Derek Arthur William Birnage (13 June 1913 – 18 January 2004) was a British comics editor and writer and newspaper editor, best known as the founding editor of the weekly sports comic ''

Tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus ''Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on ...

'' and as a writer of ''

Roy of the Rovers ''Roy of the Rovers'' is a British comic strip about the life and times of a fictional footballer and later manager named Roy Race, who played for Melchester Rovers. The strip first appeared in the ''Tiger'' in 1954, before giving its name to a ...

''. He was born in

Wandsworth Wandsworth Town () is a district of south London, within the London Borough of Wandsworth southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Toponymy Wandsworth takes its nam ...

, South

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, on 13 June 1913, the son of Frank Birnage, editor of the conservative evangelical newspaper the '' Sunday Companion'', and was educated at Sutton Valence School in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

. After leaving school he joined the comics department of

Amalgamated Press The Amalgamated Press (AP) was a British newspaper and magazine publishing company founded by journalist and entrepreneur Alfred Harmsworth (1865–1922) in 1901, gathering his many publishing ventures together under one banner. At one point the ...

under Reg Eves, initially working on '' Schooldays''. After it folded he moved to '' The Champion'' as a sub-editor under Bernard Smith, also writing ''Colwyn Dane'', a detective strip, for the title.Obituaries: Derek Birnage
''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

'', 18 February 2004 During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

he did his military service in the

Royal Signal Corps The Royal Corps of Signals (often simply known as the Royal Signals – abbreviated to R SIGNALS or R SIGS) is one of the combat support arms of the British Army. Signals units are among the first into action, providing the battlefield communi ...

,, ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

'', 14 February 2004 before acting as editor of ''The Champion'' until Smith returned. He then left to write children's stories for rival publisher Amex, but quit after only four months to run a toy shop in Bexhill with his wife, Audrey Waterman, whom he had married in 1946, and her parents. When Audrey's mother died a few years later, the shop was sold, and Birnage returned to Amalgamated Press. In 1952 he became editor of ''The Champion'' while Smith launched a new title, '' Lion''. In 1954 Birnage launched a new sports-themed comic, ''

'', and asked writer Frank S. Pepper to create a more realistic football strip than ''The Champion'''s ''Danny of the Dazzlers''. The result was ''

'',Race Against Time
, ''

When Saturday Comes ''When Saturday Comes'' (''WSC'') is a monthly magazine about football, first published in London in 1986. "It aims to provide a voice for intelligent football supporters, offering both a serious and humorous view of the sport, covering all the ...

'', April 2004 drawn by

Joe Colquhoun Joe Colquhoun (7 November 1926 – 13 April 1987) was a British comics artist best known for his work on '' Charley's War'' in '' Battle Picture Weekly''. He was also the first artist to draw ''Roy of the Rovers''. Biography Born in Harrow, Mid ...

, who later also wrote the strip under the pseudonym Stewart Colwyn.Roy of the Rovers: Behind the Scenes - the Writers
After Colquhoun left in 1959, Birnage wrote the strip himself, using the pseudonym Frank Winsor, when not ghost-writing for the credited writer,

Bobby Charlton Sir Robert Charlton (born 11 October 1937) is an English former footballer who played either as a midfielder or a forward. Considered one of the greatest players of all time, he was a member of the England team that won the 1966 FIFA World ...

. Birnage left ''Tiger'', and ''Roy of the Rovers'', in 1963, to edit comics annuals. He left comics in 1964 to edit his father's old paper, the '' Sunday Companion'', until it closed in 1970, before returning to IPC (as the publisher was now called after a series of mergers)AP/Fleetway: a Potted History
/ref> to work for a new football comic, '' Score 'n' Roar'', under Sid Bicknell. He also edited '' Smash!'' and '' Buster'' before he was made redundant in 1972. After jobs in publishing, planning, and the

Department of Health and Social Security The Department of Health and Social Security (commonly known as the DHSS) was a ministry of the British government in existence for twenty years from 1968 until 1988, and was headed by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Services. Hi ...

, Birnage retired to Burgess Hill,

West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ...

, where he died on 18 January 2004, survived by his wife and their three children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Birnage, Derek 1913 births 2004 deaths British comics writers Comic book editors British newspaper editors People from Wandsworth British Army personnel of World War II Royal Corps of Signals soldiers