Crikey!

This just landed in my in-tray. Seems someone was listening when I bemoaned the lack of any fanzines based on British comics... (This is the text of the press-release, by the way. I've not seen an issue so I cannot vouch for any statements made by the publisher.)

It had to happen. Growing interest in British comics has finally resulted in an independently produced magazine that rolls back the good times. If you loved comics from 1955-1975 then CRIKEY is the magazine for you. Nostalgic and intelligent, irreverent and extravagant. The first issue has 52 big pages dedicated to the very best of BRITISH COMICS. The magazine is the brain child of BRIAN CLARKE and is set to become one of the best selling fanzines ever.

Brian commented , ‘ There is so much interest in British comics now . I have noticed that people of a certain age seemed to have tired of traditional super hero American comics and they are going back to the wacky stories that they remember from their childhood. Our first issue celebrates all that was best with British Comics dropping in on Beano, TV21, Misty, Dandy, Jackie, Wham, Smash, Valiant and so many more superb memories of when comics were exciting and fun

The British are known throughout the world as an eccentric people – and if anyone peeked through a stack of typical comics from the 50s, 60s and 70s you'd find enough proof to have our island race quarantined for the safety of humankind.

No matter what your particular – or peculiar – taste, British comics has something of interest for you concealed under its many covers. A planeload of schoolgirl ballerinas crash-landed on a mountainside and keeping in their ballet practice just in case they get rescued in time for the grand dance off? Yes. A town way out West – and we do mean way out – who have just elected a large ape as their sheriff? Got! A New York King of Crime out to stop all criminals so he can be Number One in a field of one? Yeah. A daring adventurer with a life-protecting eye around his neck out to set the world to rights? Yup.

Kids from outer space, time-travelling weirdos, talking pets, freakish football players, robot spies, historical adventurers, detective school-girls – British comics has the lot. For the aficionado of eccentric storytelling you’d have to go a long way to beat what British comics has on offer.

There’s a whole alphabet of wild and wonderful characters waiting for the person who dares to re-open the pages last closed in childhood:

Adam Eterno… Bananaman… Captain Hurricane… Dolmann… Eagle-Eye… Fireball XL5… Ginger… Hookjaw… Iron Fish… Julius Cheeser… Kitty Hawke… Luck of the Legion… Mytek the Mighty… Oor Wullie… Powerman… Q-Bikes… Ro-Busters… Six Million Dollar Gran… Trigan Empire… Union Jack Jackson… Victor Drago… Wacks… X-Ray Specs… Young Marvelman and, of course – Zip Nolan!

If you have a passion for the strange and the kind of humour that often leaves you laughing out loud when all around you are blank-faced and oh so silent, then Crikey! is the nostalgic magazine for you. Face it – those comics made you what you are today!

ISSUE ONE HIGHLIGHTS

MISTY – HORROR FOR GIRLS
KEN REID
THE TOYS OF DOOM
FRANK BELLAMY
WHAM – The Best comic ever?
And so much more...

Finally a magazine that’s all about BRITISH COMICS. 52 pages of memories and joy available quarterly. Coming to a store near you NOW! or Orders are now being taken
Email beeemcee@aol.com or Tom.sweetman@tesco.net

Individual issues available £3.99 postage free or by subscription, 4 issues for £15.96.

Orders to Brian Clarke, 4 Hillsborough Drive, Unsworth, Bury BL9 8LE

More information can be found at the Crikey! website.

Rosemary Sisson

Rosemary Sisson contributed to the very first Robin Annual (1953) and it may well have been her sole contribution to any comic.

Rosemary Anne Sisson was born in London on 13 October 1923, the daughter of Charles Jasper Sisson (a professor) and his wife Vera (nee Ginn). Her early ambition was to be a theatre actress but this was thwarted by the war, during which she served in the Royal Observer Corps in 1943-45. She attended the University College, London, where she obtained a B.A. (with honours) in 1946; she then went on to Cambridge University where she earned her M. Lit. in 1948.

She has taught literature (both English and American) at the University of Wisconsin (1949-50), the University College (University of London) (1950-54) and the University of Birmingham (1954-55). She joined the Stratford-upon-Avon Herald as drama critic (1955-57). She wrote seven plays before having one produced in 1957. As well as writing plays, scripts and novels, she has also contributed to Modern Review, the Sunday Telegraph, Sunday Times, Daily Mail and The Guardian.

She is a member of the Writers Guild of Great Britain (co-chairperson, 1979-80) and the Writers Guild of America and has been a guest on the radio series Quote... Unquote.

Novels
The Adventures of Ambrose, illus. Astrid Walford. London, George G. Harrap & Co., 1951; New York, Dutton, 1952.
The Impractical Chimney-Sweep, illus. Fritz Wegner. London, Macmillan & Co., 1956; New York, St. Martin's Press, 1956.
Mr Nobody, illus. Rosamond Stokes; Vera Kathleen Sisson wrote some of the rhymes. London, Macmillan & Co., 1956; New York, St. Martin's Press, 1956.
The Isle of Dogs, illus. Enid S. Ash. London, Macmillan & Co., 1959; New York, St. Martin's Press, 1959.
The Exciseman. London, Mayflower Books, 1972.
The Killer of Horseman's Flats. London, Hale, 1973.
The Stratford Story. London, W. H. Allen, 1975; as Will in Love, New York, Morrow, 1976.
Escape from the Dark (novelisation of the screenplay). London, W. H. Allen, 1976; as The Littlest Horse Thieves, New York, Pocket Books, 1976.
The Queen and the Welshman. London, W. H. Allen, 1979.
The Manions of America, based on a story by Agnes Nixon. New York, Dell, 1981; Loughton, Piatkus, 1982.
Bury Love Deep (based on Finders Keepers TV series). London, Love Stories, 1985.
Beneath the Visiting Moon. London, Love Stories, 1986.
The Bretts (based on the TV series). Harmondsworth, Viking, 1987.
First Love, Last Love. Sutton, Severn House, 2002.
We'll Meet Again. Sutton, Severn House, 2003.

Non-fiction
The Parish Church of St. Mary Magdalene, Lyminster (a shortened edition of Notes on the Parish and Church of Lyminster by Stephen Peachey Duval). Littlehampton, printed by Littlehampton Gazette, 1953.
The Treasures of Our Time. Embroidered kneelers in Chelsea Old Church, based on research by Marie Worsley. Bristol, printed by Western Printing Services, 1958?; 2nd ed., London, Chelsea Old Church, 1968.
The Young Shakespeare, illus. Denise Brown. London, Max Parrish, 1959; New York, Roy Publishers, 1959.
The Young Jane Austen, illus. Denise Brown. London, Max Parrish, 1962.
The Young Shaftesbury, illus. Denise Brown. London, Max Parrish, 1964.

Verse
Rosemary for Remembrance. London, Radcliffe Press, 1995.

Plays
The Queen and the Welshman. A play in three acts. London, Samuel French, 1958.
Fear Came to Supper. A play. London, S. French, 1959.
The Splendid Outcasts (1959), in Plays of the Year, 1958-59, ed. J. C. Trewin. London, Elek, 1959.
The Royal Captivity (1960).
Hone and Heart (1961).
The Acrobats. A play in one act. London, French, 1965.
Bitter Sanctuary. A play in three acts (1963). London, French, 1965.
The Man in the Case, in Eight Plays, ed. Malcolm S. Fellows. London, Cassell, 1965.
I Married a Clever Girl (1967).
Catherine of Aragon, in The Six Wives of Henry VIII, ed. J. C. Trewin. London, Elek, 1972; adapted by Herbert E. Martin, Dramatic Publishing, 1973.
A Ghost on Tiptoe, with Robert Morley. London, French, 1975.
The Dark Horse. A play. London, French, 1979.

