The International Firemen’s Tournament at the Agricultural Hall: The Portuguese Brigade Driving Past

John Charlton (1849 - 1917)

Charlton was an English painter and illustrator of equestrian and military scenes. Charlton received his first lessons in drawing from his father when he was only three or four years old, and within a few years was drawing horses with some skill. Due to his family’s financial misfortunes, he had to attend Dr. Sharp’s charity school held in Bamburgh’s great castle, and a few years later, was forced to quit and find employment. With the many British and colonial forces military engagements over possessions in northern and southern Africa, Charlton was much sought after with many of the illustrations appearing in The Graphic. After the death of his two sons in World War I, Charlton died after a brief illness brought on by the profound loss he felt with the loss of both his sons.

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