William Collection (#24)

Defence during the summer months from the beach, home guards hiding with their gun ready. Date: 1941

Trying to carry on as usual! Tennis players camouflaged from above in case of invasion. Date: 1941

German soldiers spotting buildings far in the distance, not realising that it's a setup consisting of a miniature country town coursing the perspective to be all wrong. Date: 1941

An air-trawling device for the use of British troops in Egypt, a drive against Marshal Graziani in the Western desert. Date: 1940

As a precaution against possible bombing precious art, relics, sculptures and memorials where moved out of London to a secret place. This was given to the Nation by the National Art Collections Fund

Successful campaign in the Libyan desert. Italian soldiers about to trigger an underground device. Date: 1941

Couples ingenious device so they don't wake up the baby. A makeshift pump that extinguishes incendiary bombs that have landed in your home without leaving the comfort of your bed. Date: 1941

How to Make Roof-Spotting a Pleasure
William Heath Robinson invention for keeping watch from attack. A warden perched up high above the streets with an umbrella for protection, tea-cup-holder and an easy chair. Date: 1941

The New Top-Flat Rescue Apparatus in Action
Apparatus for rescuing people from high buildings that have been damaged from heavy bombing. Date: 1941

From Bedroom to Shelter in One
Kind warden sets the machine in motion to allow people to sleep through a air-raid. Swinging from bedroom to living room to shelter without waking. Date: 1941

British soldiers had landed in Italy by parachute, here is an illustration by William Heath Robinson showing how they returned! Date: 1941

Mussolini's Secret Weapon Disclosed!
A new secret weapon devised for the use of the Italian forces in Albania. Date: 1941

William Heath Robinson shows how a remarkable and most heroic attempt was made by the Italians to convoy fresh fish to their troops through a minefield in the Mediterranean escort by fighter

Bertrand Russell with others on a CND campaign
Bertrand Russell (Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, 1872-1970), British philosopher, logician, mathematician, historian, socialist, pacifist and social critic

Bertrand Russell, British writer, pacifist etc
Bertrand Russell (Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, 1872-1970), British philosopher, logician, mathematician, historian, socialist, pacifist and social critic. Seen here (left)

Tommy Steele, English entertainer
Tommy Steele (Thomas William Hicks, b 1936), English singer, actor and entertainer. Seen here with a group of adults and children. Date: circa 1960s

Norman Tebbit and Willie Whitelaw, Conservative politicians
Norman Beresford Tebbit, Baron Tebbit (b 1931), Conservative politician and government minister. Seen here with his colleague Willie Whitelaw (William Stephen Ian Whitelaw, 1st Viscount Whitelaw)

Margaret Thatcher, British Conservative Prime Minister
Margaret Thatcher (Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, nee Roberts, 1925-2013), who served as British Conservative Prime Minister from 1979 to 1990

Keith Vaz and Bill Morris at a meeting
Keith Vaz (Nigel Keith Anthony Standish Vaz, b 1956), British Labour Party politician (left) and Bill Morris (William Manuel Morris, Baron Morris of Handsworth, b 1938), leader of the TGWU

Bill Wainwright, journalist and Communist Party member
William (Bill) Wainwright (1908-2000), journalist, pamphleteer and member of the Communist Party of Great Britain. He became the CPGB Assistant Secretary in 1956

Walton William English British Classical Composer
walton, william, english, british, classical, composer, music, musician, opera, choral, orchestral, sir, turner, 1902, 1983, church, interior, choirboy, 1970s, history, historical, 10473030

Willie Whitelaw, Conservative politician and minister
Willie Whitelaw (William Stephen Ian Whitelaw, 1st Viscount Whitelaw, 1918-1999), Conservative politician and government minister. Date: circa 1980s

Bill Owen, English actor and songwriter
Bill Owen (William John Owen Rowbotham, 1914-1999), English actor and songwriter. Best known for the role of Compo in the TV series, Last of the Summer Wine

William Morris, artist, writer, publisher and socialist
William Morris (1834-1896), English textile designer, artist, writer, publisher and socialist, associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and the English Arts and Crafts Movement

Bill Morris, trade union leader, giving a speech
Bill Morris (William Manuel Morris, Baron Morris of Handsworth, b 1938), trade union leader. He was General Secretary of the TGWU (Transport and General Workers Union) 1992-2003

Jacquetta Hawkes, Bertrand Russell and Stephen King-Hall
Jacquetta Hawkes (1910-1996), British writer and archaeologist, Bertrand Russell (Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, 1872-1970), British philosopher, logician, mathematician

Michael Meacher, British Labour politician
Michael Hugh Meacher (b 1939), British Labour politician, served as Minister of State for the Environment 1997-2003. Seen here campaigning with others against the closure of the Peter Pan Ward in

William Caxton, English merchant, diplomat, writer, printer
William Caxton (c1415-1422--c1492), English merchant, diplomat, writer and printer. He is considered to be the first English person to work as a printer

Billy Bragg, singer, songwriter, and political activist
The singer, songwriter, alternative rock musician and left-wing political activist Billy Bragg (Stephen William Bragg, b 1957). Seen here singing and playing an electric guitar. Date: circa 1980s

Tamper with a Railway Signal by William Heath Robinson
Sixth column strategy, frustrating a dastardly attempt by the fifth a tamper with railway signal. Date: 1940

A Warm Welcome for Every Parachutist
Sixth column strategy: Foresight plans, if London gets invaded by landing Germans dropping from the skies dressed as British civilians they would be collected up by cyclist with tubs of hot boiling

Frustrating an Attempt to Disorganise London
Sixth column strategy: Disguised as Gothic pinnacles the famous clock, Big Ben is being altered by an odd contraption, to confuse the general public. Date: 1940

How to Make it Hard for the Invader!
British Home Front are using a makeshift contraption to pinch a screwdriver making it impossible for the Germans to assemble an air-borne tank. Date: 1940

British Secret Weapons to Surprise the Boche
Military invention by William Heath Robinson to surprise the enemy. Jumping tanks, Boche-grabbers composed of expanding and retracting claws of great size and strength. Date: 1940

Rational Gadgets For Your Coupons by William Heath Robinson
Customers are put on scales to determine how much butter they are entitled to, the heavier the person is, the more butter they are given. Date: 1940

Dental or Mental? by William Heath Robinson
A suggested method of tooth-extraction with a primitive contraption. Date: 1924

Prepare for the Holidays by William Heath Robinson
A man learning how to swim without water by correspondence from a college by letter. Date: 1919

Uncrossing the Crosses on a Hot + Bun
A contraption for removing the cross on a hot cross bun left over from Easter. Date: 1922

Mrs Sloper and her Children
The original painting was long regarded as showing Mrs Goddard and her children, with the dead mother in the sky looking down at her daughters on earth

Wilhelm II, German Emperor (1859 - 1941), was the last German Emperor (German: Kaiser) and King of Prussia. Date: 1903

JORDANS, near Uxbridge, Middlesex
The grave of William Penn, at Jordans, near Uxbridge, Middlesex Date: 1875

BATH BECKFORDS TOWER
The Tomb and tower of William Beckford in Walcot Cemetery, Bath - as grandiloquent in death as he had been during his lifetime. Date: circa 1850

BENTLEY PRIORY
Bentley Priory, Stanmore, Middlesex : the residence of Adelaide, the queen dowager, after the death of William IV. 1848

Your Majesty by Mary L. Gow
An impression by Mary L. Gow (1851-1929) of the young Victoria receiving the news that her uncle, King William IV is dead, and she is queen, on the morning of 20 June 1837

She'll be Queen Yet
Impression of Edward, Duke of Kent showing off his baby daughter, Alexandrine Victoria, later Queen Victoria. After the death of King George IV, his brother, King William IV

For the convenience of bathers, a neat appliance for pouring oil on troubled waters. Date: 1921

THE MOTHER EARTH WORMTO ITS WORMLET: Now, then, Florizel, that just serves you right. How often have I told you to keep away from the wicket during these Test Matches! Date: 1926

The christening of Prince Henry William Frederick Albert (1900 - 1974), later the Duke of Gloucester, at Windsor Castle in Berkshire, 1900

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