THIS OBJECT IS PART OF THE PROJECT 'A HISTORY OF CORNWALL IN 100 OBJECTS'.
PENDENNIS CASTLE. The St Nazaire Raid was a major World War II assault launched from Falmouth in 1942. The raid set out to destroy the only French harbour that could take Tirpitz battleships. George Butterworth had to draw his St Nazaire cartoon before he heard whether or not the raid had succeeded. As his widow Betty recalls: 'We were sat up all night with that cartoon to see if it would be published. Just after midnight we heard that the raid had been a success so the cartoon would be in all editions. We had many wakeful nights. George's brain would start working at quarter to 3 in the morning'.
This cartoon is part of an important collection of wartime cartoons by George Butterworth which are now housed at Pendennis Castle. They include a depiction of Hitler as Little Bo Peep with a swastika at the end of his crook.
Copyright English Heritage, by kind permission of Mrs B Butterworth.
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