Author: Ian Wolverson
Eric Aldwinckle was born in Oxford England and after attending Folkestone Grammar school he moved with his family to Canada, at the age of 15.
Upon his father’s death, the young Eric became the principal support of his family.
Unable to attend art school, he was influenced by many contemporary painters, and in 1928 he became a commercial artist, teaching part-time at the Ontario College of Art.
Early in the war he designed some of Canada’s most forceful war posters, enlisting in 1942 to the RCAF.
For a time, he served as a camouflage specialist in Halifax, but in February 1943 he was commissioned as an official war artist. and the late summer of 1943 he spent several weeks at RAF Ashford, while covering RCAF operations in Coastal Command and the 2nd Tactical Air Force.
Upon his release from service in October 1945, he resumed his career as a commercial artist and art teacher and went on to design many of Canada’s coins and banknotes, as well as the official Seal of Canada, used during the reign of the late Elizabeth the II.
The photograph below of Aldwinckle at work, was taken at RAF Ashford and the result of this session ‘Mustangs in Readiness’ is shown at the bottom of the page.
