12 Facts About Reg Smythe

Reg Smythe was born in Hartlepool, County Durham, England, the son of Richard Oliver Smyth, a shipyard worker, and his wife, Florence, nee Pearce, the oldest of five children.

Reg Smythe served during the Second World War in the North African Campaign, and was assigned to a tank demolition team.

Reg Smythe married Vera Toyne in 1949; they had no children.

Reg Smythe continued to design theatrical posters in his spare time, and was advised to become a professional cartoonist.

Reg Smythe sent thirty cartoons to an agent, who sold two to Everybody's Weekly for more than his weekly wage at the GPO.

Reg Smythe thought up Andy Capp, a stereotypically lazy, selfish working-class northerner in a flat cap, and his long-suffering wife Flo, during the seven-hour drive from his mother's house in Hartlepool to London.

Capp is thought to have been based on Smythe's father, although Smythe never confirmed that, perhaps because in one early cartoon he depicted Andy as a wife-beater, something he later regretted.

Reg Smythe's mother recognised her late husband in Andy, although she insisted Richard was not a violent man.

Capp's headgear was inspired by a fellow spectator at a football match Reg Smythe had attended when young, who took off his cap when it started to rain, because he didn't want to wear a wet cap at home that evening.

Reg Smythe returned to his hometown of Hartlepool in 1976, living a reclusive life on a large estate.

Reg Smythe had left a stockpile of more than a year's worth of Andy Capp cartoons.

Reg Smythe was honored with numerous awards, including Best British Cartoon Strip every year from 1961 to 1965 and major awards in Italy.