"The Red MacGregor", The Victor
Richard Terry "Ted" Rawlings was born in Bermondsey, London, on 24 May 1921, son of James George Rawlings, a bank messenger, and his wife Rebecca Mary Ann, née Moss. His first job was in a bank. He served in the RAF during the Second World War. In 1955 he married Adelaine Bishop, and won an art competition run by DC Thomson in 1955, becoming a freelance artist for the publisher.
One of his earliest strips was "Dixie's Box o'Tricks" (1956-57) for The Topper. He was most associated with The Victor, where he was mostly assigned historical stories like "Solomon Stark", "The Red MacGregor", "The Dragon Flag" (1963) and "The Hammer Man" (1973-85). He also occasionally drew "Alf Tupper", as well as numerous one-off stories.
He also provided spot illustrations for prose stories in Thomsons' story papers and The Victor annuals. After he retired he continued to draw and paint for pleasure. He died in Newport-on-Tay, near Dundee, on 6 August 2010.
References[]
- Alan Clark, Dictionary of British Comic Artists, Writers and Editors, The British Library, 1998, p. 141
- Denis Gifford, Encyclopedia of Comic Characters, Longman, 1987, p. 93
- Adrian Banfield and Lyn Flanders, Richard Terry Rawlings (1921-2010), Victor Hornet Comics, 2010
