Tuesday 16 June 2015

HERE'S A FUNNY THING

P.T. Trehearn

Further to recent posts about Roy Lance who drew cartoons for Rhyl Leader newspaper, here is a 1950s reprint of one of his from late 1940s depicting Rhyl councillors as pantomime characters. (There would have been no malice in this.) The following identifications are by Roy Turner whom I regard as The Oracle in such matters.

Left to right:
Back row: Stanley Roose who was a school teacher and Musical Director of Rhyl Operatic Society; Don’t know; Don’t know; R.L. Davies leaning out of a window looking at the promenade clock tower that he donated to the town; R.L. had a clothes and material shop in High Street.

Front row: Broker's man left - John Brookes who owned a shop in Vale road by the bridge; Broker's man right - Frank Hadley who owned property and one was the butcher's shop which Brian Stable's mother had at the bottom of Grange Road bridge; The Dame is P.T. (Phil) Trehearn, and Buttons is Roy Lance the cartoonist; Cinders - Joe Holroyd the Director of Little Theatre Club; The Witch - Don't know.

Peter Trehearn is delighted to see his Grandad in drag! The cartoon, as in previous posts, is from files of the late Glyn Rees. My thanks to Roy Turner for the IDs. 

In the days of the cartoons, Rhyl council (Rhyl Urban District Council) was a comparatively powerful body that made important decisions affecting the town. Members such as the ones above, would have been well known enough to appear in a cartoon context and be recognised by the reading public.

How times have changed! These days Rhyl Town Council is merely a community council and not very important. Few members of it would be known to a large proportion of town residents. Until recently I had no idea who my present ward councillors were.

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Colin Jones / email: rhyl.colin.jones@live.co.uk

See my Rhyl videos on YouTube:
There are hundreds of Rhyl videos on YouTube. Only the ones labelled RhylTime are mine - don't blame me for the others!

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