Radio Plays
Trapped (1968)
Dear Aunt Jane (1972)

TV Plays
Compact (unknown episodes)
The Ordeal of Richard Feverel, based on the novel by George Meredith (1964)
The Rescue of Pluffles, based on the story by Rudyard Kipling (1964)
The Mill on the Floss, based on the novel by George Eliot (21 Feb 1965)
Theatre 625: The Queen & The Welshman (10 Apr 1966)
Der Mann aus Brooklyn (West Germany, 12 May 1966)
Boy Meets Girl: Lucinda (29 Sep 1967)
Heim und Herd (West Germany, 15 Feb 1968)
A Handful of Thieves, based on the novel by Nina Bawden (1969)
The Six Wives of Henry VIII (1970)
The Expert Witness (1970)
Elizabeth R: The Marriage Game (1971)
The Runaway Summer, based on the novel by Nina Bawden (1971)
The Shadow of the Tower (1972)
Upstairs Downstairs (11 eps. between 5 Mar 1972-30 Nov 1975)
Follyfoot:
__The Hundred Pound Horse (Jul 1972)
__Debt of Honour (1972)
Seven Faces of Woman: Let's Marry Liz (16 Jun 1974)
Within These Walls (unknown episodes)
The Duchess of Duke Street:
__The Outsiders (30 Oct 1976)
__A Lesson in Manners (17 Sep 1977)
__The Reluctant Warrior (22 Oct 1977)
Horse in the House, based on a story by William Corbin (1978)
The Talking Parcel, based on the novel by Gerald Durrell (26 Dec 1978)
The Manions in America, based on a story by Rosemary Anne Sisson & Agnes Nixon (1981)
A Town Like Alice, with Tom Hegarty; based on the novel by Nevil Shute (1981)
The Irish R.M., based on the stories by Edith Somerville & Martin Ross (12 eps between 1983-84)
The Wind in the Willows, based on the novel by Kenneth Grahame (27 Dec 1983)
The Wind in the Willows (var. eps, 1984)
Mistral's Daughter, with Terence Feely; based on the novel by Judith Krantz (1985)
Seal Morning, based on the novel by Rowena Farr (1986)
The Bretts, with others (1987)
A Dorothy L. Sayers Mystery:
__Strong Poison, with Philip Broadley; based on the novel by Dorothy L. Sayers (1987)
__Have His Carcase, based on the novel by Dorothy L. Sayers (1987)
Joy to the World, 1988-89, 1991-92
An Unwanted Woman, based on the novel by Ruth Rendell (1992)
The Chronicles of Indiana Jones:
__London, May 1916 (11 Mar 1992)
__Peking, March 1910 (26 Jun 1993)
__Istanbul, September 1918 (17 Jul 1993)
Young Indiana Jones and the Attack of the Hawkmen (1995)
The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Masks of Evil (1999)
Murder She Wrote: The Celtic Riddle, with Bruce Lansbury (19 Nov 2003)

Screen Plays
Ride a Wild Pony, based on the novel A Sporting Proposition by James Aldridge (1975); re-edited as a 2-part TV series for Disneyland (11 Feb-18 Feb 1979)
Escape from the Dark, based on a story by Burt Kennedy & Rosemary Anne Sisson (1976)
Candleshoe, with David Swift; based on the novel by Michael Innes (1977)
The Watcher in the Woods, with Brian Cleens and Harry Scoalding; based on the novel by Florence Engel Randall (1980)

Music
The Open Road, with John Hambley (music by Keith Hopwood and Malcolm Rowe). London, Chappell Music, 1983.

Treasure

Having spent most of the day scanning images from Treasure I thought it might be nice to see how the magazine started. Treasure was a companion to Look and Learn, aimed at a primary school age group with a mixture of educational features (mostly concerning animals, history and religious tales), folk tales, a fairy tale (Princess Marigold) and the ever-present adventures of the Tufty Club (from the road safety campaign).

I was surprised to find that Treasure only merited one mention in Look and Learn, although that was a good half-page timed to coincide with the launch issue, taking over the usual editorial spot on Look and Learn's second page.

The free gift given away with that first issue is quite scarce, so I was very pleased to find a copy when I picked up a stack of Treasures a few years ago (little realising that one day I'd be spending my days scanning them!). It's a nice little 16-page booklet filled with pictures of animals.

We're fortunate enough to have the original artwork from the first issue of Treasure in the Look and Learn archive -- I noticed it recently on a trip into the office and was surprised to see how rough it looked, with a large section patched over the original board. What I didn't realise at the time was that the artwork had been changed quite dramatically, with different children and a few extra toys and activities (paint box, radio, bike, etc.) replacing the original kingfisher. I'm not sure where the second version of the artwork appeared but it was obviously redrawn by the same artist, Clive Uptton.

(All artwork here is © Look and Learn Magazine Ltd. There's lots more Treasure artwork to be found at the Look and Learn website. 4,046 images at the last count.)

S G Hulme Beaman

I've recently covered some of the authors of children's TV shows, although in most cases they have been related to comics in some way. Well, this is no different...

S. G. Hulme Beaman was the creator of Toytown and its most famous inhabitant, the tremulous-voice Larry the Lamb. The little mystery I was trying to solve was that at least one story in TV Comic Annual was credited to Mrs. S. G. Hulme Beaman and I was trying to figure out whether this was the Betty Hulme Beaman who is also credited with some of the Toytown books that have appeared over the years.

Sydney George Hulme Beaman (pronounced "Hume Beeman") was born in Tottenham, London, in 1887, the son of George Hulme Robins Beaman (1855- ), a surveyor and risk assessor for an insurance company. George had married Eleanor Nicholls in 1881 and the couple had at least three children, Sydney George Hulme (1887), Dorothy Eleanor (1889) and Winifred Gladys (1892).

The family were related to Ardern George Hulme Beaman (1857-1929), who had served as a diplomat in Egypt, the subject of his book Twenty Years in the Near East (1898), and who wrote one of the first books about bridge, Pons Asinorum; or, Bridge for Beginners (1900); and novelists Emeric E. J. Hulme Beaman (c. 1865- ) and Ardern Arthur Hulme Beaman (1886- );

S. G. was raised in Tottenham and became a music hall performer whilst studying at Heatherley's School of Art. After the First World War, he set up a workshop in Golders Green making wooden animals and figures for model theatres which became very popular -- Mr. Noah and the inhabitants of Noah's Ark were especially well received. In 1923 the comic strip 'Philip and Phido' began appearing in the Golders Green Gazette and S. G. deliberately styled the strip after the wooden creatures he had been creating. Several stars of the later Toytown would emerge from this strip. The first Toytown (or Toy Town) books appeared in the mid-1920s when S. G. wrote and illustrated The Road to Toytown and Trouble in Toyland (both 1925).

A collection of his early stories, Tales of Toytown (1928) was discovered by May Jenkin ('Aunt Elizabeth' of the BBC's Children's Hour radio show) and S. G. went on to produce 28 radio plays featuring the inhabitants of Toytown from 1929 until 1932.

S. G. married Maud M. Poltock in Fulham in 1913 and had at least two children: Geoffrey S. Beaman (b. Edmonton, 1914) and Betty Beaman (b. Barnet, 1918). (This at least proves that there was both a Mrs. S. G. Hulme Beaman (i.e. his wife Maud M. Hulme Beaman) and a Betty Beaman (his daughter), although given the known writing abilities of his daughter, I wouldn't be surprised to find that any new stories written in TV Comic Annual were by her).

