Gren
Encyclopedia
Grenfell "Gren" Jones MBE
(13 June 1934 - 4 January 2007) was one of Wales's
best-known and longest-serving newspaper
cartoon
ists.
miner
Harry Jones, Gren was born in Hengoed
in the Rhymney Valley
. Aged eight he began drawing caricatures of neighbours and pocket cartoons in the style of Ronald Niebour ("Neb") of the Daily Mail
in his hymn
book at his local chapel
: "Neb was responsible for my first interest in cartoons. I used to go to my grandmother's, who would have the Daily Mail, and I was amazed how the cartoonist could do a different drawing every day."
He then started sending pictures to agents, desperate to earn a living from his obsession with drawing. Later, he scribbled in lay-bys, when he should have been selling tiles and machine tools as a travelling rep. From 1958 to 1963 Gren was employed as an engineering designer.
Gren's first published drawing was a joke cartoon for Spick & Span, and afterwards he sold his first news-related cartoon to the Birmingham Mail
, with the help of John Philpin Jones ("Jon") of the News Chronicle
: "When I first started I spent a lot of time with Jon
, of the Daily Mail
. He said draw what you know. And I knew about rugby and the Valleys.".
In 1960 Gren became one of the founder members of the "Knights Of The Round Table", a pop group that would later transform itself into the successful satirical group the The Barron Knights. For a number of years Jones then worked as a freelance cartoonist before in 1968 getting a staff job on the Western Mail. Gren produced a daily topical cartoon, but is best known for creating the weekly strip "Ponty an' Pop" in the Saturday Sports edition of the Western Mail's sister paper South Wales Echo
.
With the words of Jon in his mind, the cartoons depicted South Wales
valley life, centred on the village of Aberflyarff in Scrumcap Valley on the River Efflew. Rugby
, tightly-packed terraced streets, and local politicians all supplemented popular recurring characters, including: Nigel and Neville the message-bearing sheep; Ponty and Pop; and Bromide Lil, the tattooed barmaid of the Golden Dap.
Owning an “original Gren” was an honour and appearing in one an even greater honour, which his friends Max Boyce
, Harry Secombe
and Wyn Calvin
all did. He was also a fast and professional worker: after a morning discussion with the paper's editor, his cartoons were drawn and ready to go by 9.50am - always topical and funny, they were never offensive.
His strip "Big Deal", also known as "Threadneedle", was syndicated for thirty-five years, and he has also produced golf, cricket and rugby sporting calendars, as well as some with a business theme - notably for Bemrose Publishers for 20 years. He was official 'war artist' for the Welsh Rugby Union
.
His local popularity gave him other opportunities, including drawing the cover for the Max Boyce
album We All Had Doctors' Papers
, and resultantly became the first cartoonist to receive a gold disc from the record company EMI
.
Through his career he produced over 24 books; while for charity
he produced his annual rugby calendar as well as selling numerous original sketches. He was voted best provincial cartoonist in Britain
by the CCGB four times: 1983, 1985, 1986, and 1987. He was honoured by the Variety Club for his charity work; given an honorary degree by the University of Glamorgan
in 2004; and was made an MBE
for services to newspapers in 1989.
Gren retired on his 65th birthday, and said of his job: "When I started out I enjoyed the same things as I'm drawing now. Wales, rugby, local politicians, anything we in this part of the world are able to relate to - I aim to reflect our life and it goes down well with the readers. I'm not trying to prove any points. I try not to get into the political area as that isn't my audience." Gren continued to produce cartoons for the Echo evening paper from home.
Gren, who lived in the Llandaff
area of Cardiff, died at the city's University Hospital of Wales
on Thursday 4 January 2007.
Fellow cartoonist Bill Tidy
paid tribute to Gren: "I was a great admirer of Gren. To me he was a Max Boyce
on paper and a Harry Secombe
in humour. He raised a large amount of money for charity, he was crazy on rugby and was the only Welshman I'd ever met who sang out of tune deliberately. He had his finger on the pulse of Wales."
man: Daryl (born 1965) and Chris (born 1969). At the time of Gren's death, he had four grandchildren.
Gren continued to work to the end, with his constant friend and pal at his side: Charlie Friday of Llandaff - a Cocker Spaniel.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(13 June 1934 - 4 January 2007) was one of Wales's
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
best-known and longest-serving newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
cartoon
Cartoon
A cartoon is a form of two-dimensional illustrated visual art. While the specific definition has changed over time, modern usage refers to a typically non-realistic or semi-realistic drawing or painting intended for satire, caricature, or humor, or to the artistic style of such works...
ists.
