Francis E Hiley

FRANCIS E. HILEY

By

Robert J. Kirkpatrick

Like many illustrators of late 19th/early 20th century children’s books, Francis E. Hiley is now more or less forgotten. But in his time he was a prolific, accomplished and popular artist.

He was born on 12 February 1878, with his birth being registered at Barton Regis, Gloucestershire – he was christened Francis Ernest Hiley. His mother was Emma Jane, née Hancock, born in Bedminster, Bristol, in 1850. His father was Edward Ernest Hiley, born in Islington, London, in 1850. In the 1850s, the family moved to Westbury-on-Trym, Gloucestershire, where, in 1871, Edward was working as a commercial clerk, alongside his two brothers. Shortly after Francis’s birth the family moved to London, to 59 Windsor Road, Ealing, where Edward became the manager of a glass works. However, his health began to decline, and in around 1889 the family moved to Knapp Hill, Wells, Somerset  –  in the 1891 census, Edward was described as living on his own means, with a family of eight and two servants. In 1893 the family moved to Ebbor Cottage, Wookey Hole, Somerset, where they remained until 1919. In the 1911 census Edward was described as a retired looking-glass manufacturer. He died in Axbridge, Somerset, in 1927.

Francis was the second of seven children – his siblings were Edward Montague (born 1877, died of diphtheria in 1883), Florence Ernestine (born 1880), Harold Gladstone (1881), Eveline (1883), Mary Gladys (1885), and Wilfred Edward (1886). He only had a minimal education, firstly at a kindergarten, after which he was home-schooled by a governess and, more importantly, by his father. His main interest, apart from literature, was art, and in September 1891, aged just 13, he was awarded a certificate for freehand drawing and perspective as an external candidate by the Bath School of Science and Art. He regularly appeared thereafter in local newspapers as having been awarded further certificates, for example at the Kensington Government School of Science and Art, Berkeley Square, Bristol, in 1894; and at the Government School of Science and Art, Weston-super-Mare, in 1895, 1896, 1897 and 1898, where he had been lucky enough to get a post as a pupil-teacher on a salary of £15 a year and free tuition.  He also brought in a further £15 a year teaching drawing in a couple of private schools. In 1898 he obtained a small scholarship to the Bristol Academy of Art, and in 1899 he was awarded a three year scholarship, worth £60 a year, to the Royal College of Art.

He was clearly skilled in several disciplines, as shown by a report in the Wells Journal in March 1897:

At the annual meeting of the subscribers and friends of the School of Science and Art, Weston-super-Mare, prizes were distributed to successful students. In this list Mr Francis E. Hiley, of Wookey Hole, held a distinguished position, being awarded a bronze medal for landscape paining; prize for architectural drawing; pass (excellent) in anatomy, architecture, and advanced freehand; 1st class in perspective, advanced model, advanced light and shade, decorative paining and design, advanced stage; 2nd class in still life painting and advanced principles of ornament; Art-class teacher’s certificate.

After qualifying as an Associate of the Royal College of Art Hiley worked for a year as an assistant in the studio of Gerald Moire, the Professor of Painting at the Royal Academy Schools. He then joined the London County Council, as a part-time drawing teacher in central London schools, and later at the Putney School of Art. Whilst he had a desire to work in stained glass, which he had studied at the Royal Academy, he found the field to be too competitive, and he turned to black and white illustrations which, though poorly-paid, provided a regular source of income. In a brief unpublished autobiography covering his early years he described “spending a dreary time haunting the offices of publishers and magazines.”

For a while, up until his marriage, Hiley shared a flat in Redcliffe Street, Chelsea, with Luke Thompson Taylor, who was becoming well-known as an etcher and went on to become a member of the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers. On 25 July 1907, at the Wesleyan Church, Edmonton, London, he married May Winifred Hiley (the daughter of G. Gould Hiley, Francis’s father’s cousin), born in Karachi, India, in 1883. They moved into a flat at 20 Cyril Mansions, Prince of Wales Road, Battersea, where they had their first child, Stephen Gould Hiley, born on 12 November 1911. In 1913 the family moved to 14 Fairfax Road, Bedford Park, London, and Hiley was able to abandon teaching in order to work full-time as an illustrator.

On 17 July 1916 Hiley enlisted in the Royal Flying Corps, being promoted to Corporal in November 1917, and in April 1918 being transferred to the Royal Air Force, with the rank of Sergeant. He worked principally as a draughtsman at Farnborough. Ten months later, he was transferred to the RAF Reserve, and he was discharged from service on 30 April 1920.

