Hartlepool History Then & Now

Smythe, Reg - Andy Capp

Occupation : cartoonist

Country : UK

Date of birth : 10/7/1917

Date of death : 13/6/1998

Description :

Reg Smythe was born in Hartlepool on July 10^th, 1917, the son of Richard Oliver Smyth, a shipyard worker, and his wife Florence (née Pearce). He attended Galley's Field School in Hartlepool, but left when he was fourteen to take a job as a butcher's errand boy.

He joined the Army in 1936 and saw service in North Africa during the Second World War. Reg had a real talent for drawing, and became a gifted cartoonist. His most famous cartoon character was Andy Capp, a stereotyped unemployed northerner, complete with flat cap, Andy Capp was created in 1957 for the Daily Mirror newspaper and proved a huge success.

Reg Smythe died on June 13^th, 1998, and in 2007, a bronze statue of Andy Capp was erected next to the Harbour of Refuge Pub in Old Hartlepool.