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1971

IPC MAGAZINES

DECEASED

This is Tammy,well this was Tammy in 1976. Tammy's editorial page was called 'Tammy Talk'.

"Crikey! What a sauce.

The original Molly Mills

Click here to see the second Molly Mills as drawn by Douglas Perry.

Kindly sent in by Briony

"Bessie eats her heart out for her Valentine."

"Come to my arms, you bundle of charms!
For you I pine, please be mine!"

bessie.jpg (6598 bytes)

SCHOOL FOR SNOBS AND SNOBBERY
Tammy's exploration of Snobbery
Briony Coote

One of the most common themes in girls' comics is what I call the "Shock Treatment" story. This features a problem girl who is either snobbish, selfish, spoilt, or conceited, or more rarely, downright nasty. During the course of the story she is shocked into reforming her character either through some supernatural means, or a character engaged in a battle of wits with the girl, or a family crisis. There have been hundreds of stories like these throughout the history of girls' comics. To name but a few: Land of No Tears, The Girl Who Never Was, She Shall Have Music, Curtain of Silence, Who's That in My Mirror? (Jinty); Ring of Truth (Bunty); Money Matters (Mandy & Judy). In Tammy, however, shock treatment stories like these were rarer; The Clock and Cluny Jones (1973), and Double - or Nothing! (1978) were exceptions. There would be little need for such stories when Tammy held its shock treatment stories as a regular feature called School for Snobs from 1972 to 1974. School for Snobs went beyond giving readers laughs by shocking snobs into reforming themselves. It actually delved deeper in exploring the theme of snobbery itself.

The Hermione Snoot School for Young Ladies is a special school which caters exclusively to knocking snobbery out of snobs, who have been sent by their exasperated relatives or teachers. From the moment a snob arrives they stare at the school in horror. "I say, what an absolutely frightful dump!" And to be honest, it is a dump, with broken window panes and garbage bestrewing the grounds. In dormitories the girls sleep on mattresses on the floor. It's a wonder that a school inspector hasn't closed the place down.

The sight of Hermoine Snoot herself would shock any snob. She dresses in a bizarre mix of mortar board, a frock that resembles a nightie and bedroom slippers. She perpetually smokes, and horrifies the snobs with her cockney accent. When one reports to Hermoine's study, she is shocked by seeing the headmistress standing on her desk hanging up her laundry! Such coarseness, of course, is the first stage of their shock treatment. The school's motto is "Shift Yer Carcase," superimposing two criss-crossed brushes and a bucket. Yes, the snobs are expected to get their hands dirty, though of course they take some persuading.

Some of Hermoine's methods may be called to question. In one episode she forces one snob to eat out of a pig's trough, and another to share her room with some pigs! But most of the time she raises laughs, pitting her wits against any snob determined not to give up her snobby ways so easily. In one episode, Hermoine is up against a bullying snob who even bullied the headmistress at her previous school. This "Class A" snob soon has the girls Hermoine's school on their knees as well. It looks like she has even beaten Hermoine herself when she bullies her way into the head's job at Snoot School. Is Hermoine licked?

"Not on your conkers, mate! There's going to be a big surprise for Lady Muck!"

This snob has reckoned without Hermoine's tramp friends who frequent the hall. They parade their new headmistress in the grounds - then shove her in a compost heap! After that, the girl returns to her old school where her headmistress is pleased to report that the girl "can't do enough for me now!"

Yes, Hermoine gets plenty of the regular toffee-nosed snobs, big-heads, scheming snobs and bullying snobs who so often are the villains of the piece in other serials. However there are a "greater variety of types than either you or I could imagine." Take the case of Jacqueline Worthington, an intellectual snob who brags about her IQ and the superiority of intellectuals. Jacqueline welcomes Hermoine's maths class "to show you all how clever I am!" Hermoine poses a question:

"If it takes three men forty five minutes to clean a chimney, how long would it take one man?"

Up comes Jacqueline with the obvious answer, but Hermoine disagrees. So Jacqueline decides to prove her point by cleaning the chimney. "I'll show that ignoramus of a headmistress!" But then she finds that this is one of Hermoine's trademark tricks for taking snobs down a peg or two. Jacqueline ends up on her bottom and Hermoine says, "It only took five minutes for Jackie to do it!" Jacqueline finally wakes up when she uses her brains to help her classmates in a fight and learns the joys of fun.

"Me plan worked," thinks Hermoine, "all work and no play was making Jackie a dull girl. Chalk another one up, Hermoine."

