Mario Armengol. Credit: Por Lindah Kiddey – http://marioarmengol.com/index.html, CC BY-SA 4.0
A Spanish cartoonist once suspected of being a wartime spy is currently being honoured in a major exhibition in Barcelona until January 2026.
Mario Armengol, originally from Catalonia, secretly produced thousands of anti-Nazi cartoons that poked fun at Hitler for the British government during World War II – right from a small village in Nottinghamshire.
The story of artist Mario Armengol
Born in 1909 in Sant Joan de les Abadesses near the Pyrenees, Mario Armengol was blacklisted during the Spanish Civil War for his political beliefs. Forced to flee Spain in 1938, he crossed into France where he was arrested and later joined the French Foreign Legion. By 1940, he had made it to Britain and was granted permission to stay.
He eventually moved to the village of Laneham in Nottinghamshire, where he began drawing propaganda cartoons for the British Ministry of Information. These works mocked Hitler and the Axis powers and were distributed internationally.
Locals thought Mario Armengol was a spy
Armengol’s sudden arrival and unusual lifestyle sparked suspicion in Laneham. Lindah Kiddey, whose mother had a close relationship with Armengol, recalled:
“They’d never seen a foreign person before, let alone a man with a strong accent, wearing a beret, who was sending these large parcels weekly to His Majesty’s government… so they thought he must be a spy,” she told BBC News.
Despite initial mistrust, the charismatic artist eventually won the villagers over. Kiddey said he became “a sort of folk hero,” especially among local children.
From 1941 to 1945, Armengol created around 2,000 satirical illustrations – many now recognised as some of the finest political art of the time. According to curators of an exhibition titled Tinta Catalana contra Hitler, his work deserves to be seen alongside famed British cartoonists like David Low and Illingworth.
The exhibition, held at the National Art Museum of Catalonia until January 11, 2026, showcases a large selection of original artworks, many preserved by Armengol’s family. These pieces not only lampooned major WWII figures and battles but also drew on Catalan traditions of satire and caricature.
“His fine art is magnificent and his industrial and commercial design is also wonderful,” said Kiddey, who hopes the renewed interest – fuelled by a planned 2026 documentary – will finally bring his work the attention it deserves.
Today marks the 80th anniversary of VE Day.
View all breaking news.