Biography
The son of coalCoal mining
The goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...
miner
Miner
A miner is a person whose work or business is to extract ore or minerals from the earth. Mining is one of the most dangerous trades in the world. In some countries miners lack social guarantees and in case of injury may be left to cope without assistance....
Harry Jones, Gren was born in Hengoed
Hengoed
Hengoed ) is a village on the west side of the Rhymney Valley - between Ystrad Mynach to the South and Cefn Hengoed to the North. Across the valley it looks towards Maesycwmmer...
in the Rhymney Valley
Rhymney Valley
The Rhymney Valley is a valley encompassing the villages of Abertysswg, Fochriw, Pontlottyn, Tirphil, New Tredegar, Aberbargoed, Rhymney, and Ystrad Mynach, and the towns of Bargoed and Caerphilly, in south-east Wales, formerly famous for its coal mining and iron industries.-Geography:Created as a...
. Aged eight he began drawing caricatures of neighbours and pocket cartoons in the style of Ronald Niebour ("Neb") of the Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
in his hymn
Hymn
A hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification...
book at his local chapel
Chapel
A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
: "Neb was responsible for my first interest in cartoons. I used to go to my grandmother's, who would have the Daily Mail, and I was amazed how the cartoonist could do a different drawing every day."
He then started sending pictures to agents, desperate to earn a living from his obsession with drawing. Later, he scribbled in lay-bys, when he should have been selling tiles and machine tools as a travelling rep. From 1958 to 1963 Gren was employed as an engineering designer.
Gren's first published drawing was a joke cartoon for Spick & Span, and afterwards he sold his first news-related cartoon to the Birmingham Mail
Birmingham Mail
The Birmingham Mail is a tabloid newspaper based in Birmingham, UK but distributed around Birmingham, The Black Country, Solihull, Warwickshire and parts of Worcestershire and Staffordshire. The newspaper, which was re-branded from the Birmingham Evening Mail in October 2005, is one of the biggest...
, with the help of John Philpin Jones ("Jon") of the News Chronicle
News Chronicle
The News Chronicle was a British daily newspaper. It ceased publication on 17 October 1960, being absorbed into the Daily Mail. Its offices were in Bouverie Street, off Fleet Street, London, EC4Y 8DP, England.-Daily Chronicle:...
: "When I first started I spent a lot of time with Jon
Jon
Jon is a shortened form of the common given name Jonathan, meaning "God has given", or an alternate spelling of John, meaning "God is gracious". In the year of 2008, Jon was the 527th most popular name in the United States; its popularity has declined steadily since its peak in 1968 as #65...
, of the Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
. He said draw what you know. And I knew about rugby and the Valleys.".
In 1960 Gren became one of the founder members of the "Knights Of The Round Table", a pop group that would later transform itself into the successful satirical group the The Barron Knights. For a number of years Jones then worked as a freelance cartoonist before in 1968 getting a staff job on the Western Mail. Gren produced a daily topical cartoon, but is best known for creating the weekly strip "Ponty an' Pop" in the Saturday Sports edition of the Western Mail's sister paper South Wales Echo
South Wales Echo
The South Wales Echo is a daily tabloid newspaper published in Cardiff, Wales and distributed throughout the surrounding area.The newspaper was founded in 1884 and was based in Thomson House, Cardiff city centre. It is published by Media Wales Ltd , part of the Trinity Mirror group...
.
With the words of Jon in his mind, the cartoons depicted South Wales
South Wales
South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
valley life, centred on the village of Aberflyarff in Scrumcap Valley on the River Efflew. Rugby
Rugby football
Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...
, tightly-packed terraced streets, and local politicians all supplemented popular recurring characters, including: Nigel and Neville the message-bearing sheep; Ponty and Pop; and Bromide Lil, the tattooed barmaid of the Golden Dap.
Owning an “original Gren” was an honour and appearing in one an even greater honour, which his friends Max Boyce
Max Boyce
Maxwell Boyce MBE is a Welsh comedian, singer and former coal miner. He rose to fame during the mid-1970s with an act that combined musical comedy with his passion for rugby union and his origins in the mining communities of South Wales...
, Harry Secombe
Harry Secombe
Sir Harry Donald Secombe CBE was a Welsh entertainer with a talent for comedy and a noted fine tenor singing voice. He is best known for playing Neddie Seagoon, the central character in the BBC radio comedy series The Goon Show...
and Wyn Calvin
Wyn Calvin
Wyn Calvin, MBE OStJ , sometimes called the "Clown Prince of Wales" and "The Welsh Prince of Laughter", is a veteran Welsh comedian and entertainer....
all did. He was also a fast and professional worker: after a morning discussion with the paper's editor, his cartoons were drawn and ready to go by 9.50am - always topical and funny, they were never offensive.
