Derek Arthur William Birnage (13 June 1913 – 18 January 2004) was a British comics editor and writer and newspaper editor, best known as the founding editor of the weekly sports comic ''

Tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is a large Felidae, cat and a member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Asia. It has a powerful, muscular body with a large head and paws, a long tail and orange fur with black, mostly vertical stripes. It is ...

'' and as a writer of ''

Roy of the Rovers ''Roy of the Rovers'' is a British comic strip about the life and times of a fictional association football, footballer and later Manager (association football), manager named Roy Race, who played for Melchester Rovers. The strip first appeared ...

''. He was born in

Wandsworth Wandsworth Town () is a district of south London, within the London Borough of Wandsworth southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Toponymy Wandsworth takes its name ...

, South

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, on 13 June 1913, the son of Frank Birnage, editor of the conservative evangelical newspaper the '' Sunday Companion'', and was educated at

Sutton Valence School Sutton Valence School (SVS) is a private school near Maidstone in southeast England. It has 560 pupils. It is a co-educational day and boarding school, boarding school. There are three senior boarding houses: Westminster, St Margaret's and Sutto ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

. After leaving school he joined the comics department of

Amalgamated Press The Amalgamated Press (AP) was a British newspaper and magazine publishing company founded by journalist and entrepreneur Alfred Harmsworth (1865–1922) in 1901, gathering his many publishing ventures together under one banner. At one point the ...

under

Reg Eves Reginald Thompson Eves (12 December 1892 – 1972) was a British editor and writer of comics and story papers for the Amalgamated Press. He joined the company in 1908,Alan Clark, ''Dictionary of British Comic Artists, Writers and Editors'', The ...

, initially working on '' Schooldays''. After it folded he moved to '' The Champion'' as a sub-editor under Bernard Smith, also writing ''Colwyn Dane'', a detective strip, for the title.Obituaries: Derek Birnage
''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'', 18 February 2004 During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he did his military service in the

Royal Signal Corps The Royal Corps of Signals (often simply known as the Royal Signals – abbreviated to R SIGNALS) is one of the combat support arms of the British Army. Signals units are among the first into action, providing the battlefield communications an ...

,, ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', 14 February 2004 before acting as editor of ''The Champion'' until Smith returned. He then left to write children's stories for rival publisher Amex, but quit after only four months to run a toy shop in Bexhill with his wife, Audrey Waterman, whom he had married in 1946, and her parents. When Audrey's mother died a few years later, the shop was sold, and Birnage returned to Amalgamated Press. In 1952 he became editor of ''The Champion'' while Smith launched a new title, ''

Lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body (biology), body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the ...

''. In 1954 Birnage launched a new sports-themed comic, ''

'', and asked writer

Frank S. Pepper Frank Stuart Pepper (8 February 1910 – 11 December 1988) was a British writer of British comics, comics and story papers for Amalgamated Press, best known as the creator of ''Roy of the Rovers'' and ''Captain Condor''. Biography Born in Ilford, ...

to create a more realistic

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

strip than ''The Champion'''s ''Danny of the Dazzlers''. The result was ''

'',Race Against Time
, ''

When Saturday Comes ''When Saturday Comes'' (''WSC'') is a monthly magazine about football, first published in London, England in 1986. "It aims to provide a voice for intelligent football supporters, offering both a serious and humorous view of the sport, covering ...

'', April 2004 drawn by

Joe Colquhoun Joe Colquhoun (7 November 1926 – 13 April 1987) was a British comics artist best known for his work on '' Charley's War'' in ''Battle Picture Weekly''. He was also the first artist to draw ''Roy of the Rovers''. Biography Born in Harrow, Midd ...

, who later also wrote the strip under the pseudonym Stewart Colwyn.Roy of the Rovers: Behind the Scenes - the Writers
After Colquhoun left in 1959, Birnage wrote the strip himself, using the pseudonym Frank Winsor, when not ghost-writing for the credited writer,

Bobby Charlton Sir Robert Charlton (11 October 1937 – 21 October 2023) was an English professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder, left winger or centre-forward. Widely considered one of the greatest players of all time, he was a member ...

. Birnage left ''Tiger'', and ''Roy of the Rovers'', in 1963, to edit comics annuals. He left comics in 1964 to edit his father's old paper, the '' Sunday Companion'', until it closed in 1970, before returning to

IPC IPC may refer to: Businesses and organizations Arts and media * Intellectual Property Committee, a coalition of US corporations with intellectual property interests * International Panorama Council, an international network of specialists in ...

(as the publisher was now called after a series of mergers)AP/Fleetway: a Potted History
/ref> to work for a new football comic, '' Score 'n' Roar'', under Sid Bicknell. He also edited '' Smash!'' and '' Buster'' before he was made redundant in 1972. After jobs in publishing, planning, and the

Department of Health and Social Security The Department of Health and Social Security (commonly known as the DHSS) was a Ministry (government department), ministry of the Her Majesty's Government, British government in existence for twenty years from 1968 until 1988, and was headed b ...

, Birnage retired to

Burgess Hill Burgess Hill () is a town and civil parish in West Sussex, England, close to the border with East Sussex, on the edge of the South Downs National Park, south of London, north of Brighton and Hove, and northeast of the county town, Chichester. ...

West Sussex West Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Surrey to the north, East Sussex to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Hampshire to the west. The largest settlement is Cr ...

, where he died on 18 January 2004, survived by his wife and their three children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Birnage, Derek 1913 births 2004 deaths British comics writers Comic book editors British newspaper editors People from Wandsworth British Army personnel of World War II Royal Corps of Signals soldiers