'Rupert Bear', Allan Murray

Wed, Sep 28th 2016 at 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm

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On 28 September we enjoyed a most entertaining evening. The speaker was Alan Murray who fascinated us with the life story of Rupert Bear.

Rupert first appeared in public in 1920 and is still around today, which makes him older than any Club member. He was the brain-child of Mary Tourtel who was an artist and cartoonist. Rupert appeared and still appears every day in the Daily Express. There have only been three days without a Rupert presence – on the occasion of the Battle of Britain and twice later on the deaths of Pope John and of JFK.

Those early tales of Rupert’s adventures were strictly non-pc – with Daddy Bear smoking a pipe, with violence and use of guns and with Rupert walking alone in the woods. He was always a popular figure and in 1932 a Rupert League was formed which children could join and which had much in common with the I-Spy Club and the boy scouts/girl guides. Members received birthday and Christmas cards.

Rupert’s golden years came, however, when Alfred Bestall took over the awesome responsibility for Rupert Bear in 1935. Bestall was a distinguished artist and cartoonist who agreed to take on the art work, not realising that the job also meant responsibility for the story telling. In the event he even improved on the stories and characters and continued with this daily responsibility until he resigned in 1973 when his design for the cover of the Rupert Bear Annual was changed without his being consulted. There have been several successors to Bestall over the years. Since 2008 responsibility has been in the hands of a Scot – Stuart Trotter.

The first Rupert Bear Annual appeared in 1936 and whilst annuals have become less popular these days, the Rupert Bear Annual continues to be one of the best sellers. Some original copies of the early annuals are very valuable indeed but Alan suggested we should not pin our hopes on post-1960 copies which we might have in the attic.

Alan invited us to consider Rupert’s influence over the years, suggesting that Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, The Snowman and even ET showed similarities with Rupert stories and art work.

Alan entertained us further with 3 examples of representative Rupert stories bringing out the traditional elements. Tradition, he said, was an important part of the Rupert world. Its attraction was four-fold with its nostalgia and escapism appeal, its art-work and its stories

This was indeed a most enjoyable evening and Ronnie MacLachlan expressed the Club’s appreciation and invited the members to join him in thanking Alan.


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