Peter Firmin

Born in Harwich, Essex, in 1928, Peter Firmin trained at the Colchester School of Art in Colchester. After National Service in the Royal Navy, he attended Central School of Art and Design in London from 1949–1952. He worked in a stained glass studio, as an illustrator and as a lecturer.{{Cite news | url = http://www.eadt.co.uk/ea-life/peter-firmin-essex-born-genius-who-gave-us-bagpuss-the-clangers-and-noggin-the-nog-1-5586413 | work = East Anglian Daily Times | title = The 'father' of Bagpuss: The full story | date =2 July 2018 | accessdate = 2 July 2018 | first = Steve | last = Watson}}

It was while he was teaching at Central School of Art that Oliver Postgate came looking for, as Firmin put it: "... someone to illustrate a television story – someone who was hard up and would do a lot of drawing for very little money".{{citation | url = http://www.dragons-friendly-society.co.uk/peter/pf6.htm | title = Peter Firmin | publisher = Dragons' Friendly Society}}. Postgate and Firmin went on to form Smallfilms.

Firmin was best known as half of the Smallfilms production company, active from 1958 to the late 1980s. Most of Smallfilms' animation work was produced in a barn on Firmin's land in Blean near Canterbury in Kent. Firmin made the sets, puppets and backdrops for the programmes, often also contributing to making sound and visual effects during filming.{{cite news|title=Bagpuss co-creator Peter Firmin gets Bafta honour|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-29989601|accessdate=11 November 2014|work=BBC News|date=11 November 2014}}

In addition to his work with Oliver Postgate, Firmin made other puppets and children's programmes. In 1959, with his wife Joan, he devised a programme of nursery rhymes for Associated-Rediffusion, called The Musical Box, which used live cardboard animation and puppets. It was presented by Rolf Harris and then by Wally Whyton.{{Cite web | url = http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/562266/index.html | publisher = BFI | title = Oliver Postgate and Peter Firmin | accessdate = 2 July 2018}}

In 1961, ITV commissioned another puppet. Ollie Beak was a little owl made of chicken feathers stuck into a crocheted body. He appeared on Smalltime, and was joined in 1962 by Fred Barker (a shaggy dog made for Postgate/Firmin 1961 production The Dog Watch) and in 1963 by Whiffles, an otter puppet, and Penelope, another owl.{{Cite news | url = https://www.thetimes.com/uk/article/peter-firmin-obituary-77kp9pw65 | title = Peter Firmin obituary |work = The Times | access-date = 2 July 2018}}

With Ivan Owen, Firmin co-created the TV puppet Basil Brush in 1962. He made the first puppet for The Three Scampies, using a real fox brush, lending the correct name for a fox’s tail to the puppet character.

For the UK's Decimal Day (15 February 1971), Muskit{{who|date=July 2018}} reappeared with Firmin and made a trip to the shops in a BBC TV schools' programme.{{cite web|url=http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/search/0/20?adv=1&media=tv&mf=2&mt=2&order=asc&q=MUSKIT+&yf=1971&yt=1971#search|title=Search Results – BBC Genome|website=Genome.ch.bbc.co.uk|accessdate=1 July 2018}}

Firmin continued to work as an illustrator. He wrote and illustrated many books of Smallfilms characters, as well as children's books of his own devising and books for adults including Vita Sackville-West's poetry ({{ISBN|9780863502729}}) and Seeing Things, Postgate's autobiography ({{ISBN|978-1847678416}}).

Firmin, having retired from TV production, produced engravings and linocuts.{{Cite web | url = http://www.lovelysgallery.co.uk/artist-peter-firmin| publisher= Lovelys Gallery | title = Peter Firmin | accessdate = 2 July 2018}}

In 1994, Firmin provided an illustration for a British postage stamp, SG1804, featuring characters from Noggin the Nog. It was one of a set featuring characters from British children's literature. He produced further illustrations for the advertising campaign to publicise the stamps.{{cite web

| title = Stamps and First Day Cover

| publisher = Smallfilms website

| date =

| url = http://www.smallfilms.co.uk/noggin/stamps.htm

| accessdate = 23 September 2009}}{{cite web

| title = Noggin the Nog Memorabilia – stamps

| publisher = Northlands (Neil Jones)

| date = 1997–2003

| url = http://www.nogginthenog.co.uk/memorabilia/stamps.htm

| accessdate = 23 September 2009}}

He was awarded an honorary MA by the University of Kent on 17 July 1987 and an Honorary degree from the University of Essex in 2012. In 2011 Firmin was awarded the Freedom of the City of Canterbury in recognition of his "outstanding work".{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-14042139|title=Bagpuss co-creator Peter Firmin's freedom of Canterbury|date=6 July 2011 | work=BBC News |accessdate=8 June 2011}}

He received the BAFTA Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014.

