Ronald “Carl” Giles was one of the most famous British post war cartoonists whose output appeared in the British newspapers The Daily Express and its sister paper The Sunday Express between the dates of 1943 and 1991.
He was born Ronald Giles in Islington, London in 1916. His school-friends dubbed him “Karlo” after the actor Boris Karloff to whom they believed he bore a resemblance. This was later shortened to Carl and it stayed with him for the remainder of his life.
He left school when he was 14 years of age and started working as an office boy for a Wardour Street film firm where he was later promoted to an animator for cartoon pictures. This led in 1935 to his employment by the famous producer and director Alexander Korda on the first full-length British sound-tracked colour cartoon film, The Fox Hunt.
After a brief time working in Ipswich, he joined Fleet Street in 1937. He worked as a cartoonist on the weekly newspaper Reynolds News where his work came to the attention of the editor of the Sunday Express and he was offered a job working for both the Daily Express and Sunday Express at the not inconsiderable salary of 20 guineas a week. His first cartoon for his new employers appeared in the Sunday Express in October 1943.
The 20 guineas a week proved a portent of greater fortunes to come as by 1955 he was being paid no less than 8,060 GBP a week for producing three cartoons. He was now a wealthy man.
In 1959 he was awarded the OBE and among his greatest admirers and fans were members of the Royal family who frequently received originals of his work.
His most well-known character creations were The Giles Family who first appeared in August 1945. They were a family from the more affluent side of the British working class living in a suburban semi-detached house. The head of the family was Grandma a real battle axe of a person whom anyone crossed at their peril. She is now immortalized as a bronze statue standing in Queen St. Ipswich looking up at the office where Giles used to do his work.
They were used by Giles to comment on a topical event in the news of the day and proved to be highly patriotic although vigilant of authority. One remarkable attribute of the family was that although their homes, hobbies and clothing reflected the changing standards of the day, their ages were unchanged although the cartoons ran for 46 years.
Today any middle-aged, middle class Englishman (or woman) will have happy memories of the Giles Annual. This was a very welcome addition to the Christmas stocking and contained a selection of Gile’s work for the previous year. For many years this collection was chosen by Giles himself.
Carl
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Owen_Jones/2711
Books About British Cartoons
See this TITLE: Best Of Britain’s Political Cartoons 2013 by Tim Benson (ed) (2013) Paperback
Curated by Tim Benson, Britain’s leading political-cartoon expert, this inaugural edition of The Best of Britain’s Political Cartoons is a comprehensive and hilarious look at the last 12 months of British life including the Olympics, the Leveson Inquiry, and the horsemeat scandal. A tribute to the art, power, and intelligence of our finest cartoonists working today, such as Steve Bell, Chris Riddell, Peter Brookes, and many more, The Best of Britain’s Political Cartoons 2013 is sure to be the perfect collection for the curious mind.
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See this TITLE: The World Encyclopedia of Comics
Surveys on an international scale the entire cartoon field: caricature, editorial and political cartoons, sports cartoons, syndicated panels and animated cartoons.
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Britain’s Best Political Cartoons 2015
Britain’s Best Political Cartoons: 2015 is a compelling, razor-sharp and frequently hilarious collection of almost 200 of the year’s most acerbic and insightful political cartoons. All the highs and lows of the past year are covered: from major international events (the conflicts in the Middle East, Greece’s continuing crisis, the FIFA corruption scandal), to more local issues (such as the Scottish Independence vote, the fluctuating fortunes of UKIP and, of course, the 2015 General Election) – not to mention the offbeat and bizarre (Boris Johnson’s hair, Ed Miliband’s taste in sandwiches).
With contributions from Britain’s finest cartoonists, including Steve Bell, Peter Brookes, Dave Brown, Chris Riddell and Martin Rowson, it’s the perfect bedside book – and a browser’s delight,
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