Mildred Ratcliffe

FSSI
BornMildred Mary Ratcliffe Edit this on Wikidata
17 October 1899 Edit this on Wikidata
Rochester Edit this on Wikidata
Died19 October 1988 Edit this on Wikidata (aged 89)
Alma materRochester Grammar School for Girls
OccupationPainter, illustrator, calligrapher Edit this on Wikidata
EmployerPost Office Savings Bank
Awards
  • Fellowship of the Society of Scribes and Illuminators Edit this on Wikidata

Mildred Mary Ratcliffe FSSI (1899–1988) was an English painter, commercial artist & calligrapher, known for her poster designs for the Post Office Savings Bank.[1]

Biography

Ratcliffe was born on 17 October 1899 in Rochester, Kent as the second of Alfred and Rose Ratcliffe's seven children, and was educated by a governess, before attending Rochester Grammar School for Girls.[1]

Upon leaving school Ratcliffe took up a position as a wages clerk with the Civil Service, at Chatham Dockyard.[1] Approximately four years later, she became a clerical officer with the Post Office Savings Bank, at Hammersmith.[1] In the mid-1920s she transferred to their new publicity unit, spending the rest of her career there designing posters and other promotional material.[1] She also designed the bank's annual Christmas card for members of the Royal family.[1]

In 1950 Ratcliffe scribed and illuminated, in gold, a 'Book of Acknowledgement', for the Benenden Civil Service Chest Hospital's Appeal Fund. The book was presented to Queen Elizabeth on 6 July 1950, when she opened the hospital.[1] She also lettered two books of remembrance for St Mark's Church, Surbiton.[1][2]

She exhibited at two Royal Academy of Arts summer exhibitions and was appointed a Fellow of the Society of Scribes and Illuminators (FSSI).[1]

For most of her life, Ratcliffe lived alone in a flat in West Kensington, London, before retiring to a cottage at 1, Mill Street, Loose, Kent in 1959.[1] In retirement, she joined and exhibited with the Maidstone Art Society, served as life vice-president of the Civil Service Arts Club, and acted as art tutor to local children.[1]

Ratcliffe died on 19 October 1988.[1] Her funeral took place at All Saints' Church, Loose.[1] Examples of her work are in the collections of the Imperial War Museums,[1] The Postal Museum,[3] The National Archives,[4] and Maidstone Museum & Art Gallery.[1]

Maidstone Art Society award a Mildred Ratcliffe Prize for 'Best in Show' at their annual exhibition.[5]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Tritton, Paul, ed. (2010). "Mildred Ratcliffe: Artist at Loose" (PDF). Loose Threads. Loose Area Historical Society (10): 2–4. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 July 2021. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
  2. ↑ "St Mark's Church - The North Aisle". The Parish of St. Andrew & St. Mark, Surbiton. Archived from the original on 17 May 2019. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  3. ↑ "Search results: Mildred+Ratcliffe". The Postal Museum Catalogue. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  4. ↑ "Catalogue description – Wherever You Go: Biddenden Post Office, by Mildred Ratcliffe". The National Archives. Archived from the original on 12 February 2023. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  5. ↑ "Annual Exhibitions - 2014 Annual Exhibition". The Maidstone Art Society. Archived from the original on 4 December 2022. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
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