When I was asked to write a few words about the Observer’s political cartoonists, I imagined that the oldest newspaper in the world would have had a great list of them. In my mind’s eye I pictured Cruickshank, Gilray, Tenniel, Shepard, Low and Illingworth passing the baton, or perhaps pencil, on through the years. It was a surprise, then, to discover that I was only the fourth political cartoonist in this great paper’s history.
Another surprise was that I had met each of my illustrious predecessors. As a young cartoonist working for the Independent on Sunday, I was invited to have lunch with Abu Abraham by the British Council. He was visiting from India and wanted to meet a cartoonist. I was the best the British Council could do at short notice. I remember a soft-spoken, courteous man who politely indulged my woeful ignorance of his reputation as one of India’s greatest cartoonists.
David Astor, the great Observer editor, had spotted Abraham’s work in the Tribune and invited him to join the paper as its first political cartoonist, in 1956. Little did I know that 30 years later, Andrew Jaspan, whose tenure as editor was rather shorter than Astor’s, would offer me the job. I took over from the great Wally Fawkes, pen name “Trog”. I had admired Wally’s work in the Observer ever since, as a schoolboy, I read my father’s paper of choice each Sunday. I wish I’d had the chance to know him better, but it was all change on the Observer in 1995. I took over as political cartoonist and Wally continued for a few months as profile caricaturist before leaving. I remember saying goodbye at the lift door, sad and embarrassed that this great cartoonist had been judged surplus to requirements.
Wally had left the Observer before, in 1968, to replace Illingworth on the Daily Mail, before being replaced by Stan McMurtry “Mac” and returning to the Observer in 1971. Those three years were filled by Richard Willson. I met Richard in the late 1990s in the Observer offices when he was submitting cartoons to the business section. We chatted in the art department – a couple of desks by a photocopier – and, like Abu and Trog, I found him to be shy, self-effacing and friendly to the young upstart filling his former post. Not so young now, I am a little shocked to realise I have been the Observer’s political cartoonist for 21 years. It has been, and continues to be, an immense privilege to carry the Observer pencil. Here are some examples of how it has been used.
