''Twikker'' was the Rag Mag of Sheffield University Rag. The name is a corruption of ''

The Wicker The Wicker is an arterial street in Sheffield, England noted for its history and viaduct that crosses it, the Grade II* listed ''Wicker Arches''. It runs in a north-east to south-westerly direction between Lady's Bridge and the Wicker Arches. ...

'', a well-known street in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

South Yorkshire South Yorkshire is a ceremonial and metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. The county has four council areas which are the cities of Doncaster and Sheffield as well as the boroughs of Barnsley and Rotherham. In N ...

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 ...

crossed at one end by the

Wicker Arches Wicker Arches form a long railway viaduct across the Don Valley in the City of Sheffield, England. They take their name from the thoroughfare Wicker, which passes through the main arch of the viaduct and was, until the completion of the Sheffie ...

(a railway viaduct). ('Twikker' is also the name of a rock climb in Derbyshire, first climbed (and therefore named) by a member of the Sheffield University Mountaineering Club.UK Climbing forums
/ref>Rockfax database
/ref>) Sheffield Rag first produced a magazine in 1926, named "The Star", and by 1928, 85,000 copies were sold.Your University, The Magazine for Alumni and Friends of the University of Sheffield, 2006/2007
page 2, column 3 It was renamed Twikker in 1930. Rag itself was banned in 1942 until the war ended, although the 1943 Twikker was written by torchlight in a bomb shelter! Publication of Twikker resumed in 1947. It is thought to be the longest-lasting example of the genre, although there are other claimants. It is possible to follow the taste, or lack of it, of humour over the years through its content. Many jokes from the 1930s to 1950s were lacking in sexual innuendo but were casually racist and sexist by today's standards. Since the 1960s jokes were much 'nearer the knuckle'. In the 1980s racism and sexism were dropped or bowdlerised (e.g. Irish jokes became jokes about Mechanical Engineers). A particular example from 1939 is notable: "Advice to Hitler – Don't be vague, ask for Prague" (a reference to the Munich agreement and the advertising tagline for Haig scotch). Present-day inclusion of Adolf Hitler in humour is widely considered beyond the pale, and was notably absent from post-war Twikkers. The intention was generally to make the content as racy as possible, to boost sales, but at the risk of being banned: Twikker 1938 was withdrawn after leading churchmen complained of its 'obscenity'. There are reports of the 1949 edition changing hands for £1 after its ban by the

University A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

for "offensive" material,Your University, The Magazine for Alumni and Friends of the University of Sheffield, 2005/2006
page 18-19] It upset the

Lord Mayor of Sheffield The Lord Mayor of Sheffield is a ceremonial post held by a member of Sheffield City Council. They are elected annually by the council. The post originated in 1843, with the appointment of William Jeffcock as the first Mayor of Sheffield. Ea ...

, who traditionally bought the first copy, and was debated in the

City Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

, who labelled it "a disgrace to education" and the 1950 edition was banned comprehensively – no copy exists today – and its editor was sent down from University. The students published an alternative called 'Ragout' to raise funds that year. Twikker 1959 provoked complaints from the public and later editions courted controversy from

Women's Liberation The women's liberation movement (WLM) was a political alignment of women and feminist intellectualism that emerged in the late 1960s and continued into the 1980s primarily in the industrialized nations of the Western world, which effected great ...

groups, ceasing its pin-ups in 1975 following a protest. The Lord Mayor again condemned ''Twikker'' in 1987, and the

Student Union A students' union, also known by many other names, is a student organization present in many colleges, universities, and high schools. In higher education, the students' union is often accorded its own building on the campus, dedicated to social, ...

(SUSU) itself imposed a ban which was debated by the largest ever SUSU meeting (approximately 1500 attended and voted 900:600 to overturn the ban).

Notable contributors

Hans Kornberg was the editor in 1947. The 1991 cover was created by D'Israeli. Forewords have been written by

Michael Palin Sir Michael Edward Palin (; born 5 May 1943) is an English actor, comedian, writer, television presenter, and public speaker. He was a member of the Monty Python comedy group. Since 1980, he has made a number of travel documentaries. Palin w ...

Andy Hamilton Andrew Neil Hamilton (born 28 May 1954) is a British comedian, game show panellist, television director, comedy screenwriter, radio dramatist, novelist and actor. Early life and education Hamilton was born in Fulham, southwest London. He ...

and

Miles Kington Miles Beresford Kington (13 May 1941 – 30 January 2008) was a British journalist, musician (a double bass player for Instant Sunshine and other groups) and broadcaster. He is also credited with the invention of Franglais, a fictional language, ...

Twikker, 1990 in addition to the traditional Lord Mayor's foreword.

References and notes

{{Reflist Student magazines published in the United Kingdom College humor magazines Magazines established in 1926 Mass media in Yorkshire University of Sheffield