"But snobbery could rear its ugly head in all kinds of unlikely places - and in the strangest shapes." Take the case of Barbara "Babs," a wealthy surgeon's daughter. At first glance she is anything but a snob. In fact she is a younger version of Hermoine Snoot, forcing her parents to eat Irish stew in a specially-selected run down house to knock any snobbishness out of them. But after coming voluntarily to Hermoine's school, Babs finally admits: "I'm a snob - a real bad snob! I'm snobby against anything and anybody, whichever suits me."

If snobs appeared in other Tammy stories, they were either treated as foil to the main character: Lucky by Name (1983), Rosie at the Royalty (1981) or objects of parody: The Upper Crust (1979). But there was one very disturbing snob story which ran in 1976: The Fairground of Fear. This serial paints a frightening picture of the extremes that snobbery can take you. The snob in this serial is nothing like most snobs who frequent girls' comics. He is no object of parody; he learns absolutely nothing about the folly of snobbery; he gets no comeuppance at the end. The Fairground of Fear is the complete antithesis of School for Snobs.

Fairground of Fear opens with Julie Whitland gazing wistfully out of her window into the village of Baychurch beyond. Her (purportedly) adoptive father, Sir Edgar Whitland, landowner of Baychurch, keeps himself above the other villagers and expects the same of Julie. "Father is so strict. He makes me feel like a prisoner here."

Then, Julie espies a fairground coming into town. This looks like her ticket to making some friends and having some fun. But Whitland soon spots her and drags her off.

"How many times must I tell you that you are different from other people - you are a Whitland!" "I expect you to behave like a Whitland!"

Nonetheless, Julie is determined not to let Whitland drag her away "from the sunlight and laughter like he always does." She starts sneaking off to the fair and befriending the owner's daughter, Carla, despite Whitland's disapproval of such things as too common for "the great name of Whitland," which he perpetually reminds her to uphold.

But there is a skeleton in the Great Whitland closet, and the fairground has come to Baychurch for the express purpose of bringing it rattling out into the open.

The fairground rapidly shows a sinister side, in the form of the resident clown, Alan Barker. Barker is also a brilliant scientist who has devised some very powerful and frightening gadgets. Julie encounters machines that cast holograms, sideshows which can drive you mad, and machines which hypnotise people, causing them to behave in all kinds of bizarre ways. Most bizarre of all the clown's devices has to be the one which makes men act like children: Barristers play leapfrog in the courtroom; bus drivers play football instead of driving; the Chief Superintendent goes out to play cops and robbers, and of course they all end up romping the rides at the fair. Before long the clown has cut the entire village off from the outside world.

Why is the clown doing this? He is taking revenge out on Whitland for destroying his life out of pure snobbery. Fourteen years earlier Barker had married Whitland's daughter against his wishes. Although Barker was a brilliant scientist, Whitland "couldn't stand to have that nobody part of the great Whitland family." So Whitland had Barker sent to prison on a trumped-up charge, which also led indirectly to his own daughter's death. Julie begs Whitland to clear the clown's name, as this is the only way to stop his vendetta. But he won't hear of it. "And destroy our name? Never!" he bellows, tossing the papers which would have cleared the clown's name into the fire. "There! That's an end to the matter!"

It is not the end of the matter as far as the clown is concerned. He holds the villagers in a paralytic trance and they will stay that way until Whitland confesses. Whitland goes to confront him all right - but to tell him that "nothing he can do to this village will make me give in!" He storms off, shoving Julie out of the way. "And to think I brought you up to be a Whitland!" Julie thinks silently, "I'm glad I'm not a Whitland if that's how they act. I used to think that father was harsh, but at least fair. Now I know there's nothing he wouldn't destroy for his own pride."

Then, another skeleton comes rattling out of the Whitland closet: Julie is really the clown's daughter! Whitland had hidden her from Barker as a baby to cast into the Whitland mould, while tricking Barker into thinking she was dead. This makes Julie the only person who could stop the clown - especially since Whitland is making it very clear that he will never confess, no matter what the clown does. Confessing would mean destroying the name of Whitland, which has been "respected in Baychurch for centuries!"

The clown makes one last desperate attempt to make Whitland confess. He starts the merry-go-round at high speed while Julie is standing on it. He shouts to Whitland that the merry-go-round will go faster and faster, putting Julie in ever more danger, until Whitland confesses. Does Whitland sacrifice his name for Julie's sake?

Nope.

