Beryl Irving

Meanwhile, back at the Swift Annual project...

Beryl Irving is best known for her book The Dawnchild which appeared in 1926, illustrated in a style that "recalls the work of Jessie M. King" -- this according to the Dictionary of British Book Illustrators The 20th Century who also say "Her later work consists of mainly small drawings, executed rather in the manner of A. K. MacDonald."

Not knowing my Kings from my MacDonalds, I think the implication is that she used quite a delicate line and had a habit of using unrendered and unshaded areas (usually backgrounds and background characters) to focus the eye on the main subject of the illustration, as can be seen in the illustrations above and below.

Beryl Irene Newington was born at St. Leonards-on-Sea, Sussex, on 24 October 1896, the daughter of Captain Charles Newington, formerly of the Indian Army, and his wife Frances (nee Dolman). She was married at Rushbrooke, Co. Cork, to John James Cawdell Irving, a former Lieut. Commander with the Royal Navy who had served during the First World War; leaving in 1922, he subsequently became a writer and broadcaster, writing many books about ships and yachting, including Coronel and the Falklands (1927), The King's Britannia (1937) and The Smoke Screen of Jutland (1966).

The Irvings had four children (born between 1930 and 1938) before they split up. As well as her drawings and plates for children's annuals, she also contributed to The Nursery World, Radio Times, the East Anglian Times, and elsewhere.

Beryl Irving died on 15 October 1965 near Chipping Ongar, Essex.

Beryl Irving's son, David, has had a somewhat infamous career as a writer and her daughter, Jennifer Caroline ("Carol") Irving (b. 22 September 1935 at Dunton, Essex), was on the staff of Look and Learn in the mid-1960s.


Children's Books
The Dawnchild. London, Faber & Gwyer, 1926.
Daffy Goes to Sea. London, Nisbet & Co., 1932.

Others
The Family Week-end Book. London, Seeley Service, 1941.

Illustrated Books
Rivers of East Anglia by Lt-Commander John Irving. London, London & North Easter Railway, n.d.
The Yachtsman's Week-End Book by John Irving & Douglas Service. London, Seeley Service & Co., 1938.
The Gardener's Week-End Book by Eleanor Rohde & Eric Parker. London, Seeley Service & Co., 1939.
The Shooting Week-End Book by Eric Parker. London, Seeley Service & Co., 1942.
The Countryman's Week-end Book by Eric Parker. London, Seeley Service & Co., 1946.
Royal Navalese. A glossary of forecastle and quarterdeck words and phrases by Commander John Irving. London, Edward Arnold & Co., 1946.
The Gourmet's Week-End Book by Andre L. Simon. London, Seeley Service & Co., 1952.
Cheerful Cookery by Noel Chanter. London & Glasgow, Blackie & Son, 1954.
The Collector's Week-End Book by Frank Davis. London, Seeley Service & Co., 1956.
The Cat-Lover's Week-end Book by Kathleen Williams & Sidney Denham. London, Seeley Service & Co., 1961 [1962].
Under a Suffolk Sky by Allan Jobson. London, Robert Hale, 1964.
A Suffolk Calendar by Allan Jobson. London, Robert Hale, 1966.

(* Illustrations are from Swift Annual 6 and 7 (1959-60) and are © Look and Learn Magazine Ltd.)