Painter, draughtsman and teacher, born in Battle, Sussex. He attended Hastings School of Art, then the Royal College of Art, becoming an associate in 1938. Ball won a travelling scholarship to Europe, but this opportunity was cut short by the declaration of war. During 1938–45 Ball served with the Royal Artillery, and while he was never an Official War Artist he did complete many sketches and pictures of service life, with a strong vein of humour which runs through much of his work. From 1946–75 Ball taught at West Surrey College of Art and Design, at Farnham, where he died. Ball’s oils and watercolours reflect his interest in the daily life of ordinary people, busy with figures and alive with incident. Some are realistic, some more highly structured, reflecting such developments as Cubism and Futurism.