He returned to illustration, initially drawing men’s fashion plates, and also took on a little teaching. In 1923 he began contributing to The Strand Magazine, and was subsequently taken on by an artists’ agent.

At some point after the war, the family moved to Brentford, Middlesex, where their second son, Oliver Gould Hiley, was born on 10 June 1920. They subsequenrly moved to Stag Lane, Chorley Wood, Hertfordshire, where they stayed for at least 15 years. They later moved to Westbury-on-Trym. During the Second World War, Hiley worked as a draughtsman at the Bristol Aeroplane Company.

May Winifred Hiley died on 7 November 1958 at an address in Redhill, although her home address was given as Chesham Bois, Buckinghamshire. Francis Hiley spent his later years in Hampstead and then Redhill, with his last address being White Lodge, Linkfield Lane. He died, after a short illness, at the East Surrey Hospital, Redhill, on 20 December 1965, leaving an estate valued at £13,258. He was cremated at the Sussex and Surrey Crematorium, Worth, Sussex, three days later.

As an illustrator of children’s books he was most associated with the publishers Jarrold & Sons, Blackie & Son, Ward, Lock & Co. and the Religious Tract Society. Amongst the authors whose books he illustrated were John Mackie, Bessie Marchant, R.A.H. Goodyear, St. John Pearce, Evelyn Smith and Angela Brazil. His work also occasionally appeared in magazines and newspapers, most notably in The Strand Magazine for which he provided a total of 53 illustrations for stories by Arthur Conan Doyle between 1925 and 1930. He also contributed a few illustrations to Pearson’s Magazine, The Wide World, The Windsor Magazine and The Red Magazine. He signed his work Francis E. Hiley, F.E. Hiley or simply F.E.H.

PUBLICATIONS

Books Illustrated
Little Miss, or Leslie Underwood’s Fortune by M.B. Manwell (Religious Tract Society), 1910 (re-issue)
Miss Determination by Frances Toft (Religious Tract Society), 1910
The Brig Jane Mary by Francis Marlowe (Jarrold & Sons), 1911
The Treasure Hunters by John Mackie (Jarrold & Sons), 1911
The Dream of Gerontius by John Henry Newman (Gay & Hancock), 1911
Scholars and Scouts by Ernest Protheroe (Jarrold & Sons), 1912
The Birds’ Christmas Carol by Kate Douglas Wiggin (Gay & Hancock), 1912
Crookside Lads by A.M. Coker (Religious Tract Society), 1912 (re-issue)
Basil Verely by Archibald Ingram (George Allen & Co.), 1912
The Green Door by Mary Wilkins (Gay & Hancock), 1912
Benjamin Franklin by William M. Thayer (Hodder & Stoughton), 1912
An Uphill Game by Harry Huntingdon (Frederick Warne & Co.), 1913
The Madcap of the Family by M.E. Fraser (Religious Tract Society), 1913
Holiday Quests by Mrs Barton (Religious Tract Society), 1913
The Taming of Tarm by E, Hobart-Hampden (Nisbet & Co.), 1914
The Time of Their Lives by C.A. Palmer (Blackie Son), 1916
The Boy Hero of the Air by Walter A. Briscoe (Oxford University Press), 1921
The Great Antarctic by John Mackie (Jarrold & Sons), 1923
The Perils of Peterkin by Robert Leighton (Jarrold & Sons), 1923
The Little Betty Wilkinson by Evelyn Smith (Blackie & Son), 1923
Pleasure Island by Gurney Slade (Ward, Lock & Co.) 1924
The Sunken Million by D.H. Parry (Frederick Warne & Co.), 1926
Terry’s Best Term by Evelyn Smith (Blackie & Son), 1926
Molly in the West by Bessie Marchant (Blackie & Son), 1927
Winkles, Schoolboy Detective by Rowland Walker (Ward, Lock & Co.), 1927
Lucie’s Luck by Bessie Marchant (Blackie & Son), 1928
Marcus the Briton by Marion Mattingly (Oxford University Press), 1928
Hilda Holds on by Bessie Marchant (Blackie & Son), 1929
The Forbidden Island by E.E. Cowper (Blackie & Son), 1929
Too Big for the Fifth by R.A.H. Goodyear (Ward, Lock & Co.), 1929
That Boy Buckle by St. John Pearce (Ward, Lock & Co.), 1929
On the Fringe of the Cyclone by Courtenay Hayes (Frederick Warne & Co.), 1930
Tringle of Harlech by R.A.H. Goodyear (Ward, Lock & Co.), 1930
Laurel the Leader by Bessie Marchant (Blackie & Son), 1930
Hatherley’s First Fifteen by M.R. Clark (Whitcombe & Tombes), 1930
Two on Their Own by Bessie Marchant (Blackie & Son), 1931
Jane Fills the Breach by Bessie Marchant (Blackie & Son), 1932
Schools in Turmoil by St. John Pearce (Ward, Lock & Co.) 1933
Buckle of Barchester by St. John Pearce (Ward, Lock & Co.), 1934
Anna of the Tenderford by Bessie Marchant (Blackie & Son), 1935
The School at the Turrets by Angela Brazil (Blackie & Son), 1935
The School’s Airmen by R.A.H. Goodyear (Ward, Lock & Co.), 1936
An Exciting Term by Angela Brazil (Blackie & Son), 1936
Felicity’s Fortune by Bessie Marchant (Blackie & Son), 1936
The Broom and heather Boys by R.A.H. Goodyear (Ward, Lock & Co.), 1937
Congo Chains by Major Charles Gilson (Frederick Warne & Co.), 1937
Jill’s Jolliest School by Angela Brazil (Blackie & Son), 1937
Fenshaven Finds Its Feet by R.A.H. Goodyear (Ward, Lock & Co.), 1938
Ella of the Islands by Violet M. Methley (Blackie & Son), 1938
The School on the Cliff by Angela Brazil (Blackie & Son), 1938

