Freda Lingstrom

Freda Lingstrom (also known by the name Freda Violet Lingstrom), born 1893 in Chelsea, London, died 1989. Designed posters for the Underground Group 1923-1933. Educated at the Central School of Arts and Crafts.

Freda Lingstrom OBE (1893 – 1989) studied at the Central School before beginning a long and varied creative career, starting off as a designer in a large London print works. After stints in two design studios, Freda set up her own consultancy, creating designs for the London & North Eastern Railway, the Underground Group and the Norwegian state railway. Other notable work includes Scandinavian travel publicity for use in England. Freda was a writer as well as a designer, producing two novels and the book 'This is Norway'. Her expertise with words and images led her to work on children's magazine 'Junior' in 1945. From this, Freda moved on to working for the BBC, for whom she created several iconic children's programmes: Listen With Mother, Andy Pandy, The Flowerpot Men and The Woodentops. Freda was Head of Children's Programmes at the BBC from 1951 to 1955. After the BBC, Freda continued to write. Examples of her work are held in the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Author: Ruth Sykes-2016