Skegness Magazine

Source: Skegness Standard 20th February 1962

Photo: Norman Beckett

This photo and its caption is part of a longer article about the Skegness Director of Foreshore, Entertainment and Publicity Officer, Mr W G Bosworth, who appeared on the television programme, ‘Points North’. The programme was about publicity posters and the interviewer was Geoffrey Wheeler. I’m going to way-lay the article for now because I want to particularly refer to information contained in the caption to the photograph which illustrated the article.

The caption to the published sketch tells us that “Jolly Fisherman torso is one of the sketches by creator John Hassall, drawn especially for the County Hotel, Skegness.”

“Our Mr Bosworth has every bit as much right to star on a publicity poster as his opposite number in Morecambe, with whom he appeared on television last week, thought the Standard.
So with the help of photographer Norman Beckett, we offer this not-very-serious suggestion!
Incidently, the Jolly Fisherman torso is one of the sketches by creator John Hassall, drawn especially for the County Hotel, Skegness.”

We now have a further clue to the glass panes of Jolly Fisherman and his ‘wife’ in the County Hotel, Skegness.

The evidence IS pointing towards the figures in the panes of glass in the County Hotel being modeled on actual drawings by John Hassall, and, possibly that the drawing of a female counterpart to Jolly may indeed have been ‘Mrs Jolly Fisherman’.

During my long hours of research into the old Skegness newspapers, I seem to recall having seen a picture and article about John Hassall presenting his drawings to the County Hotel.

Excuse me for now, I’m off to do some more digging…

Update 13th December 2007

Eureka! We’ve uncovered the story of Hassall sketching a “companion” for Jolly