Looking Back: Herbie versus the Military Police—
from the Wartime Cartoons of Bing Coughlin
By Lieutenant-Colonel Paul Thobo-Carlsen (Retired), CMPA Director of History & Heritage.
|
There was a time when "Don't be a Herbie" was a common expression in the Canadian Army; frequently used by NCOs when warning subordinates not to do anything stupid. This eponymous cartoon soldier had such an impact that for many years lower-ranking Canadian Army troops came to be known as "Herbies." So who was this wayward fellow, and how did he manage to run afoul of the military police?
Herbie was the brainchild of Sergeant William Garnet "Bing" Coughlin—conceived in 1944 while Coughlin was employed as a staff cartoonist with The Maple Leaf (Canadian Army newspaper) in Italy. Coughlin was an Ottawa native who enlisted in the Princess Louise Dragoon Guards in 1941 and took part in the Invasion of Sicily two years later. Formally schooled in industrial art (display advertising), cartooning was only a hobby for Coughlin but a few drawings submitted to the editor of the upstart Maple Leaf in January 1944 resulted in a quick transfer from his armored unit to the Army Public Relations Group.
Through the hapless (and chinless) Herbie, along with his occasional sidekick "Beanie," Bing sought to capture the view of common soldiers and parody the situations they found themselves in during wartime army life. As a Maclean's article from June 1945 explained, "...Coughlin's cartoons have that undefinable something that so strongly appeals to his soldier audiences. Scores of troops have recognized in them situations exactly duplicating incidents they have experienced and...others have found humour in Herbie's antics because the little fellow has so often given way to impulses they have felt strongly themselves."[1]
Many Bing cartoons featured Canadian Provost troops and their British "Redcap" counterparts, often interacting with Coughlin's well-meaning but ultimately inept main character. Herbie, it turns out, was just the type of soldier to attract unwanted attention from the military police!
|
Source: DND/The Maple Leaf, Canadian Army newspaper (volume and edition unknown), circa October 1944.
|
Photo: Author's collection.
|
Photo: Author's collection.
|
Bing's cartoons became a regular feature in The Maple Leaf, and as the newspaper transitioned from Italy to Northwest Europe so too did the comic's themes and characters. His comics became so popular that the Canadian Army published two paperback albums in 1944 and 1945 called "This Army" (Vols 1 and 2). In 1946, soon after the war had ended, a hardcover book titled "Herbie!" was published as a collection of some of the best cartoons to have appeared in The Maple Leaf.
What follows is a selection of Bing Coughlin cartoons featuring military police themes and characters.[2]
Enjoy!
|
"Sunny Italy where the sunshine reigns, huh? They shoulda spelled it 'rains'."
L.H, Nicholson, Battle-dress Patrol (Ottawa: Access to History Publications, 1992), p. 24.
|
"In future Young Man, you'll refer to them as Major So-and-So or Colonel So-and-So, and NOT as the High Priced Help!"
|
Bing Coughlin, This Army, Vol. 2 (Rome: No. 2 Public Relations Group, 1945), p. 37.
"Map reference? Hell, no! What I need is a navigator"
Bing Coughlin, This Army, Vol. 2, p. 38.
Bing Coughlin, This Army, Vol. 2, p. 40.
Bing Coughlin, This Army, Vol. 2, p. 40.
"And how long have you been bringing your laundry here?"
Bing Coughlin, Herbie! (Thomas Nelson and Sons, Canada, Ltd, 1946), p. 44.
"I though perhaps he repaired boots!"
Bing Coughlin, Herbie!, p. 49.
"I trust the chain, but how about the post?"
Bing Coughlin, The Maple Leaf, Friday 14 July 1944, p. 2.
"Rush! Rush! Always in a hurry, see wot it got us this time!"
Bing Coughlin, Herbie!, p. 69.
" ? - ' h - @ - è ! â ' ! . ' d - @ ! ê ? G - ? - ' "
Bing Coughlin, Herbie!, p. 100.
"This hands-across-the-border stuff can go too far!"
Bing Coughlin, Herbie!, p. 116.
|
"You cawn't miss the plyce...first you go to the roundabout...then you see a turn to the right...deny yourself that turn...then you go a little farther and there's a turn to the left...ignore that also...then go to the top of the road and you see another turn to the right...you take that and go straight ahead, and you'll no more find it than I would if I were looking for the plyce."
|
Bing Coughlin, Herbie!, p. 118.
"Borrowed it eh!—An' no doubt yer also personal friends of the General!"
Bing Coughlin, Herbie!, p. 128.
Bing Coughlin, Herbie!, p. 132.
|
"Yup, we're Canadians,—an' incidentally we ain't been near Aldershot in two years!
Bing Coughlin, Herbie!, p. 141.
|
Aldershot is a large garrison town in south-east England. It was also the historical headquarters of the British Corps of Military Police and location of the infamous Glasshouse (military prison). In July 1945, Aldershot was the site of two large riots by Canadian troops who were awaiting demobilization. These riots caused extensive damage to local shops and resulted in one hundred Canadian soldiers being tired by court martial.
"And we'll not have any more of this—here comes the Gestapo stuff!''
Bing Coughlin, Herbie!, p. 147.
"Ya tried four-wheel drive yet?"
Bing Coughlin, Herbie!, p. 155.
|
"A flatfoot!—No siree, we'd never think of callin' a respectable military policeman that—'specially a Lance Corporal wit' a good conduct badge!"
|
Bing Coughlin, Herbie!, p. 160.
"Drunk me eye!...The Sargint jest told him he's on draft to go home!"
Bing Coughlin, Herbie!, p. 162.
"Most embarrassin' situashun in m'army career!"
Bing Coughlin, Herbie!, p. 173.
Even after the war, Herbie continued to occasionally attract police attention...
|
"No driver's license eh! an' you say the general loaned you the car, hmm—Now I suppose you're gonna tell me he'll attend this so called reunion as well!"
|
The Maple Leaf Reunion Edition, 1969.
|
If the troops like the cartoons, I can thank my army experience more than any other thing. Because, no matter how well you can draw, you can't get that feeling of live humour into an army cartoon unless you've experienced the things you're trying to put into black and white. You've got to live it first.
Bing Coughlin [3] |
Source: Ottawa Citizen, Thu, 26 Oct 1944, pg 8.
|
----------
Notes:
1. Royd E. Beamish, "Battle-front Humorist," Maclean's Magazine, 1 June 1945, p. 10.
2. The copyrights for all Bing Coughlin cartoons appearing in The Maple Leave, This Army (Vols 1 and 2) and Herbie! were vested in the Government of Canada and not him personally. As the 50-year Crown Copyright period for this Canadian government material has expired, these cartoons are now in the public domain.
3. Bing Coughlin, Herbie Wuz Here (Almonte ON: Algrove Publishing, 2008), p. viii.
Notes:
1. Royd E. Beamish, "Battle-front Humorist," Maclean's Magazine, 1 June 1945, p. 10.
2. The copyrights for all Bing Coughlin cartoons appearing in The Maple Leave, This Army (Vols 1 and 2) and Herbie! were vested in the Government of Canada and not him personally. As the 50-year Crown Copyright period for this Canadian government material has expired, these cartoons are now in the public domain.
3. Bing Coughlin, Herbie Wuz Here (Almonte ON: Algrove Publishing, 2008), p. viii.