Mansfield, Wladimir Raffalovich

Lt.-Colonel Wladimir Raffalovich-Mansfield (1876–1949) (né Wladimir Raffalovich) was a British Army Railway Transport Officer during the First World War and later a cartographer for the newly formed London Passenger Transport Board (LPTB) in the 1930s. Born in London to French and Russian parents, he married novelist Charlotte Mansfield in 1915 and formally adopted her surname by deed poll in 1919. In the 1930s, he designed the LPTB’s first system-wide bus, Green Line coach, trolleybus, and tramway maps. A contemporary of Harry Beck, Mansfield’s cartographic style favoured technical accuracy and visual clarity, shaped by his background in engineering and surveying. He was a Member of the Surveyors’ Institution and the Institute of Transport, professional credentials that underpinned his authoritative approach to public transport mapping. His maps were typically signed Lt.-Col. W. R. Mansfield. Many of Mansfield’s designs are preserved today in the London Transport Museum collection.