"I can't destroy the name of Whitland. I've nothing to say!" He stalks off, without lifting a finger to save Julie, or even see if she is alright. The clown has to save Julie himself.

Upon learning that Julie is his long-lost daughter, he becomes a changed man, now promising to use his scientific expertise to help people. Julie leaves Baychurch to go with her father and the fairground, which is now an ordinary attraction again. Julie is finally free from Whitland's constraints to uphold the name of Whitland and she can join the rest of the world. "I've got what I've always wanted - a real family at last!"

Barker at least has his daughter back, and has something to live for other than revenge. The blot on his name remains, but the sad truth is that people who have been wrongly convicted seldom manage to clear their names. In any case, it is unlikely that a forced confession out of Whitland would have held sway with the authorities without corroborating evidence, and that has been destroyed.

Meanwhile, Whitland returns home to uphold his great name. No comeuppance, but perhaps his actions will bring about their own punishment. First, he has lost his daughter and granddaughter through his own conduct. Second, if he could not bear to have a brilliant scientist to be part of his "great family," what would he say about fairground folk, which is what his granddaughter and prospective great-grandchildren are now, as being part of that family? Third, he has estranged himself from the kinfolk who would have been his heirs, and he has no male heir. Unless he remarries, the name of Whitland will die with him, and good riddance to it.

Observation: Why did Whitland go so far to destroy his daughter's marriage? After all, if he disapproved of the match, why not simply cut the couple off? Is it to do with the lack of a male Whitland heir? Is he unable to father a son to carry on the Whitland name? He has certainly never remarried, nor had any other children. Did he destroy his daughter's marriage in the hopes that she might marry a more suitable sire for the Whitland heir? If so, the Barkers have had the last word; the name of Whitland will become extinct, while the name of Barker will live on.

In any case, while Whitland lives, he is very likely to be very lonely, since he holds himself aloof from the world below. Moreover, the name of Whitland may have been "respected in the village for centuries" but his snobby aloofness from the villagers is not endearing him to them. The village children call him "the snob on the hill" and undoubtedly other things that would give him apoplexy. Respected the name of Whitland may be - but it is not loved. In short, Whitland will end up like Ebenezer Scrooge would have been in the vision shown by the Spirit of Christmas Future: He will die unloved and unmourned, nobody respecting his great name at all.

Whether it's the come-down tactics of School for Snobs, or the extremes of the Fairground of Fear, the message resonates loud and clear: Snobbery does not bring you happiness.

Briony

Copper's Kid

"Gill Warden and her parents had realised their ambition to move from London when Gill's policeman dad was transferred to Berryford, a country village ..."

Wee Sue

"Oh, heck! Dad will blow his top - old Bigger will do her nut ... and I'll be slap in the middle!"

Briony's Corner

A big thank-you to Briony for compiling this extensive list of Tammy stories.

Tammy 1971

Alison all Alone - Alison has been kept prisoner by her foster parents for reasons unknown.
Betina and the Haunted Ballet
Dawn and Kerry - Double for Trouble - Dawn and Kerry always land in a mystery they have to solve.
Derry the Dowser
Four Friends at Spartan Schoo, Thel - fanatical Miss Bramble runs Spartan School along Victorian lines that are so brutal they would be worthy of Wackford Squeers.
Gina - Get Lost - runaway story
Glen- A Lonely Dog on a Quest - runaway story
Halves in a Horse
Maggie's Magnificent Seven
Molly Mills - holds a joint record with Bella Barlow as longest-running Tammy character. Both characters hold a joint record of 10 years. Molly Mills ran from the very first issue in 1971 up until the merge with Jinty in 1981. Originally called "No Tears for Molly," the strip eventually ran under individually titled stories.
Our Janie- Little Mum- Janie Greaves is "little mum" to her siblings after her mother's death.
Palomo - Horse story
Roberta's Rebels - Roberta Russell decides she will do something about her hierarchal school system where the "Serfs" slave to the sporty "Supremos."
Secret Ballerina, The
Shadow in Shona's Life, The - Shona Gordon is evicted from her Highland home, and is travelling with a companion who is taking advantage of her.
Skimpy must Ski - Skimpy Shaw wants to learn to ski.
Cinderella Spiteful- Cousins Emma and Angela are having problems with their relationship.

