Classic Cartoons: Martin Plimmer on Paul Crum (Roger Pettiward)

ROGER PETTIWARD was a model Englishman: 6 feet 5 inches tall, well bred but an gentleman by nature, surreally humourous in the face of adversity, adventurous in peace-time, heroic in war. He was killed while leading a commando troop on German coast guns during the allied attack on Dieppe in August 1942, an action for which, had he lived, it is likely he would have been awarded the Victoria Cross.

His cartoons, which he signed Paul Crum, eschewed force for the gentle perception of character and situation, expressed in elegant compositions of easy, fluid lines. His sparkling future is easily imagined and sorely missed.

Tomorrow there is a opportunity to meet contemporary artists who may have been influenced by his work, at the Christmas Cartoon and Comics Fair, Chelsea Old Town Hall, King's Road, London SW2 (10am-6pm).