Edward Ardizzone was the eldest of five children. In 1905 his family moved to Ipswich, where he learnt to know and love the little coastal steamers that he was to draw so often in the Little Tim books. Illustrator of more than 170 much-loved children's books, Edward Ardizzone was awarded the Kate Greenaway Medal in 1956 and the CBE in 1971. He died in 1979.