S. G. continued to experiment with the Toytown characters and created marionettes for a model stage show version of the story 'The Arkville Dragon'. This became the basis for an animated version of the story, shot with the assistance of Pathe Films. Unfortunately, the experiment was never realised as S. G. Hulme Beaman died of pneumonia in February 1932 at the age of 43. At the time he was living at 11 Sneath Avenue, Finchley N.W4.

His characters lived on for many years. The first Toytown adventures were broadcast in 1929 and continued to be remade (this was in the days of live broadcasting) until 1963, some featuring Derek (Uncle Mac) McCulloch as Larry. A friend of Beaman, writer and producer Hendrik Baker, turned four of the Toytown stories into a stage play entitled The Cruise of the Toytown Belle which was subsequently filmed as Larry the Lamb for broadcast in the For the Children TV slot by the BBC on 10 May 1947; the character were also the inspiration for a 1969 musical by Sheila Ruskin and David Wood.

Larry and Toytown have appeared in various guises over the years. The BBC produced a series of 20-minute marionette plays produced by Gordon Murray: Portrait of the Mayor, The Great Toytown Mystery, Dreadful Doings in Ark Street, How the Wireless Came to Toytown, The Great Toytown War and The Enchanted Ark (broadcast 21 Sep-30 Nov 1956), The Tale of the Magician (7 Mar 1957), The Frightfulness at the Theatre Royal (27 Jun 1957) and The Cruise of the Toytown Belle (11 Sep 1958).

The famous animators Halas & Batchelor made two cartoons, The Showing Up of Larry the Lamb (1962) and The Tale of the Magician (1964) and a new series of 26 animated shows were made in colour in 1972-74, produced by Larry the Lamb Ltd. for Thames Television which inspired a regular Larry the Lamb Annual, published in 1972-74 (dated on covers 1973-75). A further annual appeared from Grandreams in 1981.

Around the same time as the Halas & Batchelor cartoons (1963), Hendrik Baker recorded a number of episodes which were released on 45 rpm EP records by HMV, these including Tea For Two (HMV 7EG 86??), The Toytown Mystery (HMV 7EG 8607), The Tale of the Magician (HMV 7EG 8835), The Showing Up of Larry the Lamb (HMV 7EG 8836), The Mayor's Sea Voyage (HMV 7EG 8837) and The Arkville Dragon (HMV 7EG 8838). The latter four stories were released as a 33 rpm album entitled Stories from Toytown (MFP 1103).

Books (illustrated by the author unless otherwise noted)
Aladdin. London, John Lane, 1924.
Jerry & Joe. London, Humphrey Milford/Oxford University Press, 1925.
Pig-pig and the Three Bears. London, Oxford University Press, 1925.
The Road to Toytown. London, Humphrey Milford/Oxford University Press, 1925.
Trouble in Toyland. London, Humphrey Milford/Oxford University Press, 1925.
The Wooden Knight. London, 1925.
The Seven Voyages of Sinbad the Sailor. London, John Lane, 1926.
"Out of the Ark" Books (Grunty the Pig, Ham and the Egg, Jenny the Giraffe, Jimmy the Baby Elephant, Teddy's New Job, Wally the Kangaroo) London, F. Warne & Co., 6 vols., 1927; in one volume as The Toy-Town Book, Warne, n.d..
Tales from Toytown. London, Humphrey Milford, 1928.
John Trusty. London & Glasgow, W. Collins, Sons & Co., 1929; adapted by Muriel White in 2 vols. as A Trusty Tale and Two Trusty Stowaways with the original illustrations by S. G. Hulme Beaman. London & Glasgow, Collins, 1938,
Wireless in Toytown (contains: How the Wireless Came to Toytown, The Encharted Ark, Larry the Plumber, The Mayor's Sea Voyage, The Arkville Dragon, The Toytown Treasure). London, Collins, Dec 1930.
The Toytown Mystery (contains: The Toytown Mystery, The Extraordinary Affair of Ernest the Policeman, A Portrait of the Mayor, The Disgraceful Business at Mrs. Goose's, The Showing Up of Larry the Lamb, Dirty World at the Dog and Whistle). London & Glasgow, Collins, 1932.
Stories from Toytown (contains: 10 stories). London, Oxford University Press, 1938.
The Adventures of Larry the Lamb (Toy Town series), illus. Ernest Noble. London, G. Lapworth & Co., 12 vols., 1942-47.
__2: The Brave Deed of Ernest the Policeman.
__3: Pistols for Two.
__4: Mr. Noah's Holiday.
__5: Mr. Growser Moves.
__6: Dreadful Doings in Ark Street.
__7: Golf.
__8: The Frightfulness at the Theatre Royal.
__?: The Toytown Mystery. c.1947
__?: The Extraordinary Affair of Ernest the Policeman. c.1947.
__?: Portrait of the Mayor. 1947?
__?: Dirty Work at the Dog and Whistle.
Larry the Lamb. London & Glasgow, Collins, 1946.
Toy Town Tales. London, News of the World, 1952.
The Cruise of the Toytown Belle, adapted by Hendrik Baker. London, Samuel French, 1953.
Toytown Series (credited to Betty Hulme Beaman & S. G. Hulme Beaman):
__1: Ernest the Brave, and The Toytown Mystery. London, Oldbourne Press, 1957.
__2: Tea for Two and A Portrait of the Mayor. London, Oldbourne Press, 1957.
__3: The Disgraceful Business at Mrs Goose's. London, Oldbourne Press, 1958.
__4: Dirty Work at the 'Dog and Whistle. London, Oldbourne Press, 1958.
__5: The Theatre Royal, and, Punch and Judy, illus. Kenneth Lovell. London, Oldbourne Press, 1958.
__6: Toytown Goes West, illus. Kenneth Lovell. London, Oldbourne Press, 1958.
__7: The Enchanted Ark, illus. Kenneth Lovell. London, Oldbourne Press, 1958.
__8: The Mayor's Sea Voyage, illus. Kenneth Lovell. London, Oldbourne Press, 1959.
__9: Larry the Plumber, illus. Betty Larom. London, Oldbourne, 1961.
__10: How the Radio Came to Toytown. London, Oldbourne, 1961.
__11: Mr. Noah's Holiday, illus. Kenneth Lovell. London, Oldbourne, 1961.
__12: The Conversion of Mr. Growser, illus. Betty Larom. London, Oldbourne, 1961.
__13: The Great Toytown War, illus. Betty Larom. London, Oldbourne, 1961.
__14: Mr. Growser Moves House, illus. Kenneth Lovell. London, Oldbourne, 1962.
__15: The Extraordinary Affair of Ernest the Policeman, illus. Kenneth Lovell. London, Oldbourne, 1962.
__16: Pistols for Two, illus. Kenneth Lovell. Oldbourne, 1962.
__17: A Toytown Christmas Party, illus. Kenneth Lovell. London, Oldbourne, 1962.
__19: Dreadful Doings in Ark Street, illus. Kenneth Lovell. London, Oldbourne, 1963.
__20: The Arkville Dragon, illus. Kenneth Lovell. London, Oldbourne, 1963.
__21: The Showing Up of Larry the Lamb, illus. Kenneth Lovell. London, Oldbourne, 1963.
__22: The Toytown Pantomime, illus. H. Faithful. London, Oldbourne, 1963.
The First [Second, Third] Larry the Lamb Story Book. London, Piccolo Books, 1972-73.
The Book of Toytown and Larry the Lamb, with a biographical note about the author by Hendrik Baker. London, Harrap, 1979.
Toytown and Larry the Lamb, illus. by S. G. Hulme Beaman and John Donnelly. London, Thames Methuen, 1985.
Toytown. The World of S. G. Hulme Beaman, ed. G. G. Grange. London, G. G. Grange, 2000.

