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The Papers of Edward Brian Seago

 Fonds
Reference Code: GBR/0014/ESEA

Scope and Contents

This collection comprises photographs, reports, lectures and instructional booklets on camouflage together with some papers relating to Major Seago's military career and also interesting correspondence between Major Seago and Field-Marshal Sir H.R. Alexander (1941-59) and Field Marshal Sir Claude Auchinleck (1947-57) mainly on the subject of painting. This collection comprises photographs, reports, lectures and instructional booklets on camouflage together with some papers relating to Major Seago's military career and also interesting correspondence between Major Seago and Field-Marshal Sir H.R. Alexander (1941-59) and Field Marshal Sir Claude Auchinleck (1947-57) mainly on the subject of painting. The papers also include personal letters written by Seago to Alan George Delgado who was responsible for editing Seago's books for Collins Publishers (circa 1933-circa 1945)

Dates

  • Creation: 1933 - 1959

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for consultation by researchers using Churchill Archives Centre, Churchill College, Cambridge.

Conditions Governing Use

Researchers wishing to publish excerpts from the papers must obtain prior permission from the copyright holders and should seek advice from Archives Centre staff.

Biographical / Historical

Edward Brian ["Ted"] Seago was born in March 1910 in Norwich. He had a limited education, and from 1923 was an apprentice to the artist Bertram Priestman. He subsequently toured England, Ireland, and France with a travelling circus and carried out espionage in Europe before World War Two. His experiences with the travelling circus are recorded in his "Circus Company" (1933), "Sons of Sawdust" (1934), and "Caravan" (1937). He contributed paintings with poems by his friend John Masefield, in the publications "The Country Scene" (1937), "Tribute to Ballet" (1938), and "A Generation Risen" (1942).

During World War Two Seago served as a camouflage officer in the Royal Engineers under his painting companions Field Marshal Sir Claude Auchinleck and Lieutenant-General Sir Harold Alexander. He was the author of "Peace in War" (1943) and "High Endeavour" (1944) and "With the Allied Armies in Italy" (1945).

After the War Seago travelled and exhibited across the world including Canada, South Africa and the USA. He was one of the artists officially invited to paint the coronation of Elizabeth II in 1952, and in 1956 accompanied the Duke of Edinburgh on his tour of Antarctica. He also painted a number of royal portraits including King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip and Princess Margaret.

He was elected to the Royal Society of British Artists in 1946, made an Associate of the Royal Society of Painters in Water Colours in 1957 and a full member of the Society in 1959.

Seago died, unmarried, in January 1974.

Extent

3 archive box(es)

Language of Materials

English

Other Finding Aids

A copy of this finding aid is available for consultation at Churchill Archives Centre, Cambridge and the National Register of Archives, London..

Immediate Source of Acquisition

ESEA 1-3 were presented to Churchill Archives Centre by Peter Seymour (Seago's heir) in 1979; ESEA 4 was presented by Alan Delgado's daughter in 2007. EDEA 5 was bequested to the archive in 2016, by Mrs Jean Finzi.

General

This collection (fonds) level description and catalogue was prepared by Andrew Riley of Churchill Archives Centre in March 2005, and updated in February 2007, using information from the "Dictionary of National Biography" (Oxford University Press 2004)

Originator(s)

Seago, Edward Brian, 1910-1974, artist

Date
2005-03-30 13:14:54+00:00
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Churchill Archives Centre Repository

Contact:
Churchill Archives Centre
Churchill College
Cambridge Cambridgeshire CB3 0DS United Kingdom
+44 (0)1223 336087