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1915
1916
1919
1920
1921
1922 |
The Greyfriars Herald was a consequence of a campaign run in the Magnet of the period for a new boys' paper. Following articles asking what sort of a paper readers would like to see, readers were exhorted to vote on whether or not they would support production of The Greyfriars Herald. The vote was overwhelmingly in favour. A similar campaign was run in the Gem to produce Tom Merry's Weekly (at that time a 4 page insert in the Gem) as an independent paper. For some reason, the actual paper never saw the light of day, quite possibly due to the paper shortages that cut short the first series of the Greyfriars Herald.
The first series of the Greyfriars Herald ran for only 18 issues from 20th November 1915 until 18th March 1916 until it became yet another victim of the paper shortage. Each issue contained 20 pages (the same size as the Magnet and Gem) and cost 1½d. Stories were allegedly written by the boys of the famous schools (in reality a range of sub writers, including George Richmond Samways & William Leslie Catchpole).
However, the Sherlock Holmes spoofs were written by Frank Richards (and appeared in the Magnet, Gem and Popular of the period as well); and the programme was rounded out by cartoons (by Frank Nugent), interviews with famous characters, competitions, and articles.
All of Frank Richards' Herlock Sholmes stories were reprinted in The Complete Casebook of Herlock Sholmes, published by Hawk Books in 1989. The serial story “The Pride of the Ring” reached its conclusion in The Magnet (issues 425-429) and was reprinted in BFL 1/461.
The second series of the Greyfriars Herald ran for 126 issues, with two name changes. It became the Greyfriars Boys’ Herald from issue 61 (25th December 1920) and then the Boys’ Herald from issue 75 (2nd April 1921). This must have been the second or third series of the Boys Herald, which had previously been published in the early years of the century. The relaunched series also contained 20 pages and sold for 1½d. Its lead story was a new series by Owen Conquest featuring Jack Drake, Rodney and Daubeney of St. Winifred’s, a school temporarily located aboard a boat. In issue 31 the Benbow prepares to set sail for a tour of the West Indies with most of the Fourth, Shell and Fifth forms aboard; and in issue 62 Jack Drake and Rodney left St. Winifred’s to go to Greyfriars, with Drake becoming Ferrers Locke’s assistant some four months later, and Rodney fading into the background. Like the first series, the programme was rounded out by tuck hamper competitions, articles (such as reports from the Greyfriars Police Court!), cartoons by Frank Nugent, interviews, poems, and serial stories.
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