Illustrated Books
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. London, John Lane, 1930.
The Smith Family by Mrs. H. C. Craddock. London, Thomas Nelson & Sons, 1931.

Radio Plays (dates are for the earliest broadcast I have been able to trace; any help with dates would be very welcome)
Proud Punch from Toy Town (18 Jul 1929)
The Tale of the Magician (1 Aug 1929)
The Tale of the Inventor (16 Aug 1929)
Captain Brass the Pirate (28 Aug 1929)
The Giles Barn Gang and the Baby Brother (11 Sep 1929)
The Tale of Ernest the Policeman (25 Sep 1929)
How Wireless Came to Toy-Town (29 Nov 1929)
The Enchanted Ark (2 Jan 1930)
The Arkville Dragon (30 Jan 1930)
Larry the Plumber (18 Feb 1930)
The Toy Town Treasure (12 Mar 1930)
(The Toy Town Times, arranged by Charles Bewer and Sara Sarony, 27 Mar 1930)
The Great Toy Town Mystery (3 Apr 1930)
The Portrait of the Mayor (6 Jun 1930)
Our Programme, by the Citizens of Toy Town (18 Jul 1930)
How John Trusty and his dog Walter stowed away on the good ship Firefly (9 Sep 1930)
The Disgraceful Affair at Mrs. Goose's (14 Nov 1930)
The Kidnapping of Father Christmas (23 Dec 1930)
The Cruise of the Toy Town Belle:
__Part 1: The Start of the Treasure Hunt (3 Feb 1931)
__Part 2: (in which Mr. Growser's worst fears are realised) (10 Feb 1931)
__Part 3: The Wreck of the Toytown Belle (3 Mar 1931)
__Part 4: The Wreck of the Toytown Belle (19 Mar 1931)
Mr Noah's Holiday (21 Apr 1931)
Pistols for Two (12 May 1931)
(Toytown from Within, in which the Author meets Mr. Growser, 16 Jun 1931)
Disgraceful Doings in Ark Street (1 Sep 1931)
Golf--(Toytown Rules) (27 Nov 1931)
Mr. Growser Moves (1 Dec 1931)
A Toytown Christmas Party (22 Dec 1931)
The Conversion of Mr. Growser (23 Feb 1932)
The Brave Deed of Ernest the Policeman (15 Apr 1932)
Dirty Work at the Dog and Whistle (16 Aug 1932)
Toy Town Goes West
Frightfulness at the Theatre Royal
Tea for Two
The Sea Voyage
The Great Toytown War
The Babes in the Wood (a pantomime)
The Showing Up of Larry the Lamb

Jack Edward Oliver (1942-2007)

Jack Edward Oliver was born in Dartford, Kent, on 19 June 1942. Always interested in cartoons and drawings, he produced his own comic books from the age of 8. After attending Dartford Grammar School, he joined the Greater London Council Vehicle Licensing Department where he workde for eight years.

He continued drawing during this time and put together a comic of his own entitled Instant Garbage (Oct 1968), a mixture of Mad-style advertising, strips and parodies. The comic earned him his first strip, 'Toppo D. Popps', which appeared in the Luton Evening Post, which in turn led to work on the music paper Disc. Launched in late 1970 and originally entitled 'E C Ryder', Oliver produced a page for the paper which continued Oliver's love of parody, homage, puns and caricatures. One of the most popular characters to populate the page (which became simply titled 'j.edward oliver') was the dinosaur Fresco-le-Raye who proved so popular he had his own fan club with over 4,000 members.

Oliver's arguments with the editors of Disc (later Disc and Music Echo) spilled over into the strip. Oliver would often complain about the lack of a pay rise and censorship on the strip within the strip itself. He would often leave panels blank as a protest and on one occasion in 1974 the blank was filled in by editor Lon Goddard. The strip was reduced from a full page to a half page when Disc became Record Mirror and eventually axed as the paper wanted to change direction to appeal to the new punk audience. Invited to submit samples for new strips, Oliver (and his occasional pen-name Sue Denim) were dropped from the paper in November 1977 after 386 episodes and various other contributions.

Oliver found work with IPC Magazines' humour titles, his work appearing for the next 22 years in Whizzer & Chips, Jackpot and Buster. Characters drawn by Oliver include 'The Champ', 'Teeny Sweeney', 'Mastermind!', 'Cliff Hanger', 'Whizz-Kids v Chip-Ites' and 'Vid Kid'. By the late 1990s, most of the humour papers had folded or were relying on reprints. Oliver was the last surviving artist on Buster and drew the final page for the final issue when it appeared in January 2000.

During his years with IPC, Oliver wrote lyrics for the musical Swan Esther, based on the Bible story of a beauty-contest winner who married the King of Persia. With music by Nick Munns, the show appeared at the Young Vic in 1984.

In 1996, Fresco-le-Raye was revived as a proposed daily newspaper strip. Oliver provided illustrations for Bob Harris' autobiography The Whispering Years (London, BBC Worldwide, 2001). The Jack Edward Oliver website was launched by Peter Sanders in March 2002, in time to celebrate Fresco-le-Raye's 2,000,030th birthday, posting unpublished samples of Fresco-le-Raye and a second try-out strip, 'The Invisible Man'. Over the next few years Oliver produced a variety of cards, covers, advertising strips and a series of 'Phil Stamp' first day covers, published by his cousin Steve Oliver.

In March 2007, Jack Edward Oliver married his long-time girlfriend Elizabeth Hales. He died on 26 May 2007. His website continues to host a variety of his work, including a crossword, a jigsaw puzzle and a number of previously unpublished samples, including 'Fax' and the adventures of 'The Invisible Woman'.

(* Much of the above information was derived from Peter Sanders' Jack Edward Oliver website, as are the pics. and the photo. Unfortunately, my small collection of IPC humour comics is stashed away in the attic and I've no chance of getting to them just now (busy weekend). And it's nice to have something you might not have seen before.)

Ifor Owen (1915-2007)

Ifor Owen, born in Cefnddwysarn, Merioneth, Wales, on 3 July 1915, spent 40 years as a primary school teacher and headmaster and, for as many years, also published a Welsh-language comic, Hwyl ("Fun"). The first issue appeared in July 1949 and featured Owen's 'Defi John & Tomi Puw' strip. Other artists and writers also contributed to the magazine which sold around 8,000 copies per issue. It eventually folded in 1989. Owen died in Dolgellau, Gwynedd, on 22 May 2007, aged 91.

Obituaries: BBC Cymru'r (in Welsh, 22 May), Daily Post (23 May), The Independent (31 May).

P.S. I wonder if he's the same Ifor Owen who received the unfortunately funny screen credit "Villager in 'Sailors Arms'" in the 1972 movie of Under Milk Wood.

Ranger

Ranger was launched in 1965 as a colourful new-style comic, created by Leonard Matthews as a response to the closure of Boy's World in 1964. Matthews created the dummy and it was approved by the board at Fleetway Publications before being passed on to John Sanders, at the time editor of Look and Learn. The paper was unashamedly aimed at boys where Look and Learn was for both boys and girls. Sanders felt that it was a good opportunity to move into the juvenile division's main arena -- comics rather than educational magazines.

