Card of the Day - 2022-10-05

Wills "Famous Golfers"
W.D. & H.O. Wills [tobacco : UK] "Famous Golfers" (June 1930) 11/25 - W675-171 : W62-133 : W/206

Here we have C. O. [Charles Owen] Hezlet . What is not stated is that he was entitled to add D.S.O., a medal he won during his time in the Antrim Royal Garrison Artillery, where he was a Lieutenant/Acting Major. And in the Second World War, in the Royal Artillery, he appears to have won the Military Cross. 

Golfing was in his blood, his parents were captains of Royal Portrush and his sisters very talented players. He was actually runner up in the 1924 Amateur Championship. After the war he resumed his golfing and appeared in the Walker Cup Team three times. 

This card comes from artwork by H. H. Harris, a very interesting character whose first name was Herbert. He was a poster artist and his big claim to fame was to design the advertisement with the pyjama clad man clinging to the neck of a Bovril jar - just months before the news of the Titanic sinking. It was not used for eight years. He also illustrated books for children and on sporting subjects, reputedly his illustrations for a golfing volume got his this job for Wills. He also drew another set of cigarette cards Wills "Lawn Tennis 1931". During the Second World War he toured round the airbases in a caravan sketching portraits of service personnel raising money for the RAF Comforts Fund. You can see him at work at the Mary Evans Picture Library  

First reported in our original Wills Reference Book, part four as large sized cards, measuring 79 x 62 m/m.

They were replaced in November 1930 by "Beautiful Homes", a set of 25 large cards.