Digital Resource | MacDonald 'Max' Gill

Chapter 1: Introduction

MacDonald ‘Max’ Gill was a key figure in the world of graphic art in the first half of the 20th Century. The Arts & Crafts Movement was one of his main sources of inspiration and he worked alongside many of the famous architects and craftsmen of the day, becoming well-known as a decorative mapmaker, mural…

Chapter 2: Biographical Timeline

1884 Born 6th October in Brighton. 1897 Gill family move to Chichester. 1899 Family move to Bognor Regis. 1901 Max embarks on training as architect. 1903 Moves to London to work as assistant with architects Nicholson and Corlette. 1909 Edwin Lutyens commissions Max to paint first wind-dial map. 1912 Lutyens commissions Lindisfarne wind-dial map. 1913 Frank Pick of the London Electric Railways commissions…

Chapter 3: Early Life and Work

MacDonald ‘Max’ Gill, born in 1884 in Brighton, was the second son of Rose King and Arthur Tidman Gill, a non-conformist minister. In 1897 the family moved to Chichester where he was educated at the Prebendal School. He also took classes in carving and drawing at the Chichester Technical College and Art School. Two years…

Chapter 4: Briantspuddle

In 1914, Britain went to war with Germany and thousands rushed to join up. Max Gill was an obvious candidate for the Army, having trained with the Sussex Yeomanry and the King’s Colonials. But he was already engaged on a project that was seen by the authorities as more important to the war effort. His…

Chapter 6: Marketing the Empire

Between the two World Wars, the British Empire entered a period of steady decline, as its subjects began to question the concept of unswerving loyalty to ‘The Mother Country’. Everywhere there were calls for more autonomy and in India, the Congress Party was demanding nothing less than full independence. As the Colonies became increasingly restless,…

Chapter 5: London Transport

London’s underground railway system began as a fragmented collection of rival independent companies. In 1902 they were united under the banner of Underground Electric Railways of London Ltd, which later evolved into London Transport. By 1908 it was known simply as ‘The Underground’ and a year later, Frank Pick became the Underground’s Traffic Development Officer….

Chapter 7: The Thirties

The ‘Hungry Thirties’ were troubled times: they saw the ravages of the Great Depression, the rise of Fascism and ultimately the start of the Second World War. In Britain, hunger marches underlined the deepening social divisions, the Abdication Crisis of 1936 shook the Monarchy to its foundations, and there was growing discontent within the British…

Chapter 9: Royalty

In 1935, Britain celebrated the Silver Jubilee of King George V. The crowds cheered, the children got their souvenir mugs and all seemed well with the Monarchy. Less than a year later, the King was dead and his eldest son Edward VIII was fighting to retain the crown. His playboy lifestyle and his determination to…

Chapter 8: Queen Mary

In the 1930s, the Cunard liner Queen Mary was a powerful symbol of Britain’s international prestige. When work began in December 1930 she was intended to be the greatest ship afloat. But as the economy collapsed in the wake of the Wall Street Crash of 1929, the money ran out and all work stopped. For…

Chapter 10: Empire Exhibition, Glasgow

In May 1938, a grand Empire Exhibition was opened by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in Bellahouston Park, Glasgow. It attracted 12 million visitors and acted as a showcase for Scottish industry as it struggled to recover from the Great Depression. Dotted among the fountains, lawns and terraces were pavilions dedicated to individual countries…