Thrill Power, 1957 Style, in the new Eagle Times

The new issue of Eagle Times, Volume 26 Number 1 - the magazine published by the Eagle Society - features an interview article by downthetubes writer Jeremy Briggs entitled "A Thrill Of A Lifetime In 1957".

"The Thrill Of A Lifetime article in this Eagle Times has perhaps the most unusual back story any comics article that I have ever written,"  Jeremy tells us. "It began late on the Sunday afternoon of the 2012 Hi-Ex comics convention in Inverness when an older gentlemen called Bob Pegg spotted artist Graeme Neil Reid wearing a Dan Dare t-shirt.

"If Graeme had not have been wearing that t-shirt, if Bob and Graeme had not been so chatty to each other, if Graeme had not known that I wrote articles for the Eagle Society, and if I had not have been in shouting distance of Graeme at the time, then this article would not have happened.

“This is the story of a 12-year-old Yorkshire schoolboy who won a competition in Eagle comic in 1957 to fly both him and his father to Africa for an all-expenses paid holiday in what today is Zambia, Zimbabwe and Kenya.

"That would still be a major prize in any comic or magazine today - imagine what it was like over half a century ago for a schoolboy who had never been further from home than Wales, let alone even seen an intercontinental airliner."

Other features in this 25th birthday issue include -

Dan Dare Pilot of the Future on Radio Luxembourg - a review of the radio serial, sponsored by Horlicks, that aired five days a week on 208 Medium Waveband from 1951 - 1956. The article includes a story listing and is accompanied by a short article on the origins of the malted milk product known as Horlicks.

Serial Thrillers: The Adventure Serial on British Radio - a review of Charles Norton’s new book about four immensely popular series from the Golden Age of British Radio: Paul Temple, Dick Barton, Dan Dare and Journey into Space.

P.C.49 and the Case of the Circular Tins - a further adaptation from one of Alan Stranks' famous radio stories

An obituary of Charles Chilton MBE (1917 - 2013), the renowned radio writer and producer, and writer of the 'Riders of the Range' strip that ran in Eagle from 1950 until 1962, plus a report on the funeral service held on 11th January, 2013, to commemorate his life.

How I learned to stop worrying and appreciate the genius of John M Burns - a look at the career and varied work of one of the artists who drew Dan Dare for new Eagle in 1990.

When is a Hampson not a Hampson? - on the particular challenge and difficulties of reliably attributing Eagle Dan Dare artwork to its original creator and lead artist, Frank Hampson.

Charles William (Bill) Nuttall - Artist - a former Eagle letterer (Eagle Society member David Gould) provides a biographical review of the early career of lettering artist and illustrator, Bill Nuttall, and his personal recollections of working with Bill at Eagle from the mid-1960s.

Mann of Battle: Part 1 - a look at the World War II strip that ran weekly in Eagle from 1962 - 1964, written by Alfred Carney Allan and drawn initially by Luis Bermejo, then for most of its life by Brian Lewis.

Dan Dare Holiday Special 1990 - the third in a series of articles about Eagle-related holiday specials, this one looking at the only Dan Dare-specific special to be published.

Interviewing Marcus Morris - a photo-illustrated article recounting a visit in 1987 to the home of former Eagle editor Marcus Morris

Lion, King of Picture Story Papers - a review of Steve Holland's recent book about Eagle's 1950s' rival - the comic that eventually swallowed Eagle in 1969.

• Membership of the Eagle Society is via Annual Subscription to Eagle Times magazine, which is published four times annually. The subscription rate for 2013 is: UK £27 Overseas £38 (in £s Sterling, please) Postal applications to: Keith Howard 25A Station Road Harrow Middlesex HA1 2UA United Kingdom If you wish to pay by Paypal (to the eagle-times hotmail address below) we request an additional payment of £1.50. Enquiries: eagle-times@hotmail.com. 

• More info: http://eagle-times.blogspot.co.uk

In Memoriam: Charles Chilton (1917–2013)

An obituary by Steve Winders

Charles Chilton, who died on January 2nd, was one of British radio’s most innovative and successful contributors. Born in London during the First World War, Charles’ father died in action, without ever meeting his son and his mother died suddenly when he was just six years old. Charles was brought up by his paternal grandmother as a member of a large extended family of eight people sharing just three rooms – one of which was condemned as uninhabitable! On leaving school, he briefly worked as an apprentice, making electric signs, before being taken on by the BBC, where he first worked as a messenger boy and then as an assistant in the Gramophone Library. Later he became a gramophone programme compiler and producer and along with Leslie Perowne, he promoted jazz in Britain through programmes in the late thirties such as ‘Swingtime’ and ‘Kings of Jazz’. Although he began to present programmes himself, he was temporarily stopped because of his London accent!

Called up for military service in the Second World War, Charles trained as a wireless operator and spent much of the war training other wireless operators. In 1945, his previous experience and talents were better utilised when he returned to radio, working for Radio S.E.A.C. (South East Asia Command) in Ceylon. Here he worked alongside David Jacobs, who would later become a member of the cast of his most successful radio programme, Journey into Space. With the end of the War, Charles returned to the BBC and in 1947, married Penny, a secretary at the BBC, whom he had courted since 1940. Their marriage would last 65 years and Penny would make a significant contribution to his successful career, by carrying out research for his programmes.

After producing a number of music based programmes, Charles created a new series in 1949 which combined music and drama. This was the acclaimed western serial Riders of the Range, based on actual events in the history of the American west, and which Charles both wrote and produced. It ran to six stories over five years and led to Charles being asked to write a strip version of the programme for the popular boys’ weekly, Eagle. The strip was a great success and outlived the radio version by nine years. Charles set up a long partnership with the artist Frank Humphris and they produced many memorable stories, maintaining the highest standards right to the end.

