Oliver Postgate

The death of Oliver Postgate has been recorded on a number of blogs but all remember series that were produced 'long after my time'. I remember the first (black and white) series of Ivor The Engine and how magical it was; I was completely transported as an infant and still enjoy watching anything made by Smallfilms, the production company that Mr Postgate founded with Peter Firmin, so much so that I actually own a small stuffed Major Clanger, bought for me as a humorous novelty by Mrs Gruff (a devout Bagpuss aficionado) and now voiceless, his battery long since dead. He sits as a mascot in her Fiat Punto. I have his autobiography somewhere (probably in store in Berwick with all my things), together with a CD-ROM that came with it, and which I cannot play for some reason.

Smallfilms produced civilised entertainment for children that is also a source of delight for adults and many will readily admit to gratitude for the talents of Messrs Firmin and Postgate but one aspect of Mr Postgate's life that I find a little reprehensible is that although he was a conscientious objector during the Second World War, refusing, when he did eventually respond to his call-up, to put on his uniform (thus ensuring that he would be dealt with under civil rather than military law) he was happy to accept the honorary rank, together with the uniform and privileges, of major in the (civilian) corps in which he 'served' in Germany after the surrender. He was the grandson of George Lansbury (and cousin to the actress Angela Lansbury) so it's no surprise that he was able, like so many well-bred or well connected 'socialists' of the time, to acquire for himself the glamour of a uniform with very little, or none, of the risk.