The Golden Arrow
Reginald Perrott was one of the more remarkable artists working in British comics in the 1920s and 1930s. He was born in Charlton, Woolwich of South East London in October 1914, and despite having no formal art training, he later began working for Adam and Fidler as a junior member of the studio staff. He did art for puzzle competitions as well as humorous strips like 'At the Jungle School' for Reynolds Illustrated Sunday News and 'Roly and Poly the Two Bear-Cubs' for the London Evening Star.
By 1933, Perrott was working for several newspaper supplements, such as the Daily Express Children's Own, the South Wales Echo and the Boys' and Girls' Own Evening World. He created his first adventure comic for the latter, 'The Luck of the Legion'. This was followed by such serials as 'Land of the Lost People', 'Code of the Northland' and 'Buster and Bones'.
Comic from Mickey Mouse Weekly
He began working for the Amalgamated Press in 1935. His work appeared in publications like Joker ('Whirling Around the World'), Jolly ('Wheels of Fortune', 'Red Ryder'), Puck ('The Young Explorers', 'The Golden Arrow'), Golden ('Golden Eagle') and Happy Days ('Sons of the Sword'). He was also present in Mickey Mouse Weekly with 'Song of the Sword', 'The Road to Rome' and 'Wings of Fortune'.
Kings of the Air
He was in the R.A.F. from 1939 to 1945 but was invalided due to having contracted malaria. He eventually became studio manager of Mickey Mouse Weekly and produced front pages as well as features like 'Sir Roger de Coverlet' and 'The White King of Arabia'. After the War, he illustrated some novels. He died from throat cancer in the local Hospice in Tonbridge, Kent, in 1947 at the young age of 32.
In addition to his comics work, Reg Perrott was also known for his war art. There are three of his pictures in the archives at the Imperial War Museum in London, including a large watercolour of the capture of the first German Tiger Tank in Tunisia in 1943.
Reg Perrott tribute on Facebook
Reg Perrott gallery on MobileMe