TAMMY 1972

Camp on Candy Island, The - (1972 - 1973) The holiday camp of Candy Island progressively turns into a prison camp - complete with striped uniforms, numbers, watchtowers, fences and chain gangs.
Champion from Nowhere, The
Cinderella Sidekick - a snubbed girl at a snobby school and her klutzy fairy godmother.
Here Comes Trouble - Mitzi Trouble, to be precise. And trouble she is!
Jilly Liar
Linda Left-Out
Long and the Short, The - sport story
Lori Left-Behind
Mad Hattie - Rivalry over animals.
Paula on a String
Rona Rides Again
Ruthless Ruth
Stables Slave, The
Steffi in the Swim
Stranger in My Mirror, The - reprinted in the 1982 Misty annual
Tina on a Tightrope
Witch of Widecombe Wold, The - when the Halifaxes move into the village of Widecombe Wold, the find they have a very witchy ancestress!

TAMMY 1973

A New Leaf for Nancy - (a girl finds a tree with mysterious powers. (This story was reprinted in the 1980 Misty annual)
Clock and Cluny Jones - The - Bully Cluny Jones finds herself on the receiving end when she inherits a grandfather clock. The clock sends Cluny into a brutal world running on a parallel timeline.
Cat's Eye on Kath, The - Kathy Kerr falls under the evil spell of a cat sent by a vengeful witchdoctor
No Love for Liza
Dara into Danger - Dana Grant and her ski team are kidnapped by the mysterious Madame Jensen and taken on a bizarre mission to the Antarctic.
Brainy Brenda
Ballet in the Back Streets, The -
Cheats of Barn End, The - Barn End School has never won anything, and headmistress Miss Trill decides cheating is the only answer. However, school captain Polly Hugget always manages to foil Miss Trill's schemes.
Beth all Alone
Shani Must Shine (about the family ugly duckling who is determined to make something of herself, despite her interfering sisters)
For Isabel with Love -
Mandy and the House of Models - trainee models find themselves prisoners.
Girl in the Big Chair, The
Girl in the Window, The - Dale Rogers has an unusual friend - a window dummy that can come alive!
Granny's Town - a fanatical eccentric sets out to turn her hometown into a place where grannies rule and young people are banned.
Ice Girl, The - about a girl keeping her ice skating secret from her father, who was crippled in an ice-skating accident.
Jaki Rides Again -
Jumble-Sale Jilly
Lonely Dancer, The
Making of Mary Connie's Curio Shop, The - about a girl having problems running a curio shop
Revenge of Edna Hack, The - (about actresses playing convicts on an island film set finding themselves real prisoners)
Sea Spirit, The - Sheena Barrett has a most unusual diving coach.
Secret of the Stables, The -
Sign of the Scorpion, The - (a sports story concerning the mysterious sign of the scorpion)
Simple Simona - laughs with dopey Simona Pickle and her snooty cousin Jane.
Stranger in My Shoes, The - Lucy Townsend is kidnapped and switched with delinquent Sandra Sage. Unless Lucy can convince someone of her identity, she will be serving Sandra's time while Sandra commits more crimes under Lucy's identity.
Back-Stab Ballerina
Those Jumps ahead of Jaki - Jaki is the only rider who stands a chance of winning a top trophy for her friend, who lies in a coma. But the riding instructor, who was responsible for the accident, is determined to see Jaki doesn't win.
Trina Drop-Out
Two-faced Teesha
Wanda of the Waterways - barge girl Wanda Lang finds there is something sinister about her cousin Bill

TAMMY 1974

Ballerina in Blue Jeans
Becky Never Saw the Ball - aspiring tennis star Becky Bates is making a comeback after going blind. "Mouse" - Mary "Mouse" Mallone is kidnapped in a custody dispute. Her father belongs to a powerful Sicilian family who want Mouse for only one reason - an arranged marriage.
Bella at the Bar - first Bella story
Clothes Make Carol, The - Carol finds a blazer mysteriously giving her confidence.
Common Cathy -
Crystal who Came in from the Cold - Crystal, a girl found in the Arctic, mysteriously brings the Arctic cold back with her to England.
Dirty Trix - when Trix Harris is cheated out of a sports prize, she becomes a cheat herself.
Eva's Evil Eye - Eva Lee is being bullied because she is a gypsy. She pretends to have the evil eye to stop the bullying, but things get out control.
Maggie Ella on Easy Street
Make Your Mind Up
Nell Nobody - Nell slaves at her uncle's hot dog stand. Can her skill with puppets turn the nobody into a somebody? Not if her cousin can help it.
Prim and Donna - Comedy with the drama of two feuding Prima Donnas.
Red Letter Rosie - Rosie recognises letters from her penfriend Sara by their red envelopes. - either 1974 or 1975, I'm not sure which.
Swimmer Slave of Mrs Squall - Underachiever Sue Briggs is secretly training to be a swimming champion under Mrs Squall.
Sadie in the Sticks
Secret Ballet of the Steppes - ballet pupils are kidnapped and taken to Siberia. They must dance for the last of the imperial rulers, who still lives in a pre-revolutionary lifestyle - but not for much longer. Continued oppression is fuelling its own revolution, and the dancers get caught right up in the conflict. (reprinted in 1981 Tammy annual)
Town without Telly - the town of Boxless has no T.V. because of reception problems. Recepta's father is out to turn the people of Boxless into telly addicts. They become so addicted that they neglect their duties and Recepta must find a way to cure them. I think this one is meant to be a satire on telly addiction.

