Mourning loss of wry cartoonist

It was sad to read in The Times Register of the death of Wally Fawkes, cartoonist and political satirist better known as “Trog” by an older generation.

His exceptional art work appeared on the front cover of the

weekly magazine Punch and for many years he produced political cartoons for the leader page of The Observer and a cartoon strip “Flook” in the Daily Mail.

He was awarded an honorary doctorate at the University of Kent in whose cartoon library he deposited much of his work. It would be wonderful if some of his work could be displayed so that interested members of the public could, once again, enjoy his artistic talent. Although it was said that Fawkes did not believe in speaking one word when none would do, he nevertheless retained his wry wit into old age. I particularly enjoyed the anecdote when he went for a recent flu jab.

“I was in the waiting room with a lot of slightly apprehensive elderly people in various stages of decay when over the speakers came a faint sound of music. “Suddenly the Nelson Riddle Strings filled the room and the next thing we heard was Sinatra singing, ‘And now the end is near.’ “We all looked at one another and exploded with laughter”. During the war years in the 40s Fawkes was employed drawing maps and diagrams. He also got a job painting camouflage on a factory in Woolwich. He recalled: “I spent all summer doing it, then it was promptly bombed: I got a rejection slip from Hitler - the severest criticism I ever got”. As I mentioned earlier, the man had a wry sense of humour. Michael Clark

Meadow Close, Bridge