Height: 19cm (7.5in)
Unglazed utility ware porcelain. Standing aircrew figure wearing parachute over Sidcot flying suit, with boots, helmet, goggles and gloves. Marked ‘Made in England / by / Bovey Pottery / Devon’ to the bottom of the right foot, and inscribed to the left, ‘Wellington / Wimpy’.
Read more
The RAF’s Vickers Wellington twin-engined bomber was universally known to its crews as the ‘ /”, after J. Wellington Wimpy from the Popeye cartoons. J. Wellington Wimpy became the antithesis of heroism and was an utter coward. He was a treacherous friend to Popeye. Wimpy had no scruples and would fix the outcome of one of Popeye’s prizefights to his advantage. Segar etched Wimpy’s character with a series of unforgettable one-liners, including:
‘Our Gang’, in which Churchill headed a cast of characters, was a series of ceramic figures by the Bovey Pottery, Devon. The figures were the result of a collaboration between sculptor Gwynneth Cobden Holt (1909-1995) and architect and historian Fenton Wyness (1903-1974) who became a consultant for the Bovey Pottery in 1940.
The cast of characters eventually extended to seventeen figures, representing the Allied war effort and comprised the big three, Churchill - ‘The Boss’, Roosevelt and Stalin, together with other characters representing various aspects of the Allied war effort in the characters of Aussie, Nurse, Warden, Land Girl, Fireman, WAAF, New Zealander, Tommy, Highlander, Sergeant, Airman, Captain, Sailor and Home Guard. The master figures were made by sculptor Gwynneth Cobden Holt (1909-1995) (best known for her work in Essex churches and as the wife of the artist Thomas Huxley-Jones) from designs by the architect and historian Fenton Wyness (1903-1974) who became a consultant for Bovey Pottery, Devon in 1940.