The 1930s was a high time for British humour. It was the era of Punch, of 1066 And All That, of saucy seaside postcards, of David Low’s Evening Standard political cartoons: against a backdrop of the rise of Fascism, the Depression and mass unemployment, Britain laughed. It lay the foundation for wartime humour, of I.T.M.A., and humorous propaganda (Fougasse’s ‘Careless Talk Costs Lives’ posters).
In 1932, the main Methodist denominations in Britain united, trumpeted then – and still – as one of the most successful of church mergers. Although there were dissidents, they were muted. Yet there must have been many who had mixed feelings: one recorded those in a series of over 100 cartoons, now in the Wesley Historical Society library. Some are merely funny, others more barbed and pointedly satirical. The creator is unknown; it seems he (most likely male) was probably a member of the United Methodist Church (itself a merger of three sub-denominations in 1907), then of the Methodist conference until 1936. At least, the internal evidence on the cartoons suggests attendance at the final U.M.C. conference (Bristol, July 1932): the last is dated 1936.
The cartoons comprise (often political) cuttings from newspapers or magazines, with heads of Methodist personages, also cut from publications, superimposed – and then over-drawn if appropriate – and re-captioned. They are mounted on black paper, making them highly visual.
They raise all manner of questions: who created them? Were they intended for an audience, and if so, who; or simply for personal pleasure? While many of the Methodist individuals can be identified (such as Presidents or Vice-Presidents of the Conference), many are not so obvious. What were the issues to which the cartoons allude? Where were the original cartoons taken from? One, for instance, from 1933, depicts a Nazi ‘brown shirt’ cudgel raised, with the head of Rev. Dr. Luke Wiseman, incoming President, superimposed. The cudgel (‘Nazism’) is overwritten ‘Presidential Address’ and the (swastika?) armband covered. Nearby are two female figures: ‘Seems to have forgotten about me’ is the caption – women in ministry is a theme of a number of the pieces.
While the cartoons are intriguing in their own right, they open a door to serious research, not only about attitudes to Methodist Union but more broadly about appreciation and use of humour at popular level in society. They hold the potential for contributing to our understanding of grass-roots culture at a time of crisis, perhaps not altogether unlike today.
Dr Peter Forsaith is Research Fellow at the OCMCH. The complete series of Methodist Conference Cartoons form part of the Centre’s digital collections which will be available soon.
Westminster Oxford Research Network 