In the long run the choice proved to be a good one, although in the short run it may have seemed a bad move. Look and Learn had never sold less than 300,000 copies under Sanders' editorship despite the hefty 1/- price tag. (raised to 1/3d. in February 1965). Ranger was also priced 1/- when it was launched, the first issue dated 18 September 1965. The price reflected the contents with 18-20 of the 40 pages printed in photogravure colour. The vast majority of Fleetway's output was still in black & white. With its size (10" by 13") and colour strips and illustrations, Ranger really stood out. Unfortunately, where Look and Learn was usually bought by parents and grandparents, Ranger was more obviously a comic... and 1/- was out of the reach of most young boys, especially when you could buy Lion or Valiant for 7d. and still have change for sweets. (The war libraries were also priced at 1/- but they were a more convenient size for reading at school and they were far easier to swap: you could read eight or ten different war libraries for the price of one if you moved in the right playground circles.)

Ranger folded after only 40 issues (18 June 1966) and was merged into Look and Learn. Ironic given that editor Sanders had just left that paper. But, as I said above, it proved a canny move in the long run as Sanders then moved sideways to edit Princess and, following Matthews' departure in 1968, quickly rose through the ranks thanks to his experience across the board of Fleetway's juvenile titles -- boys, girls and educational.

The launch of Ranger was accompanied by a lot of promotion in Fleetway's various titles. These images are from Look and Learn issues 192-195. Look and Learn was later to benefit from Ranger... it took over its most popular comic strip, 'The Rise and Fall of the Trigan Empire', which would run until Look and Learn folded 16 years later.

Comic Clippings - 31 May 2007

A rumour has sprung up (reported by Rich Johnson at Lying in the Gutters, 29 May) that Garth Ennis is to write an updated version of Dan Dare. "Asked about his dream comics projects, Garth Ennis mentioned Johnny Red, more War Stories and that he 'wouldn't mind a crack at Dan Dare.' I understand," continues Rich, "that Garth Ennis will be getting his crack on a new comicbook revival of 'Dan Dare'." Rich marks this as an 'amber' alert, "there's likely an interest involved or the likelihood isn't set."

It sounds a bit of a pipe dream but I don't think Garth is under exclusive contract to DC Comics any more, so he has the opportunity to work for other companies. Garth could probably have his pick of any IPC Media character but Dan Dare is owned by the Dan Dare Corporation (and, incidentally, Johnny Red is owned by Egmont). John Freeman, at Down the Tubes, says that the project may be for Virgin Comics, the New York-based comics company set up by Richard Branson. Freeman warns, "Don't expect an update to the original Dan Dare as the brief may well lean toward the controversial 2000AD take on the character, drawn by Massimo Belardinelli and, later, Dave Gibbons."

There's an interview with Garth ('The Boys on "The Boys"' by Brian Warmoth, 30 May) to be found at the Wizard magazine site.

Sadly, Bear Alley is turning into Obituaries News: I've just heard that Philip Dunn (who, as Saul Dunn, was a SF/fantasy author, publisher and writer of the first Storm book, The Deep World) died last month at the age of 61. And Jack Edward Oliver, one of the finest humour artists on IPC's funny papers in the 1970s and 1980s, died on Saturday, 26 May, aged 65. A good round-up of his career can be found on Wikipedia. The page below, drawn by Oliver, appeared on the final page of the final issue of Buster (4 January 2000).

Maria Bird

Maria Bird is at the intersection of two recent threads here on Bear Alley. She was one of the early contributors to children's post-war television (as was Muffin the Mule) and she was also a contributor to Robin Annual, appearing in the first six or so volumes ("or so" because she isn't credited in number 5, although that might simply be an editorial slip). I believe she was also the main writer of the Andy Pandy strip that appeared on the front cover of Robin for many years; indeed, she (possibly in collaboration with Freda Lingstrom) may have written the strip from 1953 until it came to an end in 1969.

Maria Bird has proved to be somewhat elusive as far as solid information is concerned. Surprising, as she was one of the main creative forces behind some of the most famous children's TV shows of all time, including Andy Pandy and Bill and Ben the Flower Pot Men. I can find no record of her death although it would seem to have been some time between 1979 (her last appearance in the phone book) and 1984 (an article in The Times which refers to her as "the late" Maria Bird). Without a date of death it is impossible to locate her date of birth as it would seem that Maria Bird was born in South Africa.

Since at least the late 1940s, Maria Bird lived with Freda Lingstrom at Chartwell Cottage, Westerham, Kent, but calls to various people in that area (such as the local library) have drawn a blank. The internet provides nothing about her life except the notion that she may have been an ex-school teacher.

We're on better ground with Freda Lingstrom, who was born in 1893 and attended the Central School of Arts and Crafts. Her paternal grandparents were Swedish and Lingstrom's first book was based on her travels of Scandinavia entitled This is Norway (1933). She also wrote two novels, The Seventh Sister (1938) and A Flower in his Hand (1939).

In 1940, Lingstrom joined the BBC's staff pool of the home and empire talks department, her work involving reporting, script writing and monitoring. Between 1945 and 1949, she worked on the editorial team of the children's periodical Junior whose contributors included George Orwell and Maria Bird. Both Freda Lingstrom and Maria Bird were engaged to soldiers during the war but both men died; Bird moved into Lingstrom's home at Chartwell Cottage, in the grounds of Chartwell House, the family home of Winston Churchill.

Lingstrom's experience on Junior led to her becoming Assistant Head of BBC Schools Broadcasting in 1947, creating the series Looking at Things and Listen with Mother. She was asked by Head of Television Talks Mary Adams if she could create a new programme for a new experimental slot that was to be aimed at very young children. Lingstrom and Bird set up Westerham Arts (named after the village they lived in) to produce their creation Andy Pandy. Lingstrom and Bird wrote the scripts, whilst Bird composed the music. A chance meeting on a train introduced Lingstrom to Audrey Atterbury who was persuaded to study under puppeteer John Wright of the Little Angel Theatre in London. In June 1950, production began on Andy Pandy which began a trial broadcast of four episodes on 11 July. After several episodes, Andy was joined by Teddy and Looby Loo (at the same time, Molly Gibson joined the small team to help Audrey perform with the puppets). The show was narrated by Vera McKechnie, a continuity announcer and presenter, and the songs were performed by Gladys Whitred, accompanied on the piano by Maria Bird.

Andy Pandy, with his stripey pajamas, the moth-eaten Teddy with his bow-tie and the silent doll Looby Loo became known to generations. The show was originally broadcast live on Tuesdays, a total of 70 episodes appearing between July 1950 and April 1952. Between 1952 and 1957, 32 editions were filmed by the BBC Film Unit, 4 of which were refilmed in early 1957.

Freda Lingstrom was appointed Head of BBC Children's Television in May 1951. Expanding on the idea of For the Very Young, Lindstrom created a second series, The Flower Pot Men which debuted on 18 December 1952. 31 episodes were made by Westerham Arts in 1952-54, these episodes filmed in a shed on the outskirts of the BBC's Lime Grove Studio; later episodes were filmed in an especially prepared puppet studio in Television Centre.

Bill and Ben, the two flowerpot men, were voiced by Peter Hawkins who created a language known as Oddlepoddle; Julia Williams was the narrator with Gladys Whitred and Maria Bird providing the same musical interludes they did for Andy Pandy.

