The Comic Cards of Donald McGill and Douglas Tempest in World War One

Peter Tucker compares these two giants of the comic postcard scene

(Originally published in Picture Postcard Annual 1996)

(Reproduced by kind permission.)

3 Topedoes and Mines

"Torpedo Talk! What a lot there is of it. In the tube and train, in the home, street and restaurant, torpedoism holds its conversational sway", begins an article in The War Budget for April 1915.

From the onset of the war there were two blockades: Germany tried to cut off British supplies and Britain to block Germany's. By November 1914 Britain declared the entire North Sea a military area and from February 1915 Germany announced all out submarine warfare would begin. It was a torpedo that sank the Cunard liner Lusitania in May 1915, an act that brought the United States of America closer to the war.

Another danger was from mines, of which were two main types: contact mines that were anchored in clusters by long cables, floating just below the surface and observation mines that were activated from the shore. Lord Kitchener drowned along with all hands when H.M.S. Hampshire struck a mine in the Baltic sea in June 1916.

Both artists were quick to make jokes around these objects of destruction. "I Say, Guvner! Was it a mine or have you been torpedoed", jokes a young urchin to a tramp with a hole in the seat of his trousers, on Witty Series no.310. Douglas Tempest concentrated on torpedo jokes, and he drew numerous designs on the subject, with at least five cards around the same joke of children in a bath tub. It is no co-incidence that the brother of the little girl featured in these cartoons has the name of Willie and he can be found on at least four of the cards in this series.

Comic cards depicting cute children getting up to mischief were very popular with both artists during and after the war. The sight of the little girl's bottom is reminiscent of McGill's famous design "Please Lord, excuse me a minute while I kick Fido!" which was published in 1917. Card no.1275 in Twelve-Seven-Four series shown here is a clever joke, depicting a small girl acting and speaking like an adult, holding a photo of her child/boyfriend dressed as a sailor. She is reading a poster which says 'Mines in the North sea', "So's mine!" is her retort. This genre of subject with infants acting, dressing and behaving like adults were a favourite subject matter with McGill. He draws them in military uniforms both British, Scottish and German also as special constables, civilians and sweethearts. They appear a little incongruous today, although they were very popular throughout the war years and McGill produced many series of them. He featured more cute little sailor boys in the "First Line" series. In these, the little characters appeared against a sky blue background in their white and blue sailor suits.

See also "At the Front"