Ronald "Carl" Giles OBE (29 September 1916 – 27 August 1995), often referred to simply as Giles, was a

cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and ...

who worked for the British newspaper the '' Daily Express''. 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.

Early life

Giles was born in

Islington Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the a ...

, London, the son of a tobacconist and a farmer's daughter. He was nicknamed "Karlo", later shortened to "Carl", by friends who decided he looked like

Boris Karloff William Henry Pratt (23 November 1887 – 2 February 1969), better known by his stage name Boris Karloff (), was an English actor. His portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the horror film ''Frankenstein'' (1931) (his 82nd film) established h ...

, a lifelong nickname. He was actually registered with that name when he died in 1995. After leaving school at the age of 14 he worked as an office boy for Superads, an advertising agency that commissioned animated films from cartoonists like Brian White and Sid Griffiths' animation company also based in

Charing Cross Road Charing Cross Road is a street in central London running immediately north of St Martin-in-the-Fields to St Giles Circus (the intersection with Oxford Street) and then becomes Tottenham Court Road. It leads from the north in the direction o ...

, London from 1929. When Superads closed in 1931, he gained experience in other small film companies in the area before being promoted to an animator in 1935, beginning to work for producer

Alexander Korda Sir Alexander Korda (; born Sándor László Kellner; hu, Korda Sándor; 16 September 1893 – 23 January 1956)Roland Davies, who was setting up a studio to produce animated versions of his popular newspaper strip "Come On Steve". Six ten-minute films were produced, beginning with ''Steve Steps Out'' (1936), but even though Giles was the head animator, he received no screen credit.

Career

In 1937, Giles started work as a cartoonist for the left-wing Sunday newspaper '' Reynolds News'', for which he drew a weekly topical cartoon and a comic strip, "Young Ernie". His strip came to the attention of the editor of the '' Sunday Express'' and in 1943 he was interviewed for a job on the ''

Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after b ...

'', but was eventually offered a job on the ''Daily Express'' and ''Sunday Express'' instead, at a higher salary of 20

guineas The guinea (; commonly abbreviated gn., or gns. in plural) was a coin, minted in Great Britain between 1663 and 1814, that contained approximately one-quarter of an ounce of gold. The name came from the Guinea region in West Africa, from where m ...

per week, and he quit ''Reynolds News''. His first cartoon for his new employers appeared in the 3 October 1943 edition of the ''Sunday Express''. Giles later said that he never agreed with the ''Daily Express''s politics, and felt guilt for abandoning the more left-wing ''Reynolds News'' for it, but it made him wealthy: by 1955 he was being paid £8,060 per annum (equivalent to about £200,000 at 2018 prices) for producing three cartoons a week. The British Army in North-west Europe 1944-45 BU4925

The British Army in North-west Europe 1944-45 BU4925

Giles was rejected for war service for being blind in one eye and deaf in one ear following a motorcycle accident, but made animated shorts for the Ministry of Information, while some of his cartoons were reprinted in poster form for the

Railway Executive Committee The Railway Executive Committee (REC) was a government body which controlled the operation of Britain's railways during World War I and World War II. It should not be confused with the Railway Executive which was a division of the British Transp ...

and others. In 1945 he became the ''Daily Express''s "War Correspondent Cartoonist" with the 2nd Army. At one point during World War II he was assigned as War Correspondent to the

Coldstream Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the monarchy; due to this, it often participates in state ceremonia ...

unit which liberated the

Bergen-Belsen concentration camp Bergen-Belsen , or Belsen, was a Nazi concentration camp in what is today Lower Saxony in Northern Germany, northern Germany, southwest of the town of Bergen, Lower Saxony, Bergen near Celle. Originally established as a prisoner of war camp, i ...

. Giles interviewed the camp commandant,

Josef Kramer Josef Kramer (10 November 1906 – 13 December 1945) was Hauptsturmführer and the Commandant of Auschwitz-Birkenau (from 8 May 1944 to 25 November 1944) and of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp (from December 1944 to its liberation on 15 A ...

