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A
badge showing the top of a rabbit's head and ears with the letters WLOG
around. The back has the maker's name of RODEN, LONDON. The pin and blue
enamel background are missing. The badge portrays a character in a comic
strip which first appeared in the Daily Mirror in 1919. In the drawings
Pip was a dog, Squeak a penguin and Wilfred, who did not appear until
later in the series, was a rabbit. The comic strip, which ran until 1958,
proved to be extremely popular with the British public. The Queen Mother
was an avid reader when she was a child. Pip, Squeak and Wilfred became so
popular that in 1927, the Wilfredian League of Gugnuncs (or WLOG) was
founded in their honour. The name "Gugnunc" came about because
unlike Pip and Squeak, Wilfred spoke only in baby-talk and "gug"
and "nunc" were his favourite words. The Gugnuncs held parties
and meetings and worked to raise funds for children's hospitals and
charities. Pip, Squeak and Wilfred were also the irreverent names given by
servicemen to the British campaign medals issued to those who served in
the First World War. The medals appeared at the same time that the comic
strip gained widespread acclaim and the names stuck. The 1914-15 Star was
known as Pip, the British War Medal was Squeak and the Inter-Allied
Victory Medal was referred to as Wilfred. The cartoon also inspired a wide
range of spin-off merchandise including children's tea-sets, board games,
toys, handkerchiefs and annuals. So popular were the trio that a series of
silent films based on their capers made by Lancelot Speed were also
screened in the 1920s. |
