The Scottish cartoonist behind 60 years of Fred Basset
- Published
The Fred Basset series of cartoons first appeared 60 years ago in July 1963
A plaque on the wall outside Dumfries Academy celebrates some of its famous former pupils.
Alongside novelist and playwright JM Barrie and Dad's Army star John Laurie is a name which is probably a little less well-known.
While some may not have heard of Alex Graham, many will know his cartoon creation - Fred Basset.
It is now 60 years - and still going strong - since the first strip appeared in the Daily Mail in July 1963.
The cartoonist produced thousands of them prior to his death in 1991 and his daughter, Arran Keith, has carried them on, working in tandem with artist Michael Martin.
Born in 1918, Graham grew up in Dumfries before studying at Glasgow School of Art and serving in World War 2 with the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders.
After the war he headed south in search of employment in what was his lifelong passion.
"It was just what he did, he was always doodling on everything and drawing little gag cartoons, I think probably at school and everything," said Arran.
"He never wanted to be a painter or a teacher, all he wanted ever wanted to do from a young age was be a cartoonist."
Alex Graham grew up in Dumfries before heading south in search of work
He moved to London and started to get a market for his work in the likes of Punch and the New Yorker before his big break with Fred.
"He was a very internationally-renowned cartoonist and doing very well indeed and then the Daily Mail approached several cartoonists to do a family strip and dad got the job," said Arran.
"I was 14 at the time and it was a huge thing for our family because he said afterward, not at the time, it was like having a sort of pension - it was safe and secure and everything."
However, it did not start off entirely smoothly as some readers were critical of his early efforts and the newspaper stepped in to help him with his artistic inspiration.
The Daily Mail bought Alex Graham a basset hound to help with his artistic efforts
"People wrote in and said: "What is this extraordinary creature?" explained Arran.
"He couldn't draw dogs and he couldn't draw horses - he knew that - so then the Daily Mail bought him his first basset hound, it was a girl called Freda.
"Then when Freda died my father himself bought another basset hound, the second Freda, and that was how it all started."
Arran and husband Alistair have a huge archive of memorabilia which highlights his creative process, not always conducive to family life.
A plaque at the gates of Dumfries Academy remembers Alex Graham
"He used to go out to his studio after tea and just work out the Fred Basset strip with wonderful doodles - we have got it all here, the way his thinking was going," she said.
"When we were children and he didn't have a separate, purpose-built studio, we as children had to be in total silence in the house because dad was thinking.
"And then in the morning he would draw them up."
He did that for the best part of 30 years before his death in the early 1990s, described as a "gentle genius" by the Daily Mail.
'Sheer fluke'
"I think some people might have thought of dad as a dour Scot, he didn't show his humour openly," said Arran.
"He wasn't a man who told jokes," added Alistair. "As far as his wit is concerned, it was observational."
After his creator's death, the family had a decision to make on Fred's future.
"We found 18 months' worth of strips in my father's studio after he died which gave us the time to think whether we would stop Fred Basset or rerun old ones or have a new artist," said Arran.
"Michael Martin was the best, he happened to live locally which was sheer fluke and we have worked with him for over 30 years."
Arran and Alistair Keith have a huge archive of Fred Basset material
Speaking from their home in East Sussex, not too far from Ticehurst where her father spent his final days, Arran is not entirely sure of the secret of Fred's longevity.
"It is not laugh out loud, it is just a little twinkle in the morning, that is all," she said.
"It is not necessarily funny, it is just a little observation on everything and it is moment of calm. The readers know that nothing nasty is going to be there.
"His master and mistress have never had a name - so I think the readers are thinking of Fred as their dog."
- Published11 July 2013