Graham Laidler (4 July 1908 – 23 November 1940) was a British cartoonist, noted for his work in
''Punch'' magazine in the 1930s. He signed his name as "pont", short for a nickname, ''Pontifex Maximus''.
Life
![Calm when faced by adversity](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0d/Calm_when_faced_by_adversity.jpg)
Laidler was born on 4 July 1908 in
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
at 6 Osborne Avenue, Jesmond. His father, George Gavin Laidler, owner of a painting and decorating business, died when Laidler was 13 and his mother, Kathleen née Crosby, eventually the family moved south, finally settling in
Jordans in
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...
. Laidler had always hoped to become a cartoonist but, to ensure an income that would adequately support himself and his widowed mother, he enrolled at the
London School of Architecture in 1926. After being diagnosed with tuberculosis in 1932, he was unable to continue with an office-based career and started to concentrate on his cartoons. He lived in Austria for some time for his health in the 1930s, returning to Britain following the
Anschluss
The (, or , ), also known as the (, en, Annexation of Austria), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into the German Reich on 13 March 1938.
The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a " Greater Germany ...
in 1938.
From 1930-1936 he published a weekly strip ''The Twiffs'', in the magazine ''
Woman's Pictorial''. In August 1932 he had his first acceptance from ''
Punch
Punch commonly refers to:
* Punch (combat), a strike made using the hand closed into a fist
* Punch (drink), a wide assortment of drinks, non-alcoholic or alcoholic, generally containing fruit or fruit juice
Punch may also refer to:
Places
* Pun ...
''; by 1937 he was so popular that the editor,
E. V. Knox
Edmund George Valpy Knox (10 May 1881 – 2 January 1971) was a poet and satirist who wrote under the pseudonym Evoe. He was editor of ''Punch'' 1932–1949, having been a regular contributor in verse and prose for many years.
Life
Knox was ...
, is understood to have made an almost unprecedented 'gentlemen's' agreement' with him to take all his drawings if Laidler would undertake to draw only for Punch - possibly a bid to make sure he was not poached by
Graham Greene
Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading English novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquir ...
's new magazine ''
Night and Day''.
Under the name 'Pont' (derived from a nickname – Pontifex Maximus – he acquired during a visit to Rome), Laidler became one of the most original talents in the history of ''Punch'' and his work continues to inspire cartoonists to this day. He is perhaps most famous for his series on the ‘''British Character''’. This was published as a book in 1938. Another book ''The British Carry On'' (1940) portrayed the atmosphere of the
Phoney War
The Phoney War (french: Drôle de guerre; german: Sitzkrieg) was an eight-month period at the start of World War II, during which there was only one limited military land operation on the Western Front, when French troops invaded Germa ...
. A famous example shows a placid scene in a country pub, where the radio is tuned to the German propaganda station: 'Meanwhile, in Britain, the entire population, faced by the threat of an invasion, has been flung into a state of complete panic'. 'At Home', and 'Popular Misconceptions' were also successful series, but by the end of his brief career he was also developing a striking new approach, moving away from the detailed, large drawings to economical, one or two figure sketches with pithy captions.
Laidler never married. He died of
poliomyelitis
Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe sym ...
on 23 November 1940, having contracted it while evacuating refugees from London in his car.
Laidler completed four hundred cartoons in his brief career, enough to furnish the material for five books.
Bernard Hollowood
Albert Bernard Hollowood (3 June 1910 – 28 March 1981) was an English writer, cartoonist and economist. He was editor of the humorous weekly magazine ''Punch'' from 1957 to 1968.
Life and career
Born on 3 June 1910 at Burslem, Stoke-on-Tre ...
, fellow cartoonist and later editor of ''Punch'' wrote a biographical account of his life and work in his book ''Pont'' (1969). A further biography was written by Laidler's cousin,
Ann McMullan
Ann McMullan (12 May 1923 9 March 2006), was Director of the Electrical Association for Women as well as an officer of the Women's Auxiliary Air Force.
Biography
Ann McMullan was born in Newcastle upon Tyne on 12 May 1923 to Garth Glendenning ...
MBE and published on Kindle in 2022.
Legacy
An annual
Pont Award
The Cartoon Art Trust Award or CAT Awards are presented in an annual award ceremony hosted by the Cartoon Art Trust (CAT), owners and operators of the Cartoon Museum, to honour the year's best cartoonists. The 21st Cartoon Art Trust Awards were ...
is given by the
Cartoon Art Trust
The Cartoon Art Trust is a Charity (practice), charity founded in 1989 in the United Kingdom, which acts as the owner and operator of the London Cartoon Museum, and also runs the Cartoon Art Trust Awards. Its chairman is the cartoonist Oliver Pre ...
to a cartoonist "for drawing the British Character".
Bibliography
* ''The British Character'' (1938); republished 1982 by Element Books Ltd. with introduction by
Alan Coren
Alan Coren (27 June 1938 – 18 October 2007) was an English humourist, writer and satirist who was a regular panellist on the BBC radio quiz ''The News Quiz'' and a team captain on BBC television's ''Call My Bluff''. Coren was also a journalis ...
annotated "Reprinted many times" .
* ''The British at Home'' (1939), with an appreciation by
T.H. White
* ''The British Carry On'' (1940)
* ''Pont'' (1942), with an introduction by
Fougasse
* ''Most of Us are Absurd'' (1946)
* ''Pont: an account of the life and work of Graham Laidler (1908-1940), the great Punch artist'' (1969), by
Bernard Hollowood
Albert Bernard Hollowood (3 June 1910 – 28 March 1981) was an English writer, cartoonist and economist. He was editor of the humorous weekly magazine ''Punch'' from 1957 to 1968.
Life and career
Born on 3 June 1910 at Burslem, Stoke-on-Tre ...
References
* Introduction to ''Pont: an account of the life and work of Graham Laidler (1908-1940), the great Punch artist'' (1969), by
Bernard Hollowood
Albert Bernard Hollowood (3 June 1910 – 28 March 1981) was an English writer, cartoonist and economist. He was editor of the humorous weekly magazine ''Punch'' from 1957 to 1968.
Life and career
Born on 3 June 1910 at Burslem, Stoke-on-Tre ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Laidler, Graham
1908 births
1940 deaths
English cartoonists
Punch (magazine) cartoonists
Artists from Newcastle upon Tyne
Deaths from polio