William Mitheson Timlin

William Mitheson Timlin (1892-1943) Architect, designer, painter, book illustrator and writer.

Also variously referred to as W.M. Timlin, William Timlin or William M. Timlin

Biography

Born William Mitcheson Timlin in Ashington, Northumberland, on 11 April 1892 (according to another source, 16 august, 1892), the son of a colliery foreman. He showed talent for drawing at Morpeth Grammar School, and received a scholarship to the Armstrong College of Art in Newcastle. In 1910 (1912?), he joined his parents in South Africa where he completed his training in art and architecture and remained in the country for the rest of his life.

In Kimberley joined the architectural firm of D.W. Greatbach, later becoming a partner in the firm Greatbach and Timlin. In this capacity he designed a number of important buildings in Kimberley including Kimberly Boys' High School while pursuing his interest in art, turning out a large number of watercolour fantasies in addition to oils, pastels, etchings and periodical illustrations. His work was regularly exhibited. He also wrote stories, illustrated books and composed music. He gained particular renown a for his own highly regarded book The Ship that Sailed to Mars: a Fantasy (George Harrap, 1923, new edition by Stonewall Publications, 1993.)

Timlin also illustrated many South African travel books and prepared illustrations for a book to be titled The Building of a Fairy City, which was never published.

He died in Kimberley, Northern Cape on 8 September, 1943.

Contribution to SA theatre, film, media and/or performance

Timlin designed theatre programmes and posters in Kimberley and over the years designed or helped on the design of many buildings, including theatre and cinema venues such as the Plaza Kinema in Kimberley (for Kinemas Limited, 1928), for he most probably did the interior designs.

He also supplied the architect P. Rogers Cooke with the interior designs for two atmospheric theatres, namely The Alhambra (Cape Town, 1931) and The Colosseum (Johannesburg, 1933). Possibly also the Playhouse in Durban.