Annuals, story collections etc.
A Stirring Book for Boys
Blackie’s Girls’ Annual
The Big Budget for Girls
Warne’s First Reading and Nursery Rhyme Book
The Wonder Book of the Empire
The Wonder Book of Aircraft
True Tales of Adventure
The Children’s Companion

Dates uncertain/not known
Ivanhoe by Walter Scott (T. Nelson & Sons) (re-issue)
Kenilworth by Sir Walter Scott, T. Nelson & Sons (re-issue)
The Talisman by Walter Scott T. Nelson & Sons (re-issue)
Jo’s Boys by Louisa M. Alcott, Blackie & Son, re-issue)
Wilful Madge Marshal by Francis Sweyn, Religious Tract Society (re-issue)
The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss, F. Warne & Co., (re-issue)
The King’s Pardon by Robert Overton,Jarrold & Sons
Clive of Clair College by J. Harwood Panting, F. Warne & Co. (re-issue)
Annie Carr: A Tale of Both Hemispheres by (Anon.), Religious Tract Society (re-issue)
A Wilful Ward by Ruth Lamb, Religious Tract Society (re-issue)
Her Own Way by Eglanton Thorne, Religious Tract Society (re-issue)
Two Secrets and A Man of His word by Hesba Stretton, Religious Tract Society (re-issue)
Alison’s Ambition by Mary Hampden, Religious Tract Society (re-issue)
The captain of the Eleven by Shirley K. Plant, Religious Tract Society (re-issue)
The Coral Island by R.M. Ballantyne, F. Warne & Co. (re-issue)
Darcy the Young Acrobat by Helen J. Eastwood, Religious Tract Society (re-issue)

Illustrations for Arthur Conan Doyle stories in The Strand Magazine
The Land of Mist 1925-26 (31 illus.)
When the World Screamed 1928 (7 illus.)
The Disintegration Machine 1929 (3 illus.)
The Death Voyage 1929 (7 illus.)
The End of Devil Hawker 1930 (5 illus.)

(*With thanks to Clare Hiley)

Comic Cuts - 8 September 2017

I've had another good week of work on the Fifty Forgotten Authors book, although the totalizer won't be showing much activity this week. Having spent ages working on one long piece, I began tackling a couple of smaller subjects with renewed vigour and have turned up loads of new information: a couple of previously unknown books by one author, the birth name of another (previously unknown even in family circles), details of another author's later career outside of writing which, up until now, I only had the most sketchy details.

I love this kind of detective work and it's great to have something I can get my teeth into. I'm trying to nail each essay down before I move onto another, but that's not always possible, although some are waiting on a single line of information before I sign off on them. At the moment I've got twelve finished and five others on the go... two where I'm waiting on information, two where I've done the research and just need to write it up and one where I've just started gathering information.