Between 12 May and 29 July 2018, Firmin's work was featured in the exhibition Clangers, Bagpuss & Co, organised by the V&A Museum of Childhood at the Ferens Art Gallery in Hull.{{cite news|url=https://www.hull2017.co.uk/whatson/events/clangers-bagpuss-co/|title=Clangers, Bagpuss & Co – Hull UK City of Culture 2017|website=Hull2017.co.uk|accessdate=3 July 2018}}

Firmin was married to Joan, who knitted the Clangers from vibrant pink wool. They met at the Central School of Art and Design in London, where Joan was studying bookbinding. They were married in 1952 and lived in London until moving to Kent in 1959. They had six daughters:

{{cite news |title= Saggy old cloth cat pulls in the crowds|work= Canterbury Adscene|publisher= Kent Regional News and Media|pages= 4–5|date= 9 November 2007}} One, Emily, appeared in the opening sequence of Bagpuss.

The Firmins lived on the farm in Blean, Kent, where Smallfilms produced their programmes.

Firmin died on 1 July 2018 at his home in Kent after a short illness at the age of 89.{{cite web|url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-44674652 |accessdate = 1 July 2018 | work = BBC News | date = 1 July 2018 | title = Clangers co-creator Peter Firmin dies aged 89 |language=en-GB}} All the new episodes of Clangers made after this date were dedicated to his memory - the epitaph "In loving memory of Peter Firmin" can be seen at the end of the credits of these episodes.

• Basil Brush Goes Flying, written and illustrated by Peter Firmin (Issue 8 of Edmund Ward Starting to Read Books) (Kaye & Ward Limited, 1969) {{ISBN|9780718203405}}{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iQJzAAAACAAJ|title=Basil Brush Goes Flying|first=Peter|last=Firmin|date=3 July 1969|publisher=Kaye & Ward Limited|isbn=9780718203207|accessdate=3 July 2018|via=Google Books}}
• Stanley, the tale of the Lizard, Peter Meteyard; illustrated by Peter Firmin (Andre Deutsch, 1979) {{ISBN|9780233970714}}
• The Last of the Dragons, E. Nesbit; illustrated by Peter Firmin (Macdonald, 1980) {{ISBN|9780233970714}}
• Melisande, E. Nesbit; illustrated by Peter Firmin (MacDonald, 1980) {{ISBN|978-0356051635}}
• The Winter Diary of a Country Rat, written and illustrated by Peter Firmin (Kaye and Ward, 1981) {{ISBN|0-7182-2541-4}}
• Chicken Stew, written and illustrated by Peter Firmin (Pelham Books, 1982) {{ISBN|978-0720712995}}
• Tricks & Tales, written and illustrated by Peter Firmin (Kaye and Ward, 1982) {{ISBN|0-7182-2600-3}}
• The Midsummer Notebook of a Country Rat, written and illustrated by Peter Firmin (Kaye and Ward, 1983) {{ISBN|0-7182-2601-1}}
• Pinny and the Bird and other Pinny tales, written and illustrated by Peter Firmin (Andre Deutsch, 1985) {{ISBN|9780233978154}}
• Pinny and the Floppy Frog {{ISBN| 9780233979151}} Pinny's Party {{ISBN| 9780233978574}}, written and illustrated by Peter Firmin (Andre Deutsch, 1987)
• My Dog Sandy, written and illustrated by Peter Firmin (Andre Deutsch, 1988) {{ISBN|9780233981963}}
• Making Faces, written and illustrated by Peter Firmin (Collins Pic- Lions Publishing, 1988) {{ISBN|9780006628804}}
• Ziggy and the Ice Ogre, Chris Powling, illustrated by Peter Firmin (Heinemann, 1988) {{ISBN| 9780434930517}}
• The Jenius, Dick King Smith, illustrated by Peter Firmin (Victor Gollancz, 1988) {{ISBN| 9780141312866}}
• Nina's Machines, written and illustrated by Peter Firmin (A & C Black, 1988) {{ISBN| 9780006732921}}
• Boastful Mr Bear {{ISBN| 9780947553012}}, Happy Miss Rat {{ISBN| 9780440403821}}, Hungry Mr Fox {{ISBN|9780947553036}}, Foolish Miss Crow {{ISBN| 9780947553043}}, written and illustrated by Peter Firmin (Bolitha Press & Dell of NY, 1989)
• The Land and the Garden, Vita Sackville-West, illustrated by Peter Firmin (Webb & Bower, 1989) {{ISBN|9780863502729}}
• Seeing Things: An Autobiography, Oliver Postgate; illustrated by Peter Firmin, 2000 {{ISBN|0-330-39000-7}}

{{Reflist|30em}}

{{Portal |Children's literature}}

• {{official}}{{cn|date=April 2021}}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20180703133606/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2ba7818f73 Peter Firmin] at the British Film Institute
• {{IMDb name|0278696}}
• [http://www.dragons-friendly-society.co.uk/peter/index.htm Article from Something about the Author (Volume 58) about Peter Firmin]
• [http://www.smallfilms.co.uk/ The Smallfilms Treasury]
• [http://www.dragons-friendly-society.co.uk/ The Dragons' Friendly Society]
• {{LCAuth|n79065102|Peter Firmin|26|ue}}

{{Smallfilms}}

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Category:1928 births

Category:2018 deaths

Category:People from Harwich

Category:Alumni of the Central School of Art and Design

Category:English animators

Category:British animated film producers

Category:20th-century English illustrators

Category:British children's book illustrators

Category:People from Blean

Category:British television show creators