The Flower Pot Men was broadcast on Thursdays until 1953 when it moved to Wednesday to make way for a third Westerham Arts production, Rag, Tag and Bobtail, the story of Rag the hedgehog, Tag the mouse and Bobtail the rabbit. The creative lineup for the new series was different to the previous two: although produced by Lindstrom and Bird, the new characters were glove puppets rather than marionettes, designed and made by Sam and Elizabeth Williams. Charles E. Stidwell provided the narration with David Enders and James Urquhart the voices. Most of the 24 episodes were directed by David Boisseau.

With three shows now running in the same daily time slot, Lindstrom decided to give the shows a new title. The title chosen was Watch With Mother (named after the radio series Listen With Mother which had debuted in January 1951).

Watch With Mother added Picture Book on Mondays from 14 February 1955, presented by Patricia Driscoll and, from Friday 9 September 1955, the fourth Westerham production, The Woodentops began appearing, completing the weekly lineup. Lindrop was credited as producer with Bird as editor of the 26 episodes with Audrey Atterbury and Molly Gibson operating the puppets and Charles E. Stidwell narrating some of the segments.

This last show was once again created and written by Maria Bird, who also wrote the music. 26 episodes were made between 1955-57, with Audrey Atterbury and Molly Gibson, supplemented by Gordon Murray of the . Eileen Brown, Josephina Ray and Peter Hawkins provided the voices.

Lingstrom retired from the BBC in July 1956 when it was decided that a new approach was needed because independent television's arrival had seen the BBC rating decline alarmingly.

Westerham produced other programmes, including The Magic Doll's House for ITV's Small Time slot, first broadcast from 4 May 1959; the show was written and introduced by Gladys Whitred, with Audrey Atterbury and Molly Gibson also involved (Gibson is also credited along with Whitred as scriptwriter).

17 new episodes of Picture Book (with Vera McKechnie replacing Driscoll) were made in 1963. The show was last broadcast in 1966, although one animated character, Bizzy Lizzy graduated to her own 13 episode show, first broadcast in 4 April 1967.

In 1969, 13 new colour episodes of Andy Pandy were made at Abbey Road Studio, reuniting most of the original team (with Gladys Whitred replaced by Valerie Carndell and Maria Bird's piano augmented by a clarinet played by Thea King).

During this period, both Freda Lingstrom and Maria Bird continued writing dozens of story books featuring the characters they had created. In the list below of books by Maria Bird there are a number of question marks because I've yet to resolve all of the reprint information on the numbered series. Some later titles may be reprints or collections of earlier books.

If I am correct in assuming that Maria Bird died in the early 1980s or thereabouts [NOTE: Mary Edith Bird, died 25 August 1979], she was outlived by her good friend Freda by only a few years. Freda Lingstrom died on 15 April 1989, aged 95. She was still living at Chartwell Cottage, the home she and Maria Bird had shared for forty years. Lingstrom was survived by a step-daughter.

Books by Maria Bird

Andy PandyAndy Pandy the Baby Clown, with Freda Lingstrom; illus. Irene Hawkins. London, Faber & Faber, 1953.
Andy Pandy and the Gingerbread Man, illus. Matvyn Wright. Leicester, Brockhampton Press, 1953.The Golden Voice Andy Pandy Record Books, London, 3 vols., 1953.
Andy Pandy's Jump-Up Book, illus. Matvyn Wright. London, Publicity Products, 1954.
Andy Pandy Nursery Rhymes. London, 1954?.
Andy Pandy, Teddy and Looby Loo, illus. Matvyn Wright. London, Publicity Products (Colour Photo Books 4), 1954.Andy Pandy and the Queen of Hearts: A pop-up book, illus. Matvyn Wright. London, Publicity Products, 1955.Andy Pandy's Shop, illus. Matvyn Wright. Leicester, Brockhampton Press, 1955.Andy Pandy Builds a House for Looby Loo, illus. Matvyn Wright. London, Publicity Products, 1956.Paint with Andy Pandy, illus. Matvyn Wright. London, Publicity Products, 1956.Andy Pandy and Teddy at the Zoo, illus. Matvyn Wright. Leicester, Brockhampton Press, 1956?.
Andy Pandy's Kite, illus, Matvyn Wright. Leicester, Brockhampton Press, 1957.
Andy Pandy Paints His House, illus. Matvyn Wright. Leicester, Brockhampton Press, 1958.
Andy Pandy and the Hedgehog, illus. Matvyn Wright. Leicester, Brockhampton Press, 1959.
Andy Pandy and the Woolly Lamb, illus. Matvyn Wright. London, Adprint, 1959.
Andy Pandy's Adventures, illus, Matvyn Wright. Leicester, Brockhampton Press, 1959.
Andy Pandy's Puppy, illus. Matvyn Wright. Leicester, Brockhampton Press, 1959.
Andy Pandy's Counting and Rhyme Book, illus. Norman Satchel. London, Paulton, 1960.

Andy Pandy Books, illus. Matvyn Wright.
__1: Andy Pandy and the Willow Tree.
__2: Andy Pandy and the White Kitten.
__3 Andy Pandy and Teddy at the Zoo. (ex-1956?).
__4:
__5: Andy Pandy's Tea Party. Leicester, Brockhampton Press, 1960.
__6: Andy Pandy and the Gingerbread Man.
__7: Andy Pandy in the Country.
__8: Andy Pandy's Shop. (ex-1955)
__9: Andy Pandy's Jack-in-the-Box.
__10:
__11: Andy Pandy Paints His House. (ex-1958)
__12: Andy Pandy and the Hedgehog. (ex-1958)
__13: Andy Pandy's Washing Day.
__14: Andy Pandy and His Hobby Horse.
__15: Andy Pandy's Kite. (ex-1957)
__16: Andy Pandy's Puppy. (ex-1959)
__17: Andy Pandy and the Teddy Dog. Leicester, Brockhampton Press, 1960.
__18: Andy Pandy's Dovecot. Leicester, Brockhampton Press, 1960.
__19: Andy Pandy and the Baby Pigs. Leicester, Brockhampton Press, 1961.
__20: Andy Pandy's Little Goat. Leicester, Brockhampton Press, 1961.
__? 21: Andy Pandy and the Patchwork Cat. Leicester, Brockhampton Press, 1962.
__22: Andy Pandy and the Snowman. Leicester, Brockhampton Press, 1962.
__23: Andy Pandy's Weather House. Leicester, Brockhampton Press, 1963.
__? 24: Andy Pandy's New Pet. Leicester, Brockhampton Press, 1963.
__25: Andy Pandy Plays Lions and Tigers. Leicester, Brockhampton Press, 1964.
__26: Andy Pandy's Playhouse. Leicester, Brockhampton Press, 1964.
__27: Andy Pandy and the Green Puppy. Leicester, Brockhampton Press, 1965.
__28: Andy Pandy and the Badger. Leicester, Brockhampton Press, 1965.
__29: Andy Pandy and the Scarecrow. Leicester, Brockhampton Press, 1966.
__30: Andy Pandy's Red Motor Car. Leicester, Brockhampton Press, 1967.
__31: Andy Pandy and the Yellow Dog. Leicester, Brockhampton Press, 1968.
__32: Andy Pandy and the Spotted Cow, illus. David Barnett. Leicester, Brockhampton Press, 1971.
__33: Andy Pandy and the Baby Monkey, illus. David Barnett. Leicester, Brockhampton Press, 1972.
__? 34: Andy Pandy and the Tiny Piglet, illus. David Barnett. Leicester, Brockhampton Press, 1973.
Andy Pandy's Train and other stories, illus. Norman Satchel & Matvyn Wright. London, Paulton, 1961.Andy Pandy's Busy Friends. London, Purnell & Sons, 1974.Andy Pandy and Rocky Red. London, Purnell & Sons, c.1975.Andy Pandy and the Ducklings.Andy Pandy's Shopping Bag, illus. Matvyn Wright. Leicester, Brockhampton Press.
Bill and Ben
Bill and Ben and the Potato Man, illus. Janet & Anne Grahame-Johnstone. London, Publicity Products, 1953.The Flowerpot Men and the Bush Baby, illus. Matvyn Wright. Leicester, Brockhampton Press, 1954.The Flowerpot Men and the Weathercock, illus. Matvyn Wright. Leicester, Brockhampton Press, 1954.Nursery Rhymes for Bill and Ben, the Flowerpot Men. London, Publicity Products, 1955.
Henny Penny and the Flowerpot Men (The Flowerpot Men Jump-Up Book), illus. Matvyn Wright. London, Publicity Products, 1955.Paint with the Flowerpot Men, illus. Matvyn Wright. London, Publicity Products, 1955.Bill and Ben and the Silly Goose. London, 1961.

