John Chillingworth was born with printer’s ink in his veins. The son of a Fleet Street union official, Chillingworth took an entry job in the Picture Post darkroom during the height of the Second World War, but soon left to join the war effort himself. Returning home at the age of 22, he accepted a staff position from Tom Hopkinson, Picture Post’s influential editor. These were the glory days of photojournalism and Chillingworth benefitted from the tutelage of legendary photographers such as Bill Brandt, Bert Hardy, Thurston Hopkins, and his personal mentor, Kurt Hutton.

Following Hutton’s lead, Chillingworth developed a naturalistic and non-confrontational style that created an easy rapport with subjects. His arrival on the scene marked a new and more wholistic approach to reporting: every feature was approached as a unique narrative. Getty Images holds more than 400 of these picture essays, a remarkable and influential body of work from a photographer the National Media Museum referred to as a, “maker of photographic history.”