Nathaniel Gubbins (1893–1976), born Norman Gubbins, was a

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journalist and humorist. As a boy he worked in the '' Daily Express'' archives; after he fought in World War I he was rehired as a reporter, but later was laid off. He worked as a freelancer and for the ''

Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was simply ''The Mirror''. It had an average daily print ...

''. From 1930 onwards he wrote a highly popular column in the Beaverbrook-owned '' Sunday Express'' called ''Sitting on the Fence''. The column was particularly successful during the Second World War, and is associated with London's spirit during the

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by many. According to ''

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'': "Once a week Nat Gubbins speaks for the British man-in-the-street better than the British man-in-the-street can speak for himself...Dry-eyed sentimentalist, sly humorist, casual reformer, recorder of mutton-headed remarks, he has become the most widely read of British columnists. He has no U.S. parallel." Nat Gubbins

, Monday, 8 March 1943. Nathaniel aka Norman Gubbins is not to be confused with an earlier writer known as Nathaniel Gubbins, Edward Spencer Mott (1844-1910), author of ''Cakes and Ale, A Mingled Yarn, Pink Papers, Bits of Turf'' and ''The Flowing Bowl.''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gubbins, Nathaniel British humorists 1893 births 1976 deaths