Walter Kenneth Jones Lily (1930-2004), The Air Raid, signed and dated 1992, inscribed on verso, oil on board, 42 x 79cm.; 16.5 x 31in. * As a boy, Ken missed a lot of schooling due to being deaf in one ear. Ken left school in 1945 and went to work in a factory (McKechnie Bros.) where his father, Lou, worked. Ken stayed there until 1950, working as a labourer and doing the some sign writing on the wagons etc. Ken then went to work, in the then Widnes Foundry & Engineering Company, as a labourer and was a foreman rigger when he was made redundant in 1984. In 1953 Ken met the love of his life, Lillian and in 1955 they married. They were both very devoted to each other and were very happy until Lillian's tragic death in 1977. Ken, totally devastated by Lillian's passing, started to devote all his spare time to painting. Ken would often paint to three o'clock in the morning and then get up and go to work in the Foundry. It was during this period that Ken started to sign his work Lily in memory of his late wife. All original cartoons and paintings by Ken are signed Lily. During his time at the foundry Ken would sketch and photograph life, the machinery and the building around him. Using the sketches and photographs as notes, Ken painted pictures depicting life as it was then. The characters were all based on actual people, but with a touch of Ken's humour, which he had throughout his life. His characters although true to life were portrayed as humorous men and their faces with wonderful expressions. In some of the paintings Ken has included himself, a touch of melancholy as Ken looked down on his life within the painting. Ken also went on to become a successful cartoonist of the old type. His work was published in many daily newspapers. From 1987 Ken just spent his time cartooning, refusing many offers of painting commissions. Ken had a number of articles written about him and was known locally as the Lowry of Widnes