Kathleen ("Kaye") Webb (26 January 1914 – 16 January 1996), was a British editor and publisher. She was a recipient of the

Eleanor Farjeon Award The Eleanor Farjeon Award is made for distinguished service to the world of British Children's literature, children's books and is given to someone whose commitment and contribution is deemed to be outstanding. Founded in 1966, it is presented annua ...

Early life and education

Kathleen Webb was born in Chiswick, London, in 1914, the second of three children of Arthur Webb, a journalist, and Ann (née Stevens), a film and theatre critic.Trotman 2015Grove 2010. Her paternal great-great-grandfather was W. G. (William George) Webb, publisher of toy theatres in the Victorian era. Webb was educated first at a dame school, then at

Hornsey Hornsey is a district of north London, England in the London Borough of Haringey The London Borough of Haringey (pronounced , same as Harringay) is a London borough in North London, classified by some definitions as part of Inner Lo ...

High School, and then, in 1926, aged twelve, started boarding at Ashburton School, Ashburton, Devon, where her older brother was already a student. Webb herself described her time there as "bullied, miserable, had jaundice", but was inspired and encouraged by the teacher of English, Ben R. Gibbs, author of textbooks about literature and history. She left the school in 1930, and although Gibbs had suggested that she go on to university, she was sent by her parents to stay with a family in

Bruges Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and the sixth-largest city of the countr ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, to be "

finished Finished may refer to: * ''Finished'' (novel), a 1917 novel by H. Rider Haggard * ''Finished'' (film), a 1923 British silent romance film * "Finished" (short story), a science fiction short story by L. Sprague de Camp See also *Finishing (disa ...

Career

Webb's first job after she left school, aged 16, was as an office girl at ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

''.Grove 2010, pp. 26–27. In 1931, after her time in Belgium, she was employed as editor's secretary at ''

Picturegoer ''Picturegoer'' was a fan magazine published in the United Kingdom between 1911 and 23 April 1960. Background The magazine was started in 1911 under the name ''The Pictures'' and in 1914 it merged with ''Picturegoer''. Following the merge it was ...

'', where she was "George the Answerman". At some point, she also worked for ''

Mickey Mouse Weekly ''Mickey Mouse Weekly'' was a 1936–1957 weekly British tabloid Disney comics magazine, the first British comic with full colour photogravure printing. It was launched by Willbank Publications and later continued by Odhams Press. The comics w ...

'', where she was paid 2d per answer to reply to children's letters. She later worked for motor magazines ''Caravan World'' and ''Sports Car''. She joined ''

Picture Post ''Picture Post'' was a photojournalistic magazine published in the United Kingdom from 1938 to 1957. It is considered a pioneering example of photojournalism and was an immediate success, selling 1,700,000 copies a week after only two months. ...

'' as a secretary in 1938; and in 1941 became assistant editor of the magazine '' Lilliput''. She remained at ''Lilliput'' until her marriage in 1948, after which she began working freelance, writing features for the ''

News Chronicle The ''News Chronicle'' was a British daily newspaper. Formed by the merger of '' The Daily News'' and the ''Daily Chronicle'' in 1930, it ceased publication on 17 October 1960,''Liberal Democrat News'' 15 October 2010, accessed 15 October 2010 be ...

'' and broadcasting on ''

Woman's Hour ''Woman's Hour'' is a radio magazine programme broadcast in the United Kingdom on the BBC Light Programme, BBC Radio 2, and later BBC Radio 4. It has been on the air since 1946. History Created by Norman Collins and originally presented by A ...

'', among other commissions. In 1955 she was invited by

John Grigg John Edward Poynder Grigg (15 April 1924 – 31 December 2001) was a British writer, historian and politician. He was the 2nd Baron Altrincham from 1955 until he disclaimed that title under the Peerage Act on the day it received Royal Assen ...

, the owner, to edit the children's literary magazine '' The Young Elizabethan'' (afterwards retitled ''The Elizabethan''). In 1961, she became editor of

Puffin Books Puffin Books is a longstanding children's imprint of the British publishers Penguin Books. Since the 1960s, it has been among the largest publishers of children's books in the UK and much of the English-speaking world. The imprint now belongs t ...

, remaining until 1979. In 1967 she founded the Puffin Club, which she ran until 1981 (also editing its magazine, ''

Puffin Post Puffin Books is a longstanding children's imprint of the British publishers Penguin Books. Since the 1960s, it has been among the largest publishers of children's books in the UK and much of the English-speaking world. The imprint now belongs t ...

'').Julia Eccleshar
Obituary: Kaye Webb
''

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 publis ...

'', 18 January 1996.

Personal life

Joan Aiken, Kaye Webb and Stuart Ray, 1972

Webb was married three times: each of her marriages ended in divorce. Her third marriage (1948–1967) was to

Ronald Searle Ronald William Fordham Searle, CBE, RDI (3 March 1920 – 30 December 2011) was an English artist and satirical cartoonist, comics artist, sculptor, medal designer and illustrator. He is perhaps best remembered as the creator of St Trinian's S ...

, who was the father of her son and daughter. She was buried in Kensal Green Cemetery.

Notes

Sources

* (Biography) *

External links

*Helen Brown
Kaye Webb's Puffin Adventure
''

Daily Telegraph Daily or The Daily may refer to: Journalism * Daily newspaper, newspaper issued on five to seven day of most weeks * ''The Daily'' (podcast), a podcast by ''The New York Times'' * ''The Daily'' (News Corporation), a defunct US-based iPad new ...

'', 30 April 2010.
Kathleen (Kaye) Webb