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A North
British Railways locomotive, of NBR Class C, number 661, was named Ole Bill in 1919 in recognition of service overseas in The Great War. This locomotive was later renumbered 9661 after the London North Eastern Railway was formed at railway grouping in 1923.
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where it was considered a major morale booster for the
British troops. Old Bill and his younger troopmate little Alphie were private infantrymen in the
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Many claims have been put forth as being the model for "Old Bill" but the most likely appears to be Thomas Henry
Rafferty, a lance corporal from
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London bus, one of 900 which served as troop transports in World War I, was restored and named "Old Bill" in 1926. It is now preserved in the
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312:, A & C Black, 1920–2007, online edn, Oxford University Press, December 2007, accessed 28 Oct 2008
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One of the explanations of the origin of the London slang term Old Bill, meaning the
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in 1917, referred to as "Old Bill," along with a photograph taken by
Bairnsfather.
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at the [[New Oxford
Theatre]] (1925) - Bruce Bairnsfather website"
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with Old Bill serving with
British troops in France along with his son during the
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1917 identified the image of Thomas Henry
Rafferty as the original Old Bill.
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British version, starred
Charles Rock as Bill. The second version was a
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that invalided
Bairnsfather in April 1915. Rafferty was featured in the
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Captain Bruce
Bainsfather in an interview in the London
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but the piece failed, running for only 35 performances.
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starred as Old Bill. The success of the piece led to a
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In 1917, a successful musical based on the character,
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production. This film—the second feature to use the
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256:'s Great War cartoon characters. Yeo Hall at the
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135:as Old Bill. It later also ran successfully on
384:. Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime. 2014.
71:is a fictional character created in 1914–15 by
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260:features sculptures of Bill and Alphie.
155:on 12 July 1922. Old Bill was played by
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477:Mark Warby's Bruce Bairnsfather site
418:from the original on October 20, 2014
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496:Comics characters introduced in 1914
388:from the original on April 6, 2014
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541:British comics adapted into films
536:Comics set in the United Kingdom
378:"Origins of the name "Old Bill""
258:Royal Military College of Canada
246:Royal Military College of Canada
239:Royal Military College of Canada
93:in Bairnsfather's regiment, the
408:"AEC B Type Bus (B43 Old Bill)"
359:from the original on 2020-03-21
561:Fictional World War I veterans
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501:Comics set during World War I
167:in the 1925 musical comedy
84:British Expeditionary Force
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237:& Alphie at Yeo Hall,
127:, opened in London at the
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556:Animated human characters
551:Male characters in comics
546:Comics adapted into plays
516:British comics characters
244:Bill & Alphie's, the
214:updated the story to the
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338:, 11 November 1922, p. 8
178:Two film adaptations of
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248:on-campus cadet pub in
208:In 1941 a British film
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201:sound process—starred
153:Lyceum Theatre, London
151:, which opened at the
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182:were made during the
61:Fragments from France
334:"Varieties &c",
412:Imperial War Museum
382:Metropolitan Police
306:"Bourchier, Arthur"
276:Imperial War Museum
95:Royal Warwickshires
16:Fictional character
521:Gag cartoon comics
511:1914 comics debuts
506:Fictional soldiers
351:Carry On Sergeant!
321:"Old Bill, M.P.",
254:Bruce Bairnsfather
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173:New Oxford Theatre
169:Carry On Sergeant!
76:Bruce Bairnsfather
51:Bruce Bairnsfather
250:Kingston, Ontario
129:Oxford Music Hall
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186:. The first, a
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39:First appearance
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104:Weekly Dispatch
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165:Johnny Danvers
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310:Who Was Who
203:Syd Chaplin
111:Adaptations
99:same action
80:World War I
57:Comic strip
485:Categories
363:2020-04-23
184:silent era
91:Birmingham
73:cartoonist
47:Created by
336:The Times
323:The Times
220:phony war
199:Vitaphone
42:1914–1915
422:July 26,
416:Archived
392:July 26,
386:Archived
357:Archived
235:Old Bill
222:period.
147:sequel,
145:West End
139:, where
137:Broadway
69:Old Bill
33:Old Bill
22:Old Bill
270:A 1911
171:at the
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462:(1926)
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272:B-type
265:police
293:Notes
466:IMDb
448:IMDb
424:2014
394:2014
192:1926
188:1919
464:at
446:at
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
