Stillings, George ('Stil')
George Stillings - 'Stil' - was a cartoonist whose work depicting Exeter City and other sports teams adorned the pages of local newspapers for several decades.
George William Stillings was born in Exeter in April 1907 and, after his family had moved several times, finished his schooling in Plymouth. Known as a child for his constant doodling, his work was first published when he was thirteen-years-old and he later became a regular contributor to the Western Evening Herald, Western Morning News and other prominent publications. At a time when cartoons were highly-regarded and frequently used by newspapers, his work recapping recent sports matches and controversies was often published on the front page. Always using 'Stil' as his trademark signature, his original cartoon archive was destroyed during the war in a bombing raid. Undaunted by this he published two books, 'Any Gum Chum' and 'More Gum Chum', before continuing to collaborate with his brother Harry for many years after the war.
'Stil' died in 1969 at the age of sixty-two. Examples of his Exeter City work, which stretched from the 1930s to the 1960s, can be found elsewhere on the Grecian Archive with further biographical information available on the Exeter Memories website. [George Stillings' Exeter City work was originally made available for the Grecian Archive, and for Aidan Hamilton's The Story of Exeter's St James' Park, by his daughter Georgia Shorrock].
George William Stillings was born in Exeter in April 1907 and, after his family had moved several times, finished his schooling in Plymouth. Known as a child for his constant doodling, his work was first published when he was thirteen-years-old and he later became a regular contributor to the Western Evening Herald, Western Morning News and other prominent publications. At a time when cartoons were highly-regarded and frequently used by newspapers, his work recapping recent sports matches and controversies was often published on the front page. Always using 'Stil' as his trademark signature, his original cartoon archive was destroyed during the war in a bombing raid. Undaunted by this he published two books, 'Any Gum Chum' and 'More Gum Chum', before continuing to collaborate with his brother Harry for many years after the war.
'Stil' died in 1969 at the age of sixty-two. Examples of his Exeter City work, which stretched from the 1930s to the 1960s, can be found elsewhere on the Grecian Archive with further biographical information available on the Exeter Memories website. [George Stillings' Exeter City work was originally made available for the Grecian Archive, and for Aidan Hamilton's The Story of Exeter's St James' Park, by his daughter Georgia Shorrock].
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