12 Facts About Charles Tunnicliffe

Charles Tunnicliffe spent most of his working life on the Isle of Anglesey.

Charles Tunnicliffe is popularly known for his illustrations for the novel Tarka the Otter.

Charles Tunnicliffe spent his early years living on the farm at Sutton, where he saw much wildlife.

Charles Tunnicliffe went on to win a scholarship to the Royal College of Art in London.

Charles Tunnicliffe married in 1929 at the Methodist Church, Whalley Range, Manchester, to Winifred Wonnacott, a fellow art student, from Hollywood, near Belfast.

Much of Charles Tunnicliffe's work depicted birds in their natural settings and other naturalistic scenes.

Charles Tunnicliffe illustrated Henry Williamson's 1927 novel Tarka the Otter.

Charles Tunnicliffe's work was used to illustrate Brooke Bond tea cards and as a result was seen by millions of young people in the United Kingdom during the 1950s and 1960s.

Charles Tunnicliffe illustrated a number of books, including the Ladybird books.

Charles Tunnicliffe's work was characterised by its precision and accuracy, but by the way in which he was able to portray birds as they were seen in nature rather than as stiff scientific studies.

Charles Tunnicliffe's work is still celebrated with the Charles and Winifred Tunnicliffe Memorial Art Competition, which is held annually at Hollinhey Primary School, Sutton, which itself is built on land which was formerly part of the farm he lived on as a boy.

Charles Tunnicliffe was the subject of a 1981 BBC Wales television documentary, True to Nature, produced by Derek Trimby and narrated by Robert Dougall.