George Kruger Gray

George Kruger Gray (25 December 1880 – 2 May 1943) was an English artist, best remembered for his designs of coinage and stained glass windows.

Born in 1880 at 126 Kensington Park Road, London, the son of a Jersey merchant, he was christened in Kensington as George Edward Kruger.

He received his tertiary education at the Bath School of Art (today Bath School of Art and Design a department of Bath Spa University). There he won a scholarship to the Royal College of Art in London from which he graduated with the Diploma in Design in his birth name George Edward Kruger. From 1905 he exhibited water colours at the Royal Academy, specialising in landscapes flower studies and portraits.

During the First World War, George Kruger served with the Artists Rifles and a camouflage unit of the Royal Engineers. Here he was hiding military items, and made dummy objects to irritate enemy forces.

In 1918, after his marriage to (Frances) Audrey Gordon Gray, he changed his name to George Kruger Gray.

After the war, he carried on with his career as an artist. In 1923, he exhibited his numismatic works at the Royal Academy of Arts. He won a great reputation and orders to design the coinage for Great Britain.

In 1938, he became a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE)

He specialized not only in the design of numismatic items. He also designed and made lead-glass windows for churches, universities etc. He illustrated books, and made posters and cartoons.

George Edward Kruger Gray died in Chichester, West Sussex, on 2 May 1943. He is buried in St Mary Churchyard, Fittleworth, Chichester.

Kruger Gray was a well known artisan of his time, and produced a number of coats of arms, including the version used by The University of Western Australia from 1929 to 1963. He also designed the Flag of the Colony of Aden.

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