Pip, Squeak and Wilfred was a British strip cartoon published in the Daily Mirror from 1919 to 1956 (with a break c. 1940–1950), as well as the Sunday Pictorial in the early years. It was conceived by Bertram Lamb, who took the role of Uncle Dick, signing himself (B.J.L.) in an early book, and was drawn until c. 1939 by Austin Bowen Payne, who always signed as A. B. Payne. It concerned the adventures of an orphaned family of animals. Pip, who assumed the "father" role, was a dog, while the "mother", Squeak, was a penguin. Wilfred was the "young son" and was a rabbit with very long ears. Character beginnings The characters Pip, Squeak and Wilfred were created by Bertram Lamb, a journalist on the Daily Mirror, who was born in Islington, London, on 14 May 1887 and died in Switzerland in 1938. He never drew the cartoons, but thought up the idea of the characters. The origins of the characters are mentioned in the cartoon strips. Squeak was found in the London Zoological Gardens after hatching on the South African coast years before. Pip was discovered begging by a policeman on the Thames Embankment, and was sent to a dogs' home, where he was bought for half-a-crown. Wilfred was found in a field near his burrow and was adopted by Pip and Squeak, who were in turn looked after by Uncle Dick and Angeline, the housemaid of their family house on the edge of London. The WLOG fanclub In 1927 the Pip, Squeak and Wilfred club began. It was named the Wilfredian League of Gugnuncs (WLOG) and organised many competitions and events for thousands of members, especially at the British South Coast Seaside resorts. "Gugnuncs" is a combination of two baby-talk words used by Wilfred, who as a toddler-aged rabbit cannot speak yet, nunc being his version of uncle. There was a WLOG member's badge in blue enamelled metal, featuring the long ears of Wilfred. Among the WLOG rules was one to never eat rabbit. Cartoon films A series of silent animated cartoons were produced in 1921 by Lancelot Speed, titled "The Wonderful Adventures of Pip, Squeak & Wilfred". Twenty–five 5-minute shorts were made (being paired with the Mirror-Pictorial Newsreel), and were first–shown between 17 February 1921 and 11 August 1921. Titles included 'Pip And Wilfred Detectives', 'Over The Edge Of The World', 'The Six-Armed Image', 'The Castaways',