Secret History: Charley's War acknowledgements

Special mention goes to the first editor of Battle, Dave Hunt, who took his top artist Joe off the No. 1 story Johnny Red, to draw a chancy anti-war series about a boy soldier in the trenches.

Welcome to my Secret History of Comics: my new book serialised on Substack. The first section was on Marshal Law: the past few months it’s been about Charley’s War, which I have greatly enjoyed writing.

This is the final Charley post, I’m keeping it free because this one is to thank the enormous number of people who have been instrumental in Charley’s creation and continued success over the years.

If you’re joining me for the first time, you can read the intro to the Secret History here, it’s available for everyone, and so is the intro to Charley’s War.

Every subsequent post has a free preview, but if you want access to my entire rant post, you’ll need to subscribe. Full access to ALL of my Secret History of Comics as I release them every week (plus other perks, check them out), will set you back just £5 per month or £50 per year, and it helps me to continue giving you my best writing. I even have a free seven-day trial on Iconoblast, so you can try it first.

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I’d like to first thank the artist co-creator Joe for his genius art and supreme professionalism in maintaining such a constant high standard throughout the original ten Titan volumes of the story. And now the three larger volumes from Rebellion. Especially for the humanity and humour Joe brought to the saga. And Joe’s family for their fantastic ongoing support. In particular his daughter Jane Colquhoun, who is also an artist. 

The Battle readers who were into Charley’s War when they were just nine or ten years old but who had the foresight to recognise its importance and make it a success long before it was ever noticed by adults. 

In particular, the many young readers who might otherwise have joined the army. For example, Nigel Martin who told me, ‘I found Charley's War so traumatising as an eight year old that I binned my aspiration of following my dad's footsteps and joining the British Army.’ Nigel went on to say that it was a decision he had never regretted. I’ve heard the same from other army children who might now be dead, maimed or suffering from PTSD.

The many comic professionals and fans, too numerous to list individually, who have supported us.  

John Freeman of Down the Tubes and Tariq Goddard writer and publisher of Zero Books, whose contributions to the book editions were so important. And also my thanks to John Freeman for taking over the CW website. 

Alex Fitch, whose valiant efforts led to the CW event at the Comics and Conflict Conference at the Imperial War Museum in 2011. Even though I had the distinct feeling CW rather stuck in the Imperial War Museum’s throat. 

The late Neil Emery, who set up the original CW website. Steve Beeny, who first made digital copies available and was inspired to write and draw Rebellion 1920, the only anti-war serial to follow in Charley’s footsteps. Philip Patterson for his efforts to raise the status of the CW creators and of British comics. Curator Anita O’Brien for the CW exhibition at London’s Cartoon Museum. Radio producer Dirk Maggs, who tried to get Radio 4 interested in CW as a classic serial. 

The Western Front Association who wanted to put pages from Charley on their website during the centenary years. I so valued their contact, because they are strongly revisionist and there must have been much in the pages they would have disagreed with. It was a bold and admirable decision by the WFA. I did my  best to make it happen but, alas, Egmont, the copyright holders, weren’t interested, because there was no money in it for them.  

Researcher Steve Earles who found the hard evidence that confirmed some details of CW when a Sandhurst historian suggested they were fanciful myths, such as machine gunners heating water by firing and wasting endless rounds of ammo in order to make tea. Steve continues to champion Charley to this day in magazine reviews.

My then father-in-law Gwilym Parry, for supplying the memorable postcards featured in CW, especially the famous ‘Better ‘ole’ by Bruce Bairnsfather.  

My grandfather John Mills, a policeman at the beginning of the Great War, who resigned and joined the army, serving in the trenches, rather than do the dirty work of the ruling classes by arresting deserters. When you consider that the Police Gazette was listening a thousand deserters a week, with another thousand not answering their call up, and the total number of deserters in the Great War was 146,000 (probably significantly more), it gives us an idea of just how big the problem really was.

A special mention must go to the first editor of Battle, Dave Hunt, who courageously took his number one artist Joe off the number one story Johnny Red, to draw an incredibly chancy anti-war series about a boy soldier in the trenches. No editor or publisher, in comic or graphic novel publishing today, would ever dare take such a risk today. Bravo, Dave!

