contract with the Daily Mirror had required him to train a replacement, but he had not done so. After the stockpile had been published, the strip was continued by writer Roger Kettle and artist Roger Mahoney. Awards and recognition Smythe was honored with numerous awards, including Best British Cartoon Strip every year from 1961 to 1965 and major awards in Italy (1969, 1973, 1978). In the US he received the National Cartoonists Society's Best Strip award in 1974. In 2007, after years of local speculation and fundraising, a bronze statue commemorating Andy Capp was erected near the Harbour of Refuge pub in Smythe’s home town of Hartlepool. Measuring five feet eight inches, the statue cost £20,000 and was designed by Shrewsbury sculptor Jane Robbins. References 1917 births 1998 deaths British comic strip cartoonists Deaths from lung cancer in England People from Hartlepool Royal Northumberland Fusiliers soldiers British Army personnel of World War II Military personnel from County Durham