Remembering The Rover

 The Rover was launched in 1922 as a boys’ story paper to rival The Gem and The Magnet. These were the days before “comics” which were stories told in strips of pictures. The Magnet, famous for Billy Bunter of Greyfriars School, had stories running for 17,000 words in a single issue. Often the story would run over two or three editions and up to 50,000 words.

The Rover did not concentrate on school stories, but it had its fair share of these over the years. They were much shorter than in rival papers and did not have Frank Richards writing for them. Richards – who wrote under a number of different names for many publications in his career – without any doubt had a “thing” about corporal punishment and often described beatings in some detail. “Yarooooooh!” a sound roared as a cry of pain entered the English language thanks to his work.

The Rover kept caning away from the pages in the most part, preferring to have the dreaded deed take place off-stage. As with The School For Tough-Nuts, from 1928. This story strand was introduced like this: “TWO kinds of Tough Nuts. Which is harder to break? The story of how Masters and Prefects of St Bissy’s School tried to break and tame the boys of the wild Third Form is told.”

It used this drawing as part of its main title piece each week (click here for example).

The School For Tough-Nuts promised so much, but delivered so little.

...

It was not alone. Wily Watkins, “the cute schoolboy” has never been caned. Is it because he is a goody-goody?

Gosh No! The worst boy in the school is what the masters call him!

But he’s too clever to get caught.

That’s how Wily Watkins was introduced to readers in 1927.

A whole series of stories follow Wily as he successfully avoids getting the cane. In one typical episode (2 July 1927, available here) the headmaster is away from Swish Hall school for a few days and Wily and two of his pals, Corker and Boodle, teach the head’s parrot Bingo to squark rudely, “Wotto old pie-face” to annoy the head on his return.

Meanwhile, Mr Croale, the form master who is so annoyed about being constantly disturbed by the parrot, sets it free from its cage. But Wily and his chums see Croale do this and they recapture the bird and hide it.

Still with me? Okay, then I’ll continue. Then, they also see that a chess match is in progress and pieces have been left on the board. They know that Croale and the vicar are part way through a game. As a prank Wily glues all the pieces to the board and the three boys hide outside the window to enjoy the confusion as the form master and vicar try to continue their game.

Wily allows Mr Croale to find out that he is responsible for the prank and Wily is sentenced to a public caning for the following day.

The story continues with Wily standing on the stage in front of the entire school.

Wily took up the correct stance for a whipping, and he winked at Corker and Boodle. In reply, they held their breaths.

Next, Mr Croale selected a cane, and there was not a sound to be heard. The form master was stepping to the rear of Wily Watkins, and Wily was actually smiling, as if to show how heartily he was entering into the proceedings.

Then up swung Mr Croale’s  arm, and – it remained up, because pinned to Wily Watkins’ trousers was a little square of paper, on which was printed in ink:

“Who let Bingo out of his cage?”

Nothing more, just that; but the colour slowly left Mr Croale’s face. He stared at the notice, and as he stared it dawned upon him that if Wily Watkins had been in the visitors’ room to glue those chessmen to the board, he might easily have been somewhere around – outside the window perhaps – when Bingo had been given his liberty. Like a flash that came to Mr Croale, and slowly he lowered his cane.

“I – I am not quite satisfied that you are not shielding someone else, Watkins,” he stammered. “I – I will make further inquiries before you are punished. Boys, dismiss.”

...

Swankpot Academy gave us another caning near-miss. In this story (21 September 1929, available to download here) the sixth-formers dumped headmaster Dr Poppleton in the duck pond, mistaking him for a burglar. Now, he is on the warpath.

The boot-boy Sharkey came into the room and Dr Poppleton pointed to a bundle of about two dozen canes in the corner.

“Pick them up,” he snapped, “and follow me.”

Down the corridor to the Sixth Form dormitory went Dr Poppleton, closely followed by Sharkey. The Sixth Formers were congregated at the end of the corridor discussing the latest development, and when Simpkins put his head round the corner and saw the Doctor approaching, he let out a roar.

“Wow! Here’s old Poppleton on the rampage! And he’s got about two dozen canes with him. Better get prepared for the worst.”

Those lads who had helped in the ducking of the Doctor hastily began to slip copybooks down the seats of their pants.

But, headmaster Poppleton is distracted on route to the dormitory and the boys go un-caned ... Yes, The Rover promised so much, but delivered so little.

Nearly 400 editions of The Rover from the first one in 1922 onward are available to read or download from the Comic Book Plus website.

For more posts in the ‘Remembering’ series, click here

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