After discussing how poorly I did at a boot fair over the bank holiday a couple of week's ago, I've signed myself up for the local Sale Trail, which takes place at the end of the month. I've done one of these before – way back in April 2015 – and it wasn't as great as I'd hoped. That time we had a couple of tables outside a local hall, which meant transporting all the boxes of books there and bringing 85% of them back, all for the princely sum of £35.

This time, the plan is to hold the sale in our own garden. We've signed up for a mention on the Sale Trail Map and hopefully we'll get plenty of passing trade from people heading to the Co-Op. It's one of those situations where you can't predict what will happen. We'll just have to try it and see.

Will I make enough to pay off the cost of the folding table I bought? I'm still £17.50 shy of what it cost me, so that's my target. Exciting, eh?

Random scans today are pairs of books, for no reason other than that's just the way it happened. The first two are from Curtis Warren, next up Big Ben, thirdly Digit Books – the same book, in fact – and finally two from Black Swan.

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Commando issues 5051-5054

Commando issues released 7 September 2017.

Brand new Commando issues 5051-5054 are out today! Parachute into Nazi territory with our Commando spies, pilots, gunners, and drivers, as we tackle Resistance factions on the Channel Islands, superstitious aircrew, the best and worst fathers, and aerial acrobatics guaranteed to save your life!

5051: Lucky or Jinxed
A tale of enemies turned friends, as only George Low could tell it, Ned Jenkins is a Lancaster tail-gunner who doesn’t know if he’s lucky to have survived so many close scrapes, or jinxed that his fellow crewmates were not so fortunate. Heading this rivalry is radio operator Walter Wright, who reads Ned’s shell-shocked nonchalance as callous arrogance and so begins their feud.
    Bryn Houghton’s cover shows Lancaster bombers mid raid as searchlights scour the night sky with a cool colour palette, creating a mystical allure which ties into the issue’s superstitious theme. Accordingly, Rezzonico’s thin lines and added detail shows ‘Lucky or Jinxed?’ harken back to the Golden era of Commando illustrations.

Story: George Low
Art: Rezzonico
Cover: Bryn Houghton

5052: Steeds of Steel
Perfect for the Gold Collection, Sanfeliz’s cover is full of yellows, contrasting nicely against the suitably metallic title. Meanwhile, ‘Steeds of Steel’ is a great example of Biesla’s interior artwork, with deep shading and dark backgrounds, making the shadows of the desert stand out, adding a noir style, complimenting C G Walker’s story.
    Set in the Libyan desert, Martin Plummer and Neil Hamilton have joined their fathers’ regiments, ready to serve in WWII. Both fathers had fought at Meena River, where, ignoring sense, Plummer ordered Hamilton to charge against unbeatable odds, resulting in his death and tragic losses. Fearing court martial, Plummer then blamed Hamilton for the defeat. Now, amidst another battle, their sons continue this rivalry…

Story: C G Walker
Art: Bielsa
Cover: Sanfeliz
Originally Commando No 387 (1969) Reprinted No 1103 (1977)

5053: Fatherland
Iain McLaughlin’s story follows Lisa Fisher, formerly Fischer, a British spy tasked with infiltrating German intelligence on the Channel Islands. The title for this issue is perfect as it plays on the Nazi epithet for Germany during the Second World War, while also commenting on Lisa’s paternal rejection as she faces off against her fanatical Nazi father and brother.
    Wrapping this neat package is Ian Kennedy’s cover, which features soft purples and pinks, complementing our heroine as she holds a flare to the sky, like an Olympic torch, lighting the way for allied aircraft. Lisa’s femininity is never shied away from in the interior art either, depicted with the classical beauty of Virginia McKenna in Carve Her Name with Pride, her capability is never muddled with masculinity, depicting her as a proficient spy without sacrificing her gender.

Story: Iain McLaughlin
Art: Rodriguez & Morhain
Cover: Ian Kennedy

5054: Safety First
Set primarily during air battles over the Mediterranean, Ian Clark’s story follows amateur pilot Johnny Lees, who couldn’t wait to join the R.A.F. But, when Johnny realises that he’s not as prepared to fly as he thought, he is taken under the wing of Nat Rankin, who teaches Johnny how to survive at all costs…
    Manuel Benet’s cover sets the aerial action for this issue, framing the enemy aircraft with the cockpit doorway, as we look over the shoulders of the pilots at the firing enemy plane. Benet then maintains this attention to aircraft detail in his interior art, depicting Tiger Moths, Gladiators, Fiat CR-42s… and that’s just in the first ten pages!

