Carl Giles; Popular British Cartoonist

Carl Giles, 78, known professionally by the single name Giles, a popular British cartoonist and a royal favorite who gained fame in World War II for his humorous depiction of cheeky soldiers. Giles, whose affectionate portrayals of British life delighted newspaper readers for more than 50 years, was best known for his outrageous family, dominated by a ferocious, umbrella-waving grandmother. Most of his work appeared in London’s Sunday and Daily Express newspapers but his cartoon collections in annuals ensured a worldwide following headed by Britain’s Queen Elizabeth. One of the queen’s favorites was Giles’ sketch of a private lunch at Buckingham Palace in 1962 showing the legs of guests sporting tattered trousers savaged by the queen’s corgi dogs. The son of a London tobacconist, Giles drew his first cartoon on a bathroom wall and later turned down a job with Walt Disney Studios. His first Christmas annual in 1946 sold 140,000 copies, and subsequent annuals sold at least 500,000. His original cartoons are now worth about $4,600 each at auction. On Sunday in London of complications after a stroke.