ONE of the most famous cartoons of the 20th century and which was drawn in Sutton Veny during the Second World War will be celebrating its centenary later this month.

“Well, if you knows of a better ‘ole, go to it!” was drawn by Bruce Bairnsfather while he was attached to the 34th Division as a Machine Gun Officer who were stationed at Greenhill House, Sutton Veny, in October 1915.

It was first published on November 24, 1915, in The Bystander magazine in London and has since been borrowed and adapted more than 200 times by other cartoonists.

At least ten British Prime Ministers, eight US Presidents, four Australian, two Canadian and one New Zealand Prime Ministers have been depicted in that famous setting, as have two Russian Presidents and one King as well as Kaiser Wilhelm and Adolf Hitler.

Bairnsfather sent his first cartoon to The Bystander in March 1915, while serving as Machine Gun Officer with the 1st Royal Warwickshire Regiment in Belgium.

He was injured during the Second Battle of Ypres in April 1915, and was sent home to England where he began sending a regular series of drawings to the magazine which continued throughout the war.

Compilation volumes of his Fragments from France sold over one million copies, and his cartoons were reproduced on merchandise, from postcards, playing cards and jigsaws to handkerchiefs, and even a range of Bairnsfather Ware china.

Mark Warby, who has spent the past 35 years researching the life and work of the late British cartoonist, said: “As Bairnsfather’s most acclaimed cartoon celebrates its one hundredth birthday, there is no doubt that his famous phrase, which has found its way into the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, will continue to be used by cartoonists for many years to come.

“I think we are also safe to conclude that if the Guinness Book of World Records had a category for the most used cartoon caption or theme, “well if you knows of a better ‘ole, go to it” would surely hold that record.”