was asked to create a newly daily strip, and he started his most popular strip, The Winks on 20 April 1940. For the first three months, the strip employed a domestic comedy theme and was basically a toned down version of You & Me. The characters "Mr Wink" reflected the role of Mr Potts, while the tall, thin, long-faced character was similar to "Whalesteeth". In the initial stages, the characters were given their own weekly strip, Tidley Winks & Wally. The Winks was only moderately popular until Cross decided to change the strip's direction and take the main characters into the Army. Mr Winks became Major Winks on 15 July 1940 and the strip was renamed Wally and the Major. Over the next thirty years in newspapers throughout Australia, New Zealand and Fiji, and in eighteen annual comic books (c.1943–60), readers were able to enjoy the extraordinary, knock-about adventures and lifestyle of Private Wally Higgins, Major Winks, Pudden Bensen, and a company of comedy players—in the army in World War II and, afterwards, on their North Queensland sugarcane plantation. He continued to produce the strip until failing eyesight forced him to get help with the drawings early in 1970. Carl Lyon started to ink in Cross's pencil drawings. and Lyon eventually took over all the drawing, with Cross writing the stories, and took over completely when Cross retired later that year. Cross was a foundation member of the Black and White Artists Society (later Club), Sydney, and served as president from 1931 to 1954. Their annual trophy "The Stanley" was named for him, with the award taking the shape of the figures in his classic cartoon, "For gorsake, stop laughing: this is serious". Cross also wrote books on accountancy, economics and English grammar, and treatises on soil conservation. He painted watercolours and there is some speculation that Cross and George Finey held the first exhibition at David Jones Art Gallery. In 1970, he retired from the Melbourne Herald and joined his family at Armidale, New South Wales, where he died on 16 June 1977 at the age of eighty-eight. The epitaph on his tombstone reads, "Stop laughing, this is serious". References Sources Conversation with Stan Cross (sound recording) / as interviewed by Hazel de Berg, 18 August 1969, National Library of Australia ACE biographical portraits: the artists behind the comic book characters: the Australian comic book exhibition, Australian comics 1930s–1990s,