, who turned out to be aware of and an admirer of Giles's work. Kramer gave Giles his Walther P38 pistol and holster, a ceremonial dagger, and his swastika armband, in return asking for a signed original of Giles's work. Giles said: :I have to say, that I quite liked the man. I am ashamed to say such a thing. But had I not been able to see what was happening outside the window I would have said he was very civilised. Odd, isn't it? But maybe there was a rather dishonourable reason. I have always found it difficult to dislike someone who was an admirer of my work. And strangely, Kramer was. I never sent him an original. What was the point? He had been hanged. The pistol and armband as well as the whip carried by

Irma Grese Irma Ilse Ida Grese (7 October 1923 – 13 December 1945) was a Nazi concentration camp guard at Ravensbrück and Auschwitz, and served as warden of the women's section of Bergen-Belsen. She was a volunteer member of the SS. Grese was convict ...

were later given by Giles to a private collector in Suffolk. In 1959 he was awarded an OBE. Among his fans were the British Royal Family, who often requested the originals of his work. Giles's cartoons feature many references to news items, some even quoting a news headline. The topics were typically British and made references to common British goods or attitudes. For example, a cartoon published in 1985 involves a

cleaner A cleaner or a cleaning operative is a type of industrial or domestic worker who cleans homes or commercial premises for payment. Cleaning operatives may specialise in cleaning particular things or places, such as window cleaners. Cleaning op ...

who has "left her box of Persil just behind the throne" and knocks to be let back in to get it, upon which she is mistaken for

Black Rod Black Rod (officially known as the Lady Usher of the Black Rod or, if male, the Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod) is an official in the parliaments of several Commonwealth countries. The position originates in the House of Lords of the Parliam ...

. 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 The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the largest charity that saves lives at sea around the coasts of the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, as well as on some inland waterways. It i ...

, 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 ''Men Only'' is a British magazine title that originated in 1935 as a pocket-sized men's magazine. It became a standard-sized pin-up magazine in the 1950s and was relaunched in 1971 by Paul Raymond Publications as a soft-core pornographic mag ...

'' 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.

Personal life

Giles married Sylvia 'Joan' Clarke, his first cousin, on 14 March 1942 in

East Finchley East Finchley is an area in North London, immediately north of Hampstead Heath. Like neighbouring Muswell Hill it straddles the London Boroughs of Barnet and Haringey, with most of East Finchley falling into the London Borough of Barnet. It ...

. The couple never had children but were married for over 50 years and shortly after their marriage the couple moved to

Witnesham Witnesham is a village situated roughly to the north of Ipswich, Suffolk. The main road from Ipswich that links the village to the town is the B1077, Westerfield Road. History It is in the Domesday Book as 'Wytenesham’ (Witta's/Witten's meado ...

, near Ipswich, Suffolk, where they spent the rest of their lives together. 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.

Annual collections of cartoons

Collections of Giles's cartoons have been produced annually since 1946. Up until the 50th collection (published in 1996), they were given the title "1st Series", "2nd Series", up to "60th Series" (2007), although since the 1997-published collection, they have been called "The 1998 collection", "The 1999 collection", etc. For reasons unknown the 2005 Collection was subtitled as Fifty-Sixth series, despite the 2003 edition being (correctly) titled as such and the 2005 release actually being the Fifty-Eighth book. Until his death in 1995, Giles selected which cartoons would be in the annual. Up until 1991, when Giles stopped producing new cartoons, the annual consisted of cartoons from the preceding year — for example, in the 42nd series (published in autumn 1989), the cartoons used were originally published in the ''Daily Express'' and ''Sunday Express'' between 30 June 1987 and 12 June 1988. From 1991, the annuals consisted of cartoons previously published in collections, although some previously unpublished in annuals were included. The 46th series (1992), 47th (1993) and the 1999-2001 collections are all composed solely of cartoons which had not previously been published in any other collection. The 2002-2006 collections included some cartoons not previously published in any collections. The 1999-2005 collections included a calendar, with 12 cartoons from the year's collection. Most of the annuals included a foreword from an editor of the Express newspapers or a celebrity fan, including

Margot Fonteyn Dame Margaret Evelyn de Arias DBE (''née'' Hookham; 18 May 191921 February 1991), known by the stage name Margot Fonteyn, was an English ballerina. She spent her entire career as a dancer with the Royal Ballet (formerly the Sadler's Wells T ...

(ballet dancer),

Adam Faith Terence Nelhams Wright (23 June 1940 – 8 March 2003), known as Adam Faith, was an English singer, actor, and financial journalist. A teen idol, he scored consecutive No. 1 hits on the UK Singles Chart with "What Do You Want?" (1959) and " Po ...