Alan Barnes who bravely serialised Charley in the Judge Dredd Megazine. I’m sure this got him some stick from a few Megazine readers who, judging by the letters I saw, didn’t understand Charley and its importance. Fortunately, Alan did, and his actions encouraged Titan Books to publish the series. 

All the Titan Books editorial staff, especially Steve White, J. P. Rutter,  and publisher Nick Landau, who are as passionate about Charley as I am. 

Laurent Lerner, who published the truly excellent French editions. These include a special art portfolio of original pages of Joe’s art.

Thanks to Laurent, the Museum of the Great War at Meaux, the French equivalent of the Imperial War Museum, had a major exhibition of Joe’s CW art, drawing national attention to it.  

All the publishers of foreign editions of CW, notably Tero Mielonen, publisher of the most recent – and quite beautiful – Finnish edition.

Rebellion, for publishing incredible new editions of Charley and maintaining it in print today after the first editions sold out. And for putting a white poppy on the spine! In particular, thanks to Oliver Pickles for keeping me in the loop. And to Moose Harris for liaising with the Colquhoun family to reproduce pages from Joe’s original art!

Gary Welsh, Phil Vaughan, Ian Kennedy and Chris Murray on Ragtime Soldier. David Hitchcock on Fred’s War and Brothers in Arms. Jimmy Devlin and Phil Vaughan on Liontamer. All inspired by Charley.

Tony Esmond for encouraging numerous comic creators and keeping British comics alive in so many incredible ways.

Sasha Simic for his special insights into World War One propaganda and its relevance to today.

All the books I read and films I watched about the conflict, especially the stage play and film Oh, What A Lovely War and the book Monocled Mutineer both of which left a lasting impression on me and both of which the establishment has desperately tried and failed to trash. I noticed on a youtube doc that, even today, September 2023, the name Percy Toplis – the Monocled Mutineer – still brings out the revisionist Western Front Association in a rash! But, despite all the efforts of revisionists to debunk the book and dismiss it as a work of fiction, I’m afraid it does actually quote its sources. It even gives the full names and addresses of eye-witnesses who remembered Toplis. That’s apart from the secret agent who arrested him.

Toplis, though no hero, is hated with a snarling passion because he showed the system can be defeated. That an ordinary soldier can win against overwhelming odds.

Blackadder Goes Forth, barely shown in the centenary years, which I’m now about to watch for the tenth time. Long may it make us laugh and cry. Long may history students quote it as a primary source and infuriate their revisionist tutors. Because there is more truth in it than the works of any revisionist.

All Quiet On The Western Front, especially the new German Netflix version.

Darren Cullen who, AFAIK, is alone of a younger generation, producing strongly anti-war comics and films such as the brilliant Action Man: Battlefield Casualties. His film is hated by the Daily Mail and The Sun, and that’s a compliment I’m truly envious of!

The British Resistance, every bit as noble as the French Resistance in World War Two. Writers like E.D. Morel and Sylvia Pankhurst and activists like John Maclean and the Red Clyde movement. The legendary Alice Wheeldon and her family, and John S. Clarke who were part of an ‘underground railroad’, a secret network throughout the country that enabled deserters and conscientious objectors to make ‘home runs’ to safety.   

Two books stand out above all the others I consulted. Hidden History: The Secret History of the First World War and Prolonging the Agony: How the Anglo-American Establishment Deliberately Extended WW1 by Three-and-a-Half Years by Gerry Docherty and Jim MacGregor. Ignored by the media and the establishment, their books are game-changers. There is no answer to the charges against the establishment they raise, except ‘guilty’. And their books and documentaries about their work are now known world-wide. 

They deserve the highest accolades and prizes for their important and very readable books which are changing the way we see the Great War.

Their example and documented proof inspired my novel MI7 Assassin.

And, most important of all, the millions of soldiers deliberately murdered by the ruling classes of Britain and Germany and their allies, not for freedom, not for ‘gallant little Belgium’, but for power and profit.

Their story and the story of their murderers still need telling today, more than ever.

Next week: don’t miss my new Secret History of Doctor Who!