Alfred Edmeades "Fred" Bestall, MBE wrote and illustrated Rupert Bear for the London Daily Express, from 1935 to 1965.

Rupert Bear is a British children's comic strip character and franchise created by Herbert Tourtel and illustrated by his wife, the artist Mary Tourtel, first appearing in the Daily Express newspaper on 8 November 1920. Rupert's initial purpose was to win sales from the rival Daily Mail and Daily Mirror. In 1935, the stories were taken over by Alfred Bestall, who was previously an illustrator for Punch and other glossy magazines. Bestall proved to be successful in the field of children's literature and worked on Rupert stories and artwork into his nineties. More recently, various other artists and writers have continued the series. About 50 million copies have been sold worldwide.