(singer), Spike Milligan (comedian), Sir Malcolm Sargent (conductor), Jim Clark (F1 champion), Sean Connery (actor), Frank Sinatra (singer) and

Tommy Cooper Thomas Frederick Cooper (19 March 1921 – 15 April 1984) was a Welsh prop comedian and magician. As an entertainer, his appearance was large and lumbering at , and he habitually wore a red fez when performing. He served in the British Army f ...

(comedian and magician). The 2010 collection had an introduction about Giles, as it was the first year that Hamlyn had published the collection (all previous collections had been published by

Express Newspapers Northern & Shell (holding company name Northern and Shell Network Ltd) is a British publishing group, founded in December 1974 and owned since then by Richard Desmond. Formerly a publisher of pornographic magazines including '' Penthouse'' and '' ...

). The 2011 collection returned to the tradition of having an introduction written by a celebrity fan (in that case,

Lee Latchford-Evans Lee Latchford-Evans (born 28 January 1975) is an English singer, dancer, stage actor and one of the five singers of the British pop group Steps. Early life From Ellesmere Port, Evans was born as Lee Latchford Evans, with his middle name Latch ...

) and the majority of the cartoons featured in the 2011 collection had never previously appeared in an annual. In June 2017, Dr Tim Benson published the first biography of Giles to be based on the cartoonist's own correspondence in his book 'Giles's War'. Benson discovered that Giles had been dishonest about his reasons for leaving Reynolds News due to the guilt he felt over joining Express Newspapers. The book also discusses how Giles misled his biographer Peter Tory over many details of his career.

Influences

Giles cited his influences as

Bruce Bairnsfather Captain Charles Bruce Bairnsfather (9 July 188729 September 1959) was a prominent British humorist and cartoonist. His best-known cartoon character is Old Bill. Bill and his pals Bert and Alf featured in Bairnsfather's weekly "Fragments from Fra ...

and Graham Laidler ("Pont"), and he himself influenced the style of the newspaper cartoonists "JAK" and " Mac". Giles' cartoon 'Back to School Week' of 13 January 1953 inspired

Leo Baxendale Joseph Leo Baxendale (27 October 1930 – 23 April 2017) was an English cartoonist and publisher. Baxendale wrote and drew several titles. Among his best-known creations are the '' Beano'' strips '' Little Plum'', ''Minnie the Minx'', ''The Bas ...

to create the 'Bash Street Kids' for The Beano comic. In April 2000, he was voted 'Britain's Favourite Cartoonist of the 20th Century'.

Tributes

In 1993 a bronze statue depicting Grandma looking up at the window of the studio in Ipswich, England where he used to work was unveiled by Warren Mitchell. Giles, who was by this time using a wheelchair, was present at the unveiling. He lived in

Ipswich Historic lettering: Giles
Retrieved 2016-10-16. and supported

Ipswich Town F.C. Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...

. Giles' grave is located in the churchyard of Tuddenham St Martin, Suffolk.

Bibliography

By Giles * ''Golden Jubilee Special Edition'' (2002) * ''Giles VE Day Cartoons'' (1995) * ''Fifty Years At Work'' (1994) * ''Fifty Years At The Express'' (1994) * ''Nurse!'' (1975) * ''Giles At War'' (1955) * ''Children by Giles'' (1955) * ''Cartoons from'' The Journalist (1948) About Giles * ''Giles: a life in cartoons'' by Peter Tory (1992) * ''The Giles Family'' by Peter Tory (1993) * ''Giles At War'' by Peter Tory (1994) * ''The Ultimate Giles'' by Peter Tory (1995) * ''Grandma'' by Robert Beaumont (1999) * ''Giles's London'' by John Field (2007) * ''Giles's Fighting Forces'' by John Field (2008) * ''Giles: One of the Family: the life and cartoons of Carl Giles from his personal archive'' by Dr. Nicholas Hiley, British Cartoon Archive, University of Kent (2008)
Catalogue
* ''The History of the World According to Giles'' by John Field (2010) * ''Giles's War'' by Tim Benson, Random House Books (2017)

Notes

References

at the British Cartoon Archive, University of Kent. Accessed October 2022. * *

External links

A Celebration of Giles

British Cartoon Archive
A substantial collection of Giles' work, made available by the University of Kent. The collection also includes everyday objects from his studio. {{DEFAULTSORT:Giles Carl 1916 births 1995 deaths English cartoonists British editorial cartoonists Officers of the Order of the British Empire People from Islington (district) People from Suffolk Coastal (district)