His strip "Big Deal", also known as "Threadneedle", was syndicated for thirty-five years, and he has also produced golf, cricket and rugby sporting calendars, as well as some with a business theme - notably for Bemrose Publishers for 20 years. He was official 'war artist' for the Welsh Rugby Union
Welsh Rugby Union
The Welsh Rugby Union is the governing body of rugby union in Wales, recognised by the International Rugby Board.The union's patron is Queen Elizabeth II, and her grandson Prince William of Wales became the Vice Royal Patron of the Welsh Rugby Union as of February 2007.-History:The roots of the...
.
His local popularity gave him other opportunities, including drawing the cover for the Max Boyce
Max Boyce
Maxwell Boyce MBE is a Welsh comedian, singer and former coal miner. He rose to fame during the mid-1970s with an act that combined musical comedy with his passion for rugby union and his origins in the mining communities of South Wales...
album We All Had Doctors' Papers
We All Had Doctors' Papers
We All Had Doctors' Papers is a live album by Welsh comedian and singer Max Boyce, first issued in 1975. It was his fourth album release and followed his break through recording Live at Treorchy. The album contains a mixture of comedic and traditional songs, along with Boyce's interactions with...
, and resultantly became the first cartoonist to receive a gold disc from the record company EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
.
Through his career he produced over 24 books; while for charity
Charity (practice)
The practice of charity means the voluntary giving of help to those in need who are not related to the giver.- Etymology :The word "charity" entered the English language through the Old French word "charité" which was derived from the Latin "caritas".Originally in Latin the word caritas meant...
he produced his annual rugby calendar as well as selling numerous original sketches. He was voted best provincial cartoonist in Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
by the CCGB four times: 1983, 1985, 1986, and 1987. He was honoured by the Variety Club for his charity work; given an honorary degree by the University of Glamorgan
University of Glamorgan
The University of Glamorgan is a university based in Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales with campuses in Treforest, Glyntaff, Merthyr Tydfil, Tyn y Wern and Cardiff...
in 2004; and was made an MBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
for services to newspapers in 1989.
Gren retired on his 65th birthday, and said of his job: "When I started out I enjoyed the same things as I'm drawing now. Wales, rugby, local politicians, anything we in this part of the world are able to relate to - I aim to reflect our life and it goes down well with the readers. I'm not trying to prove any points. I try not to get into the political area as that isn't my audience." Gren continued to produce cartoons for the Echo evening paper from home.
Gren, who lived in the Llandaff
Llandaff
Llandaff is a district in the north of Cardiff, capital of Wales, having been incorporated into the city in 1922. It is the seat of the Church in Wales Bishop of Llandaff, whose diocese covers the most populous area of South Wales. Much of the district is covered by parkland known as Llandaff...
area of Cardiff, died at the city's University Hospital of Wales
University Hospital of Wales
University Hospital of Wales , opened in November 1971, is a major 1000-bed hospital situated in the inner city district of Heath in Cardiff, Wales...
on Thursday 4 January 2007.
Fellow cartoonist Bill Tidy
Bill Tidy
William Edward "Bill" Tidy, MBE , is a British cartoonist, writer and television personality, known chiefly for his comic strips. Bill was awarded an MBE in 2000 for "Services to Journalism". He is noted for his charitable work, particularly for the Lord's Taverners, which he has supported for over...
paid tribute to Gren: "I was a great admirer of Gren. To me he was a Max Boyce
Max Boyce
Maxwell Boyce MBE is a Welsh comedian, singer and former coal miner. He rose to fame during the mid-1970s with an act that combined musical comedy with his passion for rugby union and his origins in the mining communities of South Wales...
on paper and a Harry Secombe
Harry Secombe
Sir Harry Donald Secombe CBE was a Welsh entertainer with a talent for comedy and a noted fine tenor singing voice. He is best known for playing Neddie Seagoon, the central character in the BBC radio comedy series The Goon Show...
in humour. He raised a large amount of money for charity, he was crazy on rugby and was the only Welshman I'd ever met who sang out of tune deliberately. He had his finger on the pulse of Wales."
Personal life
Married to Anne, the couple had two sons who both became policePolice
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
man: Daryl (born 1965) and Chris (born 1969). At the time of Gren's death, he had four grandchildren.
Gren continued to work to the end, with his constant friend and pal at his side: Charlie Friday of Llandaff - a Cocker Spaniel.