William Kempster
William Kempster (1914–1977) was a British artist, best known for his mural British Air Transport, which was commissioned by British Airports Authority in 1969 for Heathrow Airport, London and then displayed in Terminal One until 2015.
Also recorded as Kempster
William Kempster
- Name
- William Kempster
- Born
- 1914
- Died
- 1977
- Occupation
- illustrator · postage stamp designer
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Documentary summary
William Kempster (1914–1977) was a British artist, best known for his mural British Air Transport, which was commissioned by British Airports Authority in 1969 for Heathrow Airport, London and then displayed in Terminal One until 2015.
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William Kempster (1914–1976) was an illustrator and postage stamp designer. Works by the illustrator are held at Science Museum.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 26 September 2026
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Authority files
wikidata · Q21289973 · wikipedia · William Kempster
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — William Kempster • Born — 1914 • Died — 1977 • Notable Works — British Air Transport - The Pioneering Days 1919-1934 (1969)
Early life
Early life
William Kempster was born in 1914.
Career
Career
• Illustration — William Kempster's stamp for the 1966 World Cup With Barry Evans, Kempster painted a mural for the Festival of Britain in 1951. Also with Evans, he was an illustrator for James Fisher’s The Wonderful World: The Adventure of the Earth We Live On (1954). In addition, he designed a stamp to celebrate the 1966 Football World Cup. Kempster is best known for his mural British Air Transport, which was commissioned by British Airports Authority in 1969 for Heathrow Airport, London and then displayed in Terminal One until 2015. It was unveiled in 1969 by Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, and it illustrates pioneer British airlines and a number of well-known pilots. In 2018, it was loaned to the Historic Croydon Airport Trust by the Maas Gallery and transferred to be displayed at Croydon Airport.
Death
Death
Kempster died in 1977.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1914
William Kempster was born in 1914.
1976
William Kempster died in 1976.
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “William Kempster”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q21289973: William Kempster
General reference · Wikidata
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Kempster, William, 1914–1976 Art UK. artuk.org.
- 2.The Missive.
- 3.Concorde The British Postal Museum & Archive blog.
- 4.Worldcup Football Museum 1966. The Postal Museum.
- 5.William Kempster ARCA, British 1914-1977- The History of Aviation 1969. auctions.roseberys.co.uk.
- 6.Jones, Peter Blundell. Architecture and Movement: the Dynamic Experience of Buildings and Landscapes. Routledge. 286. 2015. 9780415725347.
- 7.1969 1923 Flight Archive. www.flightglobal.com.
- 8.Insidecroydon. Kempster's historic airport mural flies in to Croydon. Inside Croydon. 12 January 2018.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Secondary witnessauthority record
General reference
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 17 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Illustration
5,224 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- William Jackson HookerIllustrator
- William James GlackensIllustrator
- William James WebbeIllustrator
- William JoyceIllustrator
- William Ladd TaylorIllustrator
- William LloydIllustrator
- William Marshall CraigIllustrator
- William Meade PrinceIllustrator
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