TAMMY 1975

All Eyes on 3E - Muriel is making a film about Form 3E. High comedy ensues as Muriel tries to expose 3E for the bunch of cheats and skivers they are.
Carol in Camelot Street -
Ella's Ballet Boat -
Gaby's Green Boxes -
Gypsy Gymnast, The - Ann Rudge is tired of being overshadowed by her sister Kim. She adopts the persona of "the gypsy gymnast" to win a trophy, but she soon discovers her teacher has a double life as well - a sinister one.
Hetty Horse Hater -
Lights-Out for Lucinda - Lucinda becomes trapped in a district where people still think it is World War II. How can they be living in the past? Drugs, props and special effects. All part of Lucinda's father's plan to use them as slave labour.
Slaves of the Hot Stove - Carol becomes a victim of the Hot Stove - a top restaurant which kidnaps top cooks. (How can they mistake a schoolgirl for a top cook?)
Rhona's Rainstones - Sacred stones will cause water-related disasters until they are returned to their rightful place.
Tess on Tap - Tess becomes a slave in her own home when her father goes abroad and the house-sitter has Tess slaving for her and her daughters. Tess' only joy is tap-dancing.
Wars of the Roses - Comedy with two families feuding over the same hobby.
Waifs of the Wigmaker - Moira must escape the slavery of a Victorian wigmaking business.

TAMMY 1976

A Lead Through Twilight - Carol is going blind but won't say anything because she is afraid her uncle will send her away from her beloved home. She befriends a dog called Twilight, but there are some nasty people after him.
Fairground of Fear - Julie Whitland discovers the new fair is not as fun as it seems. The clown is an ex-scientist who wants revenge on Julie's "father" who framed him because he believed the clown was unfit to marry his daughter. In a shocking (but not altogether surprising) twist, the clown is in fact Julie' real father, and the "father" is really her grandfather.
Hidebound Hayley
Lord of the Dance
Odds on Patsy
Sarah in the Shadows - Sara has used shadowplay for fun - now she must use it to survive the harshness of Victorian London.
Secret of the Skulls - skulls of executed witches take revenge by starting the Great Fire of London. (reprinted in the 1986 Girl annual)
Sheri Claire's Airs and Graces -
Sit It Out, Sheri - Timid Sheri becomes more confident when she acquires a strange chair. Soon, however, the chair is giving Sheri the shivers.
Sungod's Golden Curse, The - The town of Pueblo del Oro (Village of Gold) feels the wrath of the Sungod.

TAMMY 1977

Babe of St Woods - "Babe," daughter of a gangster, is sent to St Woods to learn social graces. Instead, Babe is turning her gangster background to fixing bullies, helping her friends out of trouble and even catching criminals.
Daughter of the Regiment - A soldier was executed for cowardice and his daughter is determined to clear his name. But there is a sinister figure equally determined that she doesn't.
Olympia Jones - this story was a real classic. Horse rider Olympia Jones dreams of following in her father's footsteps and winning an Olympic gold medal for Britain (hence her name). However her real battle is not to win the medal, but to foil an ex-employer who sacked her for cruelty to a horse. In fact, it was his own daughter, and Olympia took the horse to protect him from further abuse, and left a priceless antique in exchange. Now the schemers are after the money the horse is worth, but with the help of a friend, Olympia exposes them for what they are.
Sally in a Shell - Sally has a talent for making shell trinkets. And her devious sister is equally talented at making money out of her.
Time Trap! - Leonie Page becomes an experimental subject in a hypnotic regression to a previous existence. The experiment goes awry when the hypnotist suddenly collapses, leaving Leonie trapped in time - and it is a very dangerous time.
Towne in the Country - The adventures of Val Towne and her country vet father.
What's Wrong with Rhona? - Rhona French starts acting strangely after she picks up a mysterious doll on the Salisbury Plain.
Witch Hazel - a witch called Hazel comes into the 20th century to learn witchcraft at a 20th century school(!) She cannot comprehend that witchcraft is not on the curriculum, or even part of 20th century life.

