News Artists at Medmenham: Francis Xavier 'X' Atencio

Artists at Medmenham: Francis Xavier 'X' Atencio

A historic black and white photo of a man wearing glasses and a uniform, standing in front of a brick wall. He is smiling, his hair is slicked back and he has a 'US' badge on his collar.

Official Disney Legend Francis Xavier ‘X’ Atencio was an important figure at Walt Disney Studios, working on numerous films and attractions at the Disney Parks. However, as mentioned in a recently published biography, he also spent several years at RAF Medmenham, working on reconnaissance photography now in the care of the National Collection of Aerial Photography (NCAP).

 

Early Life and Career

Atencio was born in 1919 in the small town of Trinidad, Colorado, although he spent his early years in nearby Walsenburg. In 1937, he moved to Los Angeles to study art at the Chouinard Art Institute. While there, one of his teachers – impressed with work done by Atencio analysing Disney cartoons – encouraged him to submit a portfolio to Walt Disney Studios.

A historic black and white photo of two men with dark hair in US Air Force uniforms consulting some paperwork. One man holds a smoking cigarette. In the background a third man and a woman are talking.

Atencio (standing, centre) at work at RAF Medmenham, where he spent the last two years of the war; image courtesy the Medmenham Collection

The following year, Atencio secured a job at the Studios and by 1942 he had already worked as an uncredited assistant animator on the feature films Fantasia (1940) and Dumbo (1941), as well as being a layout artist on the Mickey Mouse short Symphony Hour (1942). However, with increasing American involvement in the Second World War, Atencio was drafted in 1941 and his animation career was put on hold.

 

War Service

Although Atencio initially signed up for just a year of service, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour meant drafts were extended indefinitely. He arrived in England (via cryptography school in Greenland and Air Corps training in Florida) to serve at RAF Medmenham in August 1943.

A historic black and white oblique aerial photo of a grand white stately home in mock Tudor style. It is surrounded by extensive grounds which contain numerous huts and other temporary buildings. The landscape around the grounds is heavily wooded.

RAF Medmenham was based in the stately home and surrounding grounds of Danesfield House in Buckinghamshire; Atencio Collection, Sortie: US7/LOC/0003/D, Frame: 0016 (28 April 1945)

There, he worked as a Photographic Interpreter (PI) in Z Section, which was responsible for second-phase interpretation (the detailed analysis of images undertaken in the 24 hours after their initial, immediate examination) of aspects such as shipping, airfields and railways. He later moved into C Section, which specialised in the third phase interpretation (long-term, detailed reporting for specialist users) of airfields.

An excerpt from a typewritten report recording details about an airfield including runways, hangars and administration buildings.

Excerpt from a reconnaissance report on the airfield at Bad Zwischenahn, written by Atencio; Atencio Collection (15 January 1942)

Atencio’s Disney origins were made plain by the illustration of Dumbo in a C Section cloak which adorned the door to the section office. He also edited a commemorative booklet titled Medmenham USA, which was presented to American personnel as a memento before they left England in 1945.

 

After the War

In August 1945, Atencio returned home and married his childhood sweetheart Mary in September that year. He continued working at Disney, working there for almost 40 more years until his retirement in 1984. He got his first screen credit on the Academy Award-winning short Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom (1953, winning the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film) and continued to contribute to Disney animations through the 1950s.

A historic black and white vertical aerial photo of an airfield. 3 runways cross it in an A shape. Fields and buildings are visible around its perimeter. An area of lake occupies the bottom right corner.

From 1943, Bad Zwischenahn was a test ground for the Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet, and later a launch site for V1-bearing Heinkel He 111s; Collection JARIC, Sortie: N/0756, Frame: 1010 (1 March 1943)

The 1960s brought a change to Atencio’s output, as he worked on several Disney live action films. His contributions included the title sequence for The Parent Trap (1961) and designing the nursery tidying sequence in Mary Poppins (1964).

 

Walt Disney Imagineering

A year later, Walt Disney asked Atencio to transfer to WED Enterprises (now Walt Disney Imagineering), the arm responsible for creating and developing Disney theme parks and attractions. Walt Disney was determined to make the parks a success, and rather than using traditional architects to design them relied on filmmakers from Disney and beyond to transfer their animation skills to theme park design. Atencio’s selection to work at WED Enterprises was a sign of how trusted he was.

A historic black and white vertical aerial photo of a 4-winged bomber flying over a wooded landscape. A few white clouds are visible around the aircraft.

A Boeing B-17 'Flying Fortress' over unidentified countryside; Atencio Collection (no date)

As an Imagineer, Atencio assisted in the creation of the Primeval World diorama at Disneyland as well as contributing to If You Had Wings and Space Mountain at Walt Disney World. He wrote the songs ‘Grim Grinning Ghosts’ and ‘Yo Ho, Yo Ho, A Pirate’s Life for Me’ for the Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean attractions respectively, a talent he didn’t even know he had until Walt Disney encouraged him.

Atencio retired from Disney in 1984 and was recognised as an official Disney Legend in 1996 for his animation and imagineering talents. He died in 2017, aged 98.

 

Ben Reiss, NCAP Collections Manager

 

ACIU Aerial Photography and WWII  Women of Medmenham

 

Xavier X Atencio: The Legacy of an Artist, Imagineer, and Disney Legend is available now.