I THOUGHT these vintage travel posters from the 1950s would provide a cheerful start to the January Nostalgia pages. Hopefully we can all experience such holiday pleasures again in the not-too-distant future. Commissioned by British Railways, they were painted by artist Douglas Lionel Mays who lived at High & Over, Amersham from 1953 until 1962. D L Mays (as he was usually known) was a Punch cartoonist and an illustrator of children’s books, particularly Anthony Buckeridge’s Jennings series and Noel Streatfield’s Tennis Shoes. However, his successful career included illustrations for a wide range of magazine, posters, and advertising designs. He was born in 1900 in Kingston-upon-Thames and was educated there at Tiffin School before serving as a rifleman in the Army of Occupation of the Rhineland. He was discharged in 1920 but his experience led to him being a pacifist in WWII.