Boys! Remember Nurse Cavell

Australian First World War poster depicting a menacing German officer, arms folded, standing over the body Nurse Edith Cavell (a British nurse in executed by the Germans on suspicion of being a spy), while the ghostly figure of Justice hovers behind them, demanding the viewer deliver retribution. The officer is in dark shadow, in contrast to Cavell, who is dressed in her white nurses uniform. In the background, the silhouettes of a German firing squad are lined up, guns still poised. Virgil Reilly (1892-1974), was a cartoonist, comic book artist and illustrator. His most notable creations were the 'Virgil Girls' and his comic books 'Silver Flash' and 'The Invisible Avenger'. In the 1910s he worked as a commercial artist for a motion picture advertising firm, as well as drawing propaganda and recruitment posters during the First World War. In 1920 Virgil joined 'Smith's Weekly' as a staff artist in Sydney where he remained until 1950. Reilly was also an accomplished book illustrator, providing artwork for two collections of poetry by Kenneth Slessor, 'Darlinghurst Nights' in 1933, and 'Backless Betty from Bondi' in 1938.