Story: Ian Clark
Art: Manuel Benet
Cover: Manuel Benet
Originally Commando No 2639 (1993)

Rebellion Releases (2000AD)

Rebellion Publishing releases for 6 September 2017.

2000AD Prog 2047
Cover: Alex Ronald
Judge Dredd: War Bugs by John Wagner (w) Dan Cornwall (a) Abigail Bulmer (c) Annie Parkhouse (l)
The Alienist: Inhuman Natures by Gordon Rennie, Emma Beebie (w) Eoin Coveney (a) Ellie De Ville (l)
Greysuit: Foul Play by Pat Mills (w) John Higgins (a) Sally Hurst (c) Ellie De Ville (l)
Tharg's 3rillers: Mechastopheles by Gordon Rennie, Lawrence Rennie (w) Karl Richardson (a) Annie Parkhouse (l)
Hope: ... For The Future by Guy Adams (w) Jimmy Broxton (a) (c) Simon Bowland (l)

Robert Plant - Bones of Saints

The video for Robert Plant's new song 'Bones of Saints' makes some innovative use of old Look and Learn illustrations by artists ranging from John Millar Watt to James E. McConnell.

Jeff Hawke's Cosmos v.10 no.2

Jeff Hawke's Cosmos magazine has been off the radar for quite some time as the artwork and printers' proofs for one of the stories included have vanished off the face of the planet. A complete run of the story has been put together from the strip's printed appearance and the printed colour dropped in favour of greyscale. The quality is a little patchy in places, but all the strips are legible and any minor problems are forgivable against the benefits of having the strip together in one place to read.

The latest issue (v.10 no.2, released August 2017) contains just two stories this time round. The icy earth of the Lance McLane strip (under which name the strip ran in the Scottish Daily Record—although the lead character was Hawke in syndication) is undergoing some massive changes, with the ice receding and ocean routes opening up. In the Middle East, the Holy Land is freed from ice and a journey is planned by an Israeli-Arab team to reclaim Palestine and Israel with technical aid from the orbiting spacewheel.

At the same time, a man—ill-equipped and close to death—has been discovered on the ice near the French coast. The survivor of a group living at Bayonne, the man relates how an army looking for slave labour attacked their camp and that they have been forced to work on reopening the Channel Tunnel at Calais—or, more precisely, uncovering a cobalt bomb that have lain buried in the Tunnel since before the ice advanced.

Following the action of 'Pharaoh's Army Got Drowned', we head off to Mars for 'Sails in the Red Sunset'. A Martian survey team loses contact with Mars Base... and then a second survey team stops transmitting. The Hope, delivering nuclear waste for reprocessing, brings Hawke to Mars and a scan of the surface shows an anomaly at Arsia Mons: a strange cold spot. Then Mars Base comes under attack from a drone-like aircraft and communication is lost.

After shooting down several of the attacking craft, Hawke discovers they are robot-made and operated by sophisticated flight brains. Their base appears to be Arsia Mons, where a factory is discovered, automated systems dating back centuries. He also discovers that the attack craft may be guarding something even more ancient.

As with many of the best Jeff Hawke stories—and, indeed, good science fiction in general—the stories often explore major themes; in this latter instance it is the argument between Creationism and Darwinism.

Duncan Lunan, responsible for many of the Lance McLane storylines, provides more 'Hawke Notes', takes a look at the reality behind the Martian drones as well as a number of astronomical features. A couple of features by Roger Ley and William Rudling, plus a look back at the Jeff Hawke Club Weekend of 2016, round out the issue nicely.

Subscription rates are £26 for three issues here in the UK and £34/38/41 for overseas subscribers, payable in a variety of ways. You can find more details (and back issues) at the new Jeff Hawke Club web page or by contacting william AT williamrudling.co.uk.

Invasion Colchester 2017

Invasion Colchester is an annual charity drive that takes over the centre of town once a year. The 2017 Invasion took place on Saturday, 2 September, and seemed bigger than ever. There were a lot more props this year, by which I mean cars. We've had cars before—a Duke's of Hazzard Dodge Charger, American police cars, Starsky & Hutch Gran Torino, etc.—but there seemed to be loads more this year.

That's not reflected in the photos as I prefer to concentrate on people... that and I ended up with 116 photos to sort through, plus some that Mel took, and I want to get these up Sunday morning rather than spend all day on them. So, without further ado, here's a selection of characters that I spotted wandering around town while I was doing my grocery shopping Saturday morning...

The first shot, by the way, isn't mine, but shows all of the cosplayers.