Don Avard - Biographical Notes (Initial Draft)

ARTICLE UNDER CONSTRUCTION

 

Image pending 

 

Don Avard was half Australian and his father had a cattle ranch in that country. He had a career in the Royal Navy (6 years according to Barrington - see Ad below) and took up boxing with them. One source claims he was an Instructor. He was one of several Royale models who represented Chatham Dockyard in the June 1957 Gun Race at the Royal Tournament in London. It's conceivable that this is how he met Clavering. There's a video of the 1957 event on YouTube but, unfortunately it's not possible to identify the team members.

In his biography, 'Physique', (Source 101) John Barrington recalls how, in Aug 1957, he met a 'half naked' Don Avard while out walking with his wife and children on the banks of the Thames at Richmond and 'adopted' him for the day. He was thrilled with the young man's physique and credentials as a sporty, half-Australian, seaman. They arranged to meet up again for a photographic session at which point Barrington proposed an 'extra dimension' to their friendship, as he did with many of the young men he photographed. 

Image pending 

Apparently Avard was reluctant, revealing he had other good friends who kept him in pocket money. Nevertheless, a photograph of him duly appeared in a studious pose, in the November issue of Barrington's beefcake magazine, Man-ifique No 6, 

 

Ad offering Photos of Don Avard 
in Barrington's 'MAN-ifique' No 6

 Opposite this image was an ad offering "unusual and exciting" prints of Don and describing him as a "natural", all euphemisms for nudity. 

It appears that one of Avard's generous supporters might have included Basil Clavering whose own pictures of Avard for Royale appeared almost simultaneously in December. It's equally possible that Barrington passed Don onto him, the two photographers had known each other for 5 years at that point, ever since collaborating on 'Under the Lash'. They often shared models. 

Clavering was equally enthusiastic about his young protégé, putting Don's image at the top of Royale's first advertisement in Man's World, Dec 1957, describing him as a "young boxer from the Royale Navy". 

Don's and Clavering's relationship did not stop Barrington from featuring a Royale picture of him on the front page of the February 1958 issue of MAN-ifique (no 7). He also added Royale to his list of 'reputable' photographers in the same issue, but mysteriously removed them a year later.  

May 1958 was probably the height of Don's fame, he was awarded the accolade of a seven page article in 'Adonis' magazine that talked about his background and interests, as if he were a pop star. 

More details + images pending 

In that period, Royale added some 'storyettes' to his CV, but few details about them have survived. 

According to the 1959(8?) Electoral Register, Don was resident in Clavering's house in Denbigh St. An article in Tomorrow's Man in October 1959 stated that Don was now 'part of the (Royale) firm'. In what capacity is not known.

Barrington continued to publish pictures of Don in the years that followed, but they appear to come from the same original shoot. In his model catalogue, he gushed about how good a friend he was, the kind 'one can never tire of'. In 1962 Barrington reported to his readers (in the Autumn issue of MAN-ifique) that Don was back in Australia. 

In the mid-70s he finally was able to openly publish his nude photographs of Don Avard in 'Man to Man', Vol 1 No 1 (link pending)