It is hard to escape the legacy of the Punch Magazine. From 1841 to 2002, the magazine cast a satirical eye on life in Britain. It charted the interests, concerns and frustrations of the country and today it stands as an invaluable resource not just as cartoon art and satire, but as primary source material for social historians.
H. M. S. IMPLACABLE. Mr. Punch: “I hope with all my heart that this noble ship, with its splendid traditions, may be saved for England and for you.”
[The Implacable, under the name of Duguay-Trouin, fought the Victor at Trafalgar, was later captured after a great fight and served with distinction in the British Fleet for forty years. She is now to be broken up unless a sum of 25,000 pounds is raise immediately to repair her and fit her for use as a training ship for boys. Earl Beatty, as Chief Sea Scout, has appealed to the public for this sum. If she is saved to the nation, the Implacable will be the only ship afloat of her kind….]
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--In 1908 King Edward VII intervened to save the ship. In 1912 she was handed over to philanthropist Geoffrey Wheatley Cobb (died 1931) for preservation, and for use as a boys' training ship. There were several appeals to help preserve Implacable over the years, especially in the 1920s. Funds were raised and she underwent several restorations, which continued in the 1930s. In conjunction with HMS Trincomalee, she served as an accommodation ship, a training ship, a holiday ship, and a coal hulk, and the two ships were renamed Foudroyant in 1943. H. V. Morton saw her at Devonport Dockyard during one of the restorations and was told she had been "lying for years in Falmouth, and we are giving her a wash and brush up before sending her back as a training ship".
-- "Sadly, the Implacable was sunk by the Royal Navy in 1949 because immediately post war no one had the money or inclination to keep her afloat. The YouTube video 'The Implacable is sunk in the English Channel 1949- British Pathe' is worth seeing. Watch and weep." Message from kindly eBayer.
Illustration by Bernard Partridge. Size: 8 x 10 1/2 including borders, image shown slightly cropped. Source: PUNCH Magazine, October 28, 1925. Condition: excellent -- bright and clean, no handling wear, page lays flat for easy framing and the backside is blank.
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Punch, a magazine of humor and satire, ran from 1841-2002. A very British institution renowned internationally for its wit and irreverence, it helped to coin the term "cartoon" in its modern sense as a humorous illustration.
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