these.

CASTROL GTX ADVERT (#13)

Unknown #13: Castrol GTX

On the 27 January 1971 an entry was made in Frank Bellamy’s cash ledger that he was due £65 for a piece of work for Dorland Advertising Limited (121-141, Westbourne Terrace London, W1). Unfortunately it was payment for a rejected piece of work - Castrol GTX and what Dorland called a "cartoon drawing"

In Bellamy's version the emboldened and italicised words below differ from the published version. 

FRANK BELLAMY VERSION 

When you run a team of competition cars, oil pressure is one of the last things your drivers should have to worry about. They've enough on their minds at the best of times.

What they want to see on the oil pressure gauge is a satisfactory level in all temperatures and driving conditions.

The oil that impresses me most [in the competition field] is Castrol GTX. The Castrol boys have been really ingenious in their use of additives - producing an oil that can 'slip' easily and quickly at low temperatures - and retain bulk when things get hot.

The additive that helps GTX slip is called a long-chain polymer. It has another important effect, because it's a bit like a piece of spaghetti, it winds [flows]around revolving parts and packs tight in the bearing. Wear goes down - pressure up.

In our business [In the world of motor sport], we have to rely on the people with the most expertise in their field. That's why we choose Castrol for lubrication. As for GTX, we think it's the best oil they've made.

If it keeps our cars happy think what it can do for yours. [We rely on Castrol, why don't you?]

Stuart Turner is Director - Motor Sport - Ford of Europe.

PUBLISHED VERSION

Motor Sport April 1971 p.343

We wrote to Stuart Turner in 2023 and he kindly replied but unfortunately remembered nothing of this campaign at all! It was a long shot but it's most likely after getting permission that the advertising agency wrote the captions. Stuart was British Champion Co-driver for 3 years before he changed to a team management position, first with BMC later with Ford where he was Director of Motorsport. In both positions he and the team had several wins internationally. He later became a motivational speaker using his experience to talk about teambuilding and motivation. He died in 2025

Castrol GTX was launched in 1968 and the GTX name came from GT (Grand Touring) - was a prestigious designation for high-speed, long-distance road cars and X (The Performance Suffix) was frequently used in the 1960s as a marketing suffix to denote "extra" or "extreme" performance. 

I found two other adverts from 1971 done in the same style, but don't know the artist. Did the agency use an internal artist? Why reject Bellamy's version? Another mystery which may never be solved.

Ralph Broad and Paddy Hopkirk - Castrol GTX 1971

 

 JOHN BULL 1973 (#14) 

Unknown #14: John Bull leads 1973

For this image taken from a found Polaroid in Bellamy’s studio, I see John Bull leading baby New Year into 1973. The big event in Britain at that time was that Britain officially joined the European Economic Community (EEC), commonly referred to as the Common Market, on January 1, 1973. Is this what Bellamy was representing? And for whom? I've searched the Daily Mirror (with whom he had a relationship) and the Daily Express but found no such drawing. If anyone else finds it, I'd love to know about it.

Artist unknown

The picture card above (front and back) was produced in 1939. John Bull represents Britain in the same way Uncle Sam does for the USA. He was created by John Arbuthnot (1667-1735) in 1712, read more on Wikipedia.  And the tradition of Old Father Time (John Bull in Bellamy's drawing!) and Baby New Year goes a long way back. I've always like Leyendecker's version for the Saturday Evening Post 

Saturday Evening Post 31 December 1910,
art by Joseph Christian Leyendecker

"Heros the Spartan" artwork used elsewhere!

 

Eagle 25 May 1963 (Vol.14:21) Original Art

My good friend Diego Cordoba mentioned, before Christmas, that he thought the wolf's head in "Heros The Spartan" looked familiar. So I thought I'd record here, Diego's discoveries!

Creepy #52 (April 1973) art by Sanjulian

On the cover of  Warren magazine Creepy #52 ( April 1973) we see a painting by Sanjulian which accompanies the internal story "A Most Private Terror".

Creepy #52 (April 1973) art by Estaban Maroto

The story, drawn by Esteban Maroto opens with the self-same wolf figure! No other similar artwork to Bellamy appears in the story, I checked!

Interestingly Diego says "I have also seen that same wolf on the cover of a Horror DC comic, but don't remember which." - I went searching and saw wolves on many of the DC horror comics (House of Mystery #224 and 227 as examples) but didn't find any like the Bellamy original. If YOU know which one Diego is remembering I'd love to know.