Fred May was a world-renowned caricaturist. He served with the regiment in both world wars, submitting his first piece of work to Tatler from France in 1917. May maintained a great enthusiasm for the regiment, made lifelong friends, and was frequently found at regimental dinners discreetly sketching his fellow diners.
After the First World War, May’s creative skills enabled him to pursue a career as caricaturist working for the North-Eastern Daily Gazette in Middlesbrough and Tatler in London. It was this working relationship with Tatler that would last 59 years, with his last caricature appearing in the publication in September 1976, a month before his death.
As well as the artwork created by May for publications like The Green Howards Gazette, the museum holds framed studies and caricatures originally given for display in the Officers Mess, the Depot Richmond as well as collections of ad hoc caricatures made by May in response to events and letters he received. The drawings and caricatures bring to life the personalities of the people who May encountered during his time with the regiment, both professionally and socially over six decades.