The WoodentopsThe Woodentops' Washing Day, illus. Barbara Jones. London, Publicity Products, 1956.The Twins' Birthday, illus. Barbara Jones. London, Publicity Products, 1957.The Woodentops Painting Book, illus. Barbara Jones. London, Publicity Products, 1957.The Woodentops at the Fair. Leicester, Brockhampton Press, 1957.The Woodentops' Spotty Dog, illus. Anna Jelly. London, Paulton, 1961.

Others
Watch with Mother Jump-Up Picture Book, illus. Monique Partridge. London, 1955.Flowerpot Men and Woodentops Annual. Manchester, World Distributors, 1970.

MusicSongs Under Sail. A book of sailor shanties, written & illus. Peter Heaton with musical arrangements by Maria Bird. London, Burke Publishing Co., 1963.

(* Information on Freda Lingstrom is derived from the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, the BFI Screenonline website. A very good biographical sketch about Audrey Atterbury can be found at the Realm of Rubovia website. Much of the information about Watch With Mother was derived from the series of articles 'Of Finger Mice and Mr Men' by T. J. Worthington, to be found on the Off the Telly website. The pictures have been grabbed from various sites around the web.)

Matvyn Wright

Matvyn Wright was a long-time collaborator with Maria Bird, producing dozens of drawings for books starring Andy Pandy. I believe Wright was also the original artist for the Andy Pandy comic strip in Robin, although I've only seen a small selection of his work so I have little to compare. He was certainly credited with producing artwork for Robin Annual in the mid-1950s.

There is very little on Matvyn Wright on the net. The War Museum site reveals that he was born in 1910 and worked for the Auxiliary Fire Service during the Second World War. He "witnessed with his colleagues the extraordinary strange silhouettes and falling forms of the Thames Blitz." A painting produced by Wright in 1941 and held by the War Museum captures "the fear of waiting and destruction. The bomb almost appears to be held up by the crane-like structures of the barge. In reality, this is a fragile snapshot before the inevitable explosion, with the fire crew poised to respond."

I can add a small amount of biography to this. William Matvyn Wright was born on 4 August 1910 and studied at the Royal College of Arms.

Around 1950, he appeared on TV fronting the show Round the Galleries (1950). He was on the animation crew for Halas & Batchelor's classic Animal Farm (1954). In later years he was a supporter of the Aberdyfi Art Society.

He was married to Kaye Wright and died in Camden, London, on 17 November 1983.

As well as Andy Pandy, I think Matvyn Wright was also responsible for the weekly adventures of Bill and Ben, also published in Robin.

He was certainly a prolific illustrator, as will have been seen in the bibliography of Maria Bird. Since that listing still needs some work, I've listed only a number of titles not previously listed that Matvyn Wright illustrated.

Books
Watch With Mother. Pictures, stories, puzzles and games based on Watch with Mother television programmes, ed. Freda Lingstrom; illus. with others. London, Publicity Products, 1955.
Five Listen With Mother Tales about Charles by Ruth Ainsworth. London, Adprint, 1957.
Kami the Sherpa by Showell Styles. Leicester, Brockhampton Press, 1957.

Annette Mills (part 2)

New readers start here...

Way back in November last year I wrote up a little of Annette Mills' life story whilst trying to track down information about her daughter, Molly Blake. It struck me whilst watching the first part of the new BBC4 series Children's TV on Trial (27 May) that I'd rather left the Annette Mills story hanging in the mid-1940s. Since Annette -- and her most famous partner Muffin the Mule -- are a useful starting point for a number of threads I've tried to research, I thought I'd have a bash at completing the story...

During the early months of the Second World War, Annette Mills had scored a considerable hit with the songs 'Boomps-a-Daisy', which was a featured number in the film Band Waggon (released in March 1940) and 'Adolf'...

A certain German chancellor has lost his head,
He's going to get a headache somewhere else instead,
And he will be retiring very soon,
To join a certain Kaiser down in Doom,

Adolf, you've bitten off, much more than you can chew.
Come on, hold your hand out,
We're all fed up with you, Gor Blimey,
Adolf, you toddle off, and all your Nazis too,
Or you may get something to remind you
Of the old red, white and blue.

The sheet music, which sold at sixpence, featured an unhappy looking Adolf over the knee of a smiling Tommy who was administering a sound whacking to the Fuhrer's behind with a boot.

Annette had also made appearances as a successful cabaret artist in Paris and, after it fell to the Germans, wrote the song 'Un Jour' at the request of the BBC French section. She also appeared in the revue Come Out of Your Shell (1940) and broadcast to the Forces. A serious car accident in November 1942 -- she broke both legs -- meant that she spent the next two years undergoing a series of operations in hospital. She turned to writing short stories and plays, many of them broadcast by the BBC and overseas. One of her plays, the comedy Rotten Row, was turned into a TV play and broadcast in May 1947.

BBC Television had been silent for nearly seven years: closed down on 1 September 1939, it was finally revived on 7 June 1946. Annette's abilities as a singer, pianist and composer meant that she was the perfect choice to appear on the BBC television's For the Children slot and her first appearance on 4 August 1946 marked the beginning of a new career. Rehearsing for the new show, the bare expanse of her grand piano was thought to be a problem and Annette was advised to "get something to put on the top." Thinking over the problem, Annette suggested that her piano could be used as a stage populated with the characters from her stories. The idea was to create one of the very first stars of postwar television.

Also working for the BBC at Alexandra Palace was Jan Bussell, a radio producer for BBC Manchester before moving into television as a drama producer in 1936. Three years earlier, Bussell had married Margaret Ann Gildart Jackson, the two having met when actress Margaret -- professionally known as Ann Hogarth -- became stage manager at the Players' Theatre where Jan was working as a producer. Jan had become interested in marionettes years before and had been a puppeteer with the London Marionette Theatre and, shortly before they married, Jan and Ann had set up The Hogarth Puppets, booking halls, building their own scenery and puppets and putting on shows around the country.

Annette Mills and producer Andrew Miller Jones approached Bussell, then recently demobbed from the Royal Navy. Writing many years later for the Muffin the Mule Collectors' Club Newsletter, Sally McNally recalled: "Subsequently, Annette came to our house and met my mother, Ann Hogarth, and she asked if they could make puppets to illustrate her songs -- no, they replied, but perhaps you could write songs to illustrate our puppets! She agreed to this and my parents showed her all the puppets that they weren't actually using at the time. Annette immediately chose the mule and named him Muffin -- then she also selected the clown and called him Crumpet. My mother sat down and wrote a twelve minute script, Annette wrote the songs, including, of course, the signature tune "We want Muffin" and they made their first appearance together the following Sunday..."

