Web Page No 2742

 

19th December 2020

 

1^st Picture: Giles Christmas book cover

2^nd Picture: Grandma Giles and Vera

3^rd Picture: Grandma’s statue with the kids and the dog

4^th Picture: Chalky the teacher

5^th Picture: Giles himself

 

 

Giles

For years Christmas was not Christmas without the annual Giles cartoon Album. I know my father in law always wanted one for Christmas.

The cartoons were drawn by Ronald "Carl" Giles OBE (29th September 1916 – 27th August 1995), often referred to simply as Giles, and was best known for his work for the Daily Express. Giles's cartoons appeared in the Express and he used his cartoon family to illustrate and comment on topics of the day.

His cartoon style was a single topical highly detailed panel, usually with a great deal more going on than the single joke. Certain recurring characters achieved a great deal of popularity, particularly the extended Giles family, which first appeared in a published cartoon on 5 August 1945 and featured prominently in the strip. Of these, the most remembered is the enigmatic matriarch of the family, known simply as Grandma. 'Grandma' seated with knitting first appeared in November 1947.

The Giles family, as portrayed  belongs to the better-off British working class and was usually seen living in a semi-detached house. The scenes in which they are depicted usually comment on a topic headlining the news of the day. The Giles family is patriotic but suspicious of authority. The ages of the family members remained the same throughout the 46-year run of the cartoon series, but their home, their hobbies and their dress reflected the changing British fashions and standard of living.

The Giles family consists of the following:

Grandma, the most distinctive character of the series. Always present but rarely given a direct voice. She is the ultimate head of the family (despite what Father may think). She is seen using such things as skis, a motorbike, a hang glider, a Sinclair C5, and playing the tuba. A proper battle-axe of a woman, who is crossed at one's peril.

Father, Grandma's son. A mild and philosophical character. Still deludedly regards himself as the head of the family. He works, but it's never revealed where. He is passionate about boats, football, racing, fishing, betting, and hiding from the younger, louder family members. Would do anything for a quiet life and is often seen lounging in the garden.

Mother, the power behind the dynasty: she organises everyone else. Cheerfully tackles endless housework and mountains of cooking for the extended Giles family. People mostly tend to do as she tells them.

George, Mother and Father's elder son, is an avid reader and is very rarely seen without a book in his hands. Smokes a Sherlock Holmes style pipe and wears a beret and sandals. Absent in later cartoons. He is married to the skinny bespectacled Vera who constantly suffers from a cold. They have one baby son, George Jr.

Ann, the eldest daughter, and her babies, the twins, Lawrence and Ralph. The twins' absent father is a G.I.

Carol, blonde daughter, always seen lounging about reading magazines.

Ernie, the younger son. A smaller version of Father in looks and attitude, but with a child's cheekiness.

Bridget, the youngest daughter. Wears a gymslip and has never been in any trouble because she never gets caught.

Grandma's Parrot, called Attila the Hun.

Butch The dog, a shaggy Airedale terrier.

Second dog, a Border collie.

Natalie, a black cat.

Larry (aka "Stinker"), the mop-haired kid from next door. When not up to mischief he can be seen with a camera recording the mischief or embarrassing situations involving others. Said to be the alter ego of Giles himself.

Chalkie the schoolmaster, a humourless, walking-skeleton of a man. Modelled on one of Giles's own teachers, he is Giles's revenge for what he felt was unfair treatment at school.

There is a statue of Grandma in Queen Street in Ipswich where she stands looking up at the newspaper office window where Carl Giles used to work.

In the 1980s the family appeared in television cartoon advertisements for Lyons Quick Brew tea, one of which included Grandma racing around on her motorbike.

Giles finally quit working for The Daily Express in 1989; his cartoons had been allocated less and less space in the newspaper, and he said that the last straw was being stood up following a trip to London to lunch with the editor. He continued working for the Sunday Express until 1991. He never actually sold any of his creations, preferring to donate them to friends and to charitable organisations, like the RNLI, of which he was Life President and which continues to issue charity Christmas cards each year bearing his work.

He also contributed cartoons to Men Only and other publications, drew advertising cartoons for Guinness, Fisons and other companies, and designed Christmas cards for the Royal National Institute for the Deaf and Game Conservancy Research Fund.

He married Sylvia 'Joan' Clarke, his first cousin, on 14^th  March 1942 in East Finchley. The couple never had children but were married for over 50 years. The last decade of Giles's life was plagued with failing health, including sight loss and encroaching deafness, and in 1990 he suffered the amputation of both legs due to poor circulation issues. He was reported to have never got over the death of his wife, on Christmas Day 1994, and died himself just over eight months later at Ipswich Hospital on 27 August 1995 aged 78.

Collections of Giles's cartoons have been produced annually since 1946 and until his death in  Giles himself selected which cartoons would be in the annual.[7]

 

Giles stopped producing new cartoons, in 1991. Most of the annuals included a foreword from an editor of the Express newspapers or a celebrity fan, including Margot Fonteyn, Adam Faith , Spike Milligan , Sir Malcolm Sargent , Jim Clark , Sean Connery,  Frank Sinatra and Tommy Cooper  .

In April 2000, he was voted 'Britain's Favourite Cartoonist of the 20th Century'.

A Bronze statue depicting "Grandma" is in Ipswich, England. She stands looking up at the newspaper office window where Giles used to work.

Stay in touch

 

Peter

 

gsseditor@gmail.com

 

You Write:

 

News and Views:

 

On this day 19^th December 1960-1965

On 19/12/1960 the number one single was It's Now Or Never - Elvis Presley and the number one album was Tottenham Hotspur. The top rated TV show was The Army Game (Granada) and the box office smash was Psycho. A pound of today's money was worth £not very interesting and 13.68 were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.The big news story of the day was Bootsie & Snudge (Granada).

On 19/12/1961 the number one single was Tower of Strength - Frankie Vaughan and the number one album was Another Black & White Minstrell Show - George Mitchell Minstrels. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was One Hundred and One Dalmations. A pound of today's money was worth £13.25 and Ipswich Town were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

 

On 19/12/1962 the number one single was Return to Sender - Elvis Presley and the number one album was West Side Story Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was Lawrence of Arabia. A pound of today's money was worth £12.89 and Everton were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 19/12/1963 the number one single was I Want to Hold Your hand - The Beatles and the number one album was With the Beatles - The Beatles. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was The Great Escape. A pound of today's money was worth £12.64 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

 

On 19/12/1964 the number one single was I Feel Fine - The Beatles and the number one album was A Hard Day's Night - Beatles. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was Dr Strangelove. A pound of today's money was worth £12.24 and Manchester United were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

 

On 19/12/1965 the number one single was Day Tripper/We Can Work It Out - The Beatles and the number one album was The Sound of Music Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was The Sound of Music. A pound of today's money was worth £11.69 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.