TAMMY 1978

A Bus in the Family - Mr Banks buys a bus, but criminals want it for unknown reasons. They end up pursuing it across the Continent when it goes on a school trip.
Betta to Lose - Betta James is the school sports star but finds no joy in it. Her win-crazy headmistress has her whole life revolving around sport and Betta has no life of her own. So Betta starts throwing sports events to escape sports slavery.
Double - or Nothing!
Circus of the Damned - ruthless ringmaster Yablonski is out to create "the greatest show on earth" by blackmailing his performers into dangerous stunts.
Crawl, Carrie, Crawl - Carrie is reduced to "crawling", both in the pool and to her teachers, to help her redundant father.
Dancer Entranced - Trina Carr's father is eager to see her follow in the footsteps of her mother, a famous ballerina. However, Trina believes she has the talent of a "fairy elephant" - until she meets a hypnotist (in fact, a charlatan).
Down-to-Earth Blairs
Goldie Alone - problems for ice-skater Goldie Gibbs when her mother is hospitalised.
Gail at Winthorpe - Gail's father was sacked for nobbling a racehorse, and she is determined to prove him innocent. "No Love for Lindy" - Lindy Allen is fostered by the Westons - but for what purpose?
Maggie's Menagerie - Maggie Crown has to live on her gran's houseboat, and gran does not like animals. So what is Maggie to do with her beloved pets?
Mask of Melissa - Melissa Mappin has been looking forward to a career in entertainment, when an accident leaves her face scarred. Melissa relaunches her career wearing a mask. (reprinted in Tammy annual)
Now You See Her - magician Fay Fadden goes in search of a girl who has done a disappearing act.
One Girl and Her Dog -
Prince of the Wild - A girl befriends a wild horse.
Sweet and Sour Charity - whenever Charity tries to do a good turn, it goes wrong, and Charity earns the unpopular sobriquet "Sour Charity."
TEAM in Action - Four girls, whose initials spell TEAM, form a team of newshounds for the school newspaper, Action.
Vision of Vanity Fayre - Ann Shaw is hired to play the young Vanity Fayre, a famous novelist, in a television series. However, Ann becomes embroiled in a real-life drama that is far more exciting and dangerous than any TV series.

TAMMY 1979

A Girl Called Steve - the adventures of Stephanie "Steve" Sutton. (reprinted in 1985 annual)
Get Your Skates On, Katie - Battered ice skates turn Katie Brown into a brilliant skater.
Guitar Girl - Jacey Jones is determined to break into the music world with her beloved guitar. "Nanny Young." Tina Young is qualified as a nanny, but being "young" in both looks and name is proving a barrier to finding a job.
Happiest Days, The - Only Sunny Smyles is merry at Sobersides School. The grim portrait of her Great-Aunt Aggie is casting a shadow of gloom over the whole school. Sunny must get rid of the portrait before the gloom sees the school close down.
Katie
Katrina and Kahn - Cossack girl Katrina and her horse, Khan are inseparable. That is, until gestapo seize Kahn and present him to a British show-jumper as a prize. Katrina is determined to reclaim Kahn, even though it means entering Britain illegally.
Mouse -
My Terrible Twin - Moira and Lindy are fraternal twins. Moira is plain, Lindy is beautiful, but Moira is the pleasant twin while Lindy is the problem one. So problematic, that she has been sent to a remand home for shoplifting. Now out on parole, Moira is faced with helping Lindy to rehabilitate, but her efforts to keep her sister out of trouble often end up with Moira getting into trouble herself. Eventually Lindy changes, but the past is catching up with her, for a spiteful girl from the home is out to get revenge on Lindy for refusing to help her "nick stuff"...
Nina's Nightmare World - Nina's world descends into nightmare after she inherits a locket from her late cousin Eva (who herself had undergone an inexplicable personality change for the worse)
Nurse Grudge - Greta Jones has become a student nurse for only one reason - to get revenge on the hospital for her father's wrongful(?) dismissal.
Outcast at Oakbridge, The - (1979?) - about the problems of a netball player
Sarita in Uniform - Romany Sarita attends school secretