Ken Burnley and myself will be giving a two part illustrated talk on The Brunswick Prison Camp Map Printers at St Bride Foundation, Bride Lane, Fleet Street, London on 3rd December. Ken Burnley was an apprentice to my father, Brunswick Map Printer Philip Radcliffe-Evans at Tinlings in Liverpool and has had a life in printing; now retired he teaches letterpress at Juniper Press at The Bluecoat Chambers in Liverpool.
I will be talking about my father’s life, career, his war & capture and the circumstances in POW camp Oflag79 that enabled the discovery that he could make lithographic plates from wall tiles, build a press from disparate objects and materials, make inks from unpromising starting points and was able to mass produce a series of 3 and 4 colour scale maps to be distributed for escape purposes – all within the adverse conditions of imprisonment.
Ken Burnley will be talking about the press and how it was made and worked, the inks and the printing process with illustrations of annotated drawings that my father made soon after the war when his experience was still fresh in memory.
For anyone with an interest in printing, lithography, maps & cartography and WW2 history we think, and hope, that this will be a fascinating presentation of a unique and little known story.
We will have both editions of the book The Brunswick Prison Camp Printers for sale – the limited edition letterpress edition and the digitally printed facsimile edition.
Tickets available from St Bride Foundation 020 7353 3331 info@sbf.org.uk
THE BRUNSWICK PRISON CAMP MAP PRINTERS 