The death of Private Eye cartoonist, Illustrator and children’s book writer Ed McLachlan was announced earlier this week, after a long illness. He was 84.
Widely regarded as one of the greatest English cartoonists, Ed’s marvellous cartoons and illustrations – loved by many fans, the world over – have graced the pages of Punch, Private Eye, The Spectator, The Oldie, Saga and a host of newspapers for many years, as well as magazines, books, greetings cards, calendars and films.
Always humorous, sometimes black and twisted, in which the unexpected always crops up like an avenging angel, he had a wonderfully inventive imagination that threw up different angles on everyday solutions. This, coupled with a strong design background, led to many successful illustrations for advertising.
Edward Rolland McLachlan was born in 1940 in Humberton, Leicestershire, he studied at Leicester College of Art (nowadays DeMontfort University), while he published some cartoons in Lucifer, the college rag magazine. A profile on the Political Cartoon Gallery website notes how, in 1961, the year he graduated, Ed sent a scrapbook of cartoons to Punch, and they bought one for seven guineas. McLachlan remembered thinking “Seven guineas for an hour’s work? Gee, there’s got to be something wrong here.” Three weeks later, when they took seven cartoons, he decided he must be a cartoonist.
He became a regular contributor to Punch, including covers, going freelance in 1965, McLachlan went freelance recalling that “I built up my work through making myself a nuisance, banging on agencies’ doors – persistence, really.”
The Chris Beetles Gallery in London, which his cartoons on display, notes in their online profile that McLachlan also worked as a book illustrator, and in 1969 wrote and illustrated his own children’s book, Simon in the Land of Chalk Drawings (re-released digitally by Dover Publications in 2016). This grew into a series of four books and, later, a 26-episode animated ITV television series.
In 1980, McLachlan was named Illustrative Cartoonist of the Year by the Cartoonist Club of Great Britain and, in 1997, the Cartoon Art Trust voted him Gag Cartoonist of the Year.
As the designer and writer of more than 300 commercial advertising films for clients that included Renault and Alka-Seltzer, it should come as no surprise to learn he was also named Advertising Cartoonist of the year in 1981.
In December 2011, the Cartoon Art Trust recognised McLachlan’s talent and contributions with a Lifetime Achievement Award, while, in 2016, he received an Honorary Doctorate from the University Leicester.
Paying the tribute, fellow cartoonist Chris Williams described McLachlan as “an absolute great. Always hilarious and constantly at the top of his game throughout his long cartooning career.”
Cartoonist Nick Newman describes him as “A brilliant, inspirational cartoonist who never failed to make you laugh. And very kind to up and coming cartoonists.”
“For me, he was the funniest cartoonist in Private Eye,” said the Cartoon Museum’s archivist, Stephen Marchant. “I’m sure I speak for everyone here at the Cartoon Museum in sending condolences to his family, and our thanks for all the laughs.”
“I loved his wicked, twisted sense of humour,” said fan Alan Budgen who had met him a few times. “He said he worked on his drawings tucked away in Leicestershire and was always a little shocked that so many people flocked to see his work when exhibited at Chris Beetles Gallery in London.”
“RIP Ed McLachlan – our greatest cartoonist,” mourned The Oldie team. “Oldie Towers is in mourning. Ed McLachlan, Britain’s greatest cartoonist. He has been a dazzling contributor to The Oldie since our earliest days.”
“Ed’s immediately recognisable pen line, and cast of buck-toothed, big-nosed protagonists, entertained, shocked and outraged from the pages of Punch, Private Eye, The Oldie and Spectator, among many others,” notes Alexander Beetles in his Guardian obituary. “Often set in traditional gag cartoon settings, from date nights and office boardrooms to middle-class front rooms and Stannah stairlifts, his cartoons took the mundane and delivered the hilariously absurd.
Edward ‘Ed’ McLachlan 22nd April 1940 – 29th September 2024
Ed McLachlan’s official web site is at edmclachlan.co.uk and includes a gallery of his work
• Chris Beetles Gallery – Ed McLahlan Profile
A selection of original cartoons (black and white and colour) from Private Eye, Spectator, The Oldie and others is permanently at Chris Beetles Gallery, 8 & 10 Ryder Street,
St James’s, London SW1Y 6QB
Further Reading
• Political Cartoon Gallery – Ed McLachlan Profile
• Ed McLachlan’s cartoons for Punch Magazine
• Books by Ed McLachlan offered on AmazonUK (Affiliate Link, some false positives)
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John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.
He’s the writer of comics such as Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs”, with Dave Hailwood.
Categories: Comics, Creating Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News, Features, Obituaries
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A fine and funny tribute to a cartooning legend.