He also wrote several historical books about the American west. Most notable of these was his 1961 work, The Book of the West. This won him The Western Heritage Award for Juvenile Books, in 1963, after it was published in the United States.

On the radio, Riders of the Range was followed by Journey into Space, a science fiction drama, which proved a massive ratings winner, famously being the last radio programme to beat the television audience. Three serials, broadcast between 1953 and 1956, told the exciting stories of Captain Jet Morgan’s expeditions to the Moon and Mars. Charles adapted the serials into novels and this series too, found its way into a comic strip, in TV Express.

He also produced three episodes of the third series of the famous Goon Show in 1952, returning to produce 15 episodes of the eighth series in 1958-59 and eight episodes of the Vintage Goons series, but in his later career he is best remembered for his musical documentaries, in which he explored historical events through the music of the time. Among these are The Blue and the Gray, about the American Civil War, Marching to Glory, about the Salvation Army, How the West was Won and The Long, Long Road, about the First World War. The Long, Long Road was adapted into the stage musical Oh What a Lovely War! in 1963 as a result of Charles’ collaboration with Joan Littlewood’s Theatre Workshop. It was made into a film in 1969 and is regularly revived on the stage.

Charles was awarded the M.B.E. for services to broadcasting in 1976 and retired from the BBC staff the following year, but he continued to work as a writer, with his play The Return from Mars, broadcast on radio in 1981, revisiting Jet Morgan and his Journey into Space crew. In 1984 he wrote a six part radio science fiction serial called Space Force, which had originally been intended to be a new Journey into Space serial, but was changed late in its development to be about a new crew. A second Space Force serial followed in 1985.

After recordings of Journey into Space were found in BBC archives in 1986, the serials were repeated on BBC Radio Two and gained a new audience. They have been regularly repeated since.

In 2008, at the age of 91, Charles wrote another new Journey into Space play in collaboration with his son David, and he was involved in a further play about Jet Morgan and his team in 2009, although this play was written by Julian Simpson. In a busy retirement, Charles acted as a guide on London Walks for many years.

I first met him in 1980 at a convention in London to celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of Eagle. Here he formed a double act with Frank Humphris and they performed an extract from their Riders of the Range story The Arizona Kid. He was a natural storyteller and communicator. In 2010, he finally produced an autobiography Auntie’s Charlie, published by Fantom Films, an informative, amusing and sometimes poignant account of his life and work.

I wrote to Charles on several occasions over the years and always received friendly and detailed replies. My last communication was just a few months ago, regarding an article I was writing about Paul Carpenter, the actor who played Jeff Arnold in Riders of the Range on the radio. Charles was most helpful and even checked my piece for accuracy when I had completed it.

Charles’ work has entertained and educated millions of readers and listeners over the years. With Penny’s help, he always fully researched his documentary programmes to ensure accuracy and this meticulous desire for truth extended to his fictional work, enhancing both Riders of the Range and Journey into Space. He will be sadly missed.

• Charles Chilton, born 15th June 1917, died Wednesday 2nd January 2013, survived by wife Penny, children Anthony, Mary and David and 10 grandchildren.

Further Obituaries

• Bear Alley

• British Interplanetary Society

• Camden New Journal

• The Daily Telegraph

• Eagle Times

• The Guardian

• The Independent

• Starburst

• The Times (subscription required)

• The Washington Post

Web Links

• More about Auntie's Charlie on the Fantom Films web site, including a preview of Chapter 1

• Ham & High: Radio legend Charles Chilton dies, aged 95

• Roger Howe's interview with Charles Chilton, conducted when he was 92

• Charles Chilton deposited his personal tape archive at the British Library in 2005, where it remains a jewel of the radio collections. Article here on the Sound Recordings blog

Eagle comic author's biography released by Fantom Films

Fantom Films has just published Auntie's Charlie, the autobiography of BBC radio presenter, writer and producer Charles Chilton, creator and writer of Eagle's successful Riders of the Range strip as well as the classic science fiction radio series Journey into Space.

Described by the Sunday Telegraph as ‘the one genius the BBC ever had on its staff’, Charles Chilton MBE joined the Corporation at 15 as a messenger boy and went on to carve out a 46-year career as a presenter, writer and producer.

Auntie’s Charlie discusses his life from growing up on the streets of 1920s St Pancras, via early years at the BBC working for the Gramophone Library, to writing the infamous production Oh What a Lovely War for Joan Littlewood’s Theatre Workshop.

While with the BBC Charles was sent to the United States to research, write and produce a number of series based on American western history. One of these, Riders of the Range, lasted for five years until 1953 and also spawned the Eagle comic strip. (Chilton also wrote another western series, "Flying Cloud", for the Eagle's sister comic, Girl).

However, major international recognition came with his science fiction trilogy Journey into Space which he wrote and produced between 1953 and 1958. The spin-off strip, published in the Junior Express and drawn by Italian artist Ferdinando Tacconi, currently features in Spaceship Away magazine.

Charles Chilton’s tells his own story in his own words – an autobiography that is frank, vivid, wry and engaging.

Published in limited collectors edition of just 200 copies, each hardback book will be individually numbered, feature an exclusive cover, and signed by Charles.

Fantom Films have also re-published the original Journey into Space novels as limited edition hardback books, and are the publishers of Doctor Who producer Barry Letts memoir Who & Me and numerous books by and about Doctor Who companion actress Deborah Watling.

• Full details and ordering information: http://www.fantomfi lms.co.uk/ books/charles_ chilton.htm