Muffin had originally been designed by Jan Bussell in 1933 and created by Fred Tickner, a well known carver of Punch puppets, for use in Hogarth Puppet Circus. Now he was about to embark on a new career, making his debut on For the Children on 20 October 1946 alongside Crumpet the Clown. The puppets were operated by Ann Hogarth as Annette sang songs and told stories to the audience, with Muffin whispering suggestions to his co-star, dancing and stamping his hoof.

Over the next few years many other characters were introduced -- Crumpet soon disappearing to be replaced by Peregrine the Penguin, Sally the Seal, Poppy the Parrot, Louise the Lamb and Oswald the Ostrich. Tours in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa inspired the arrivals of Katy the Kangaroo, Kirri the Kiwi and Zebbie the Zebra (all made by Stanley Maile). The star, however, was Muffin, who received huge amounts of fan-mail -- enough to keep two secretaries constantly busy. Young fans would enclose carrots for him to eat or fancy hats to wear. The parents of one child revealed how their television had been ruined when their child had stuffed the back full of food for Muffin.

Annette and Muffin compered the very first Children's Hour when it was launched in January 1948 and Muffin was soon to become a huge commercial success with the release of the first Muffin merchandise. The Muffin Songbook contained eight songs, including Muffin's famous signature tune...

We want Muffin, Muffin the Mule.
Dear old Muffin, playing the fool.
We want Muffin, Ev'rybody sing,
We want Muffin the Mule!

Two short movies were made for the Rank Children's Club in 1948 and an album of songs released by Decca. The first Muffin the Mule book arrived from the University of London Press in 1949 written by Annette Mills with illustrations by her daughter, Molly Blake. A new book appeared each year by Mills and Blake until 1954. Ann Hogarth, meanwhile, was also writing stories for the annual Muffin books published in association with Hodder & Stoughton which ran to four volumes, The Red Muffin Book (1950), The Blue Muffin Book (1951), The Green Muffin Book (1952) and The Purple Muffin Book (1953). Muffin was also available as various toys, birthday and christmas cards, postcards, badges, plates, biscuit tins and the Moko Muffin Junior puppet. Muffin merchandise generated a turnover of three-quarters of a million pounds in 1952. (Some of the many spin-offs are pictured at the Muffin the Mule Collectors' Club website.)

Muffin also became one of the stars of the newly launched TV Comic in 1951 and, in December 1952 and January 1953, Annette and Ann staged The Muffin Show at the Vaudeville Theatre, a series of Christmas matinees in which Muffin and many of his television co-stars made an appearance. The show was something of a spectacular and the reviewer for The Times (24 December 1952) was highly impressed:

"The entertainment also runs to two puppet circuses and a miniature ballet which goes further into the regions of imaginative fantasy than most puppet-makers venture. Sportive lions, strong men, cowboys and cowgirls, clowns that turn the tables on disintegrating skeletons by disintegrating themselves, acrobats, performing dogs -- all the eventful apparatus of the proper circus is skilfully reduced to the proportions of the puppet stage. The flower ballet depicts the dispersal of morning mists -- represented by shining and transparent figures with an elevation and an ability to remain in the air that can hardly have been surpassed by Nijinsky -- and the behaviour of a rose when exposed to an anti-cyclone, a deep depression, and Jack Frost. It even boasts a comic pas de quatre by red hot pokers."

Muffin's television appearances were broadcast live until 1952 when a new series entitled Muffin the Mule was launched. The new 15-minute show was filmed so that it could shown, usually around Sunday teatime, and then rebroadcast. These shows were usually scripted by Ann Hogarth and directed by Jan Bussell, although the partnership between the Bussells and Annette had almost come to an end in 1950 due to personality clashes between the two creative partners. It was around the same time that Annette Mills introduced Prudence Kitten, a glove puppet, to For the Children on 7 June 1950. Prudence had a sister, Primrose, who was married to Nelson and had a son, Snowy; the kitten family, and Prudence's friend Puffer Dog, were also popular characters and generated their own merchandise including books illustrated by Molly Blake who narrated the first of the TV shows and, after Annette's death, presented the show.

Muffin the Mule continued to appear regularly on the BBC until a few days before Annette's death. In late 1954, she developed a brain tumor but continued to broadcast Muffin, her last appearance with alongside Muffin coming only days before she was admitted to the London Clinic. She underwent an operation on Wednesday, 5 January 1955 but failed to recover consciousness; she died on Monday, 10 January 1955. A memorial service at St. Martin-in-the-Fields was held on 14 January where a replica of Muffin was made from red and white flowers

Annette Mills, who lived at Dumpton Gap, Broadstairs, Kent, left an estate of nearly £21,000. Before her death, she had bequeathed her body to the advancement of surgery and when this became known to the public, the Ministry of Health was inundated with inquiries about how to make such a bequest.

Books
Muffin the Mule, illus. Molly Blake. London, University of London Press, 1949.
More About Muffin, illus. Molly Blake. London, University of London Press, 1950.
Jack and Jill All Colour Gift Book, ed. Annette Mills. London, News of the World, 1951.
Jack and Jill's Farmyard Friends, ed. Annette Mills. London, News of the World, 1951.
Mrs. Cluck and Master Quack. A child's first book, ed. Annette Mills; illus. Yunge Bateman. London, News of the World, 1951.
Muffin and the Magic Hat, illus. Molly Blake. London, University of London Press, 1951.
Here Comes Muffin, illus. Molly Blake. London, University of London Press, 1952.
Jennifer and the Flower Fairies, illus. Molly Blake. London, News of the World, 1952.
Prudence Kitten, illus. George Fry. London, University of London Press, 1952.
Muffin at the Seaside, illus. Molly Blake. London, University of London Press, 1953.
Muffin's Splendid Adventure, illus. Molly Blake. London, University of London Press, 1954.
My Annette Mills Gift Book. London, Heirloom Library, 1954.
Prudence Kitten and Puffer of Children's Television, illus. George Fry. London, Publicity Products, 1955.


Most of the information here is derived from various sources including The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, various obituaries, a number of online sites dedicated to children's TV and the Muffin the Mule Collectors' Club. The poster for the Wimbledon Theatre appearance comes from the PeoplePlay theatre history website (here), as does the autographed pic of Mills and Muffin. The Annette Mills Gift Book image is from a website called Fulltable which has some examples of Molly Blake's artwork (here) and Adolf is from a recent eBay auction. The pic of Annette Mills and Ann Hogarth is from the National Portrait Gallery collection (here).

And for those of you desperate for the lyrics of 'Boomps-a-Daisy', here they are...

Boomps-a-Daisy (1938)

In the naughty nineties, ladies were so gay.
In the naughty nineties, this is how they'd play:
Waltzing as light as a feather,
And bumping their bustles together.

Hands, knees, and boomps-a-daisy! I like a bustle that bends.
Hands, knees, and boomps-a-daisy! What is a boomp between friends?
Hands, knees, oh, don't be lazy. Let's make the party a wow.
Now then, hands, knees, and boomps-a-daisy! Turn to your partner and bow. Bow-wow!

Gentlemen with whiskers whirl the ladies round,
Hoping ... bustles ... safe and sound.
Grandma says boomping is shocking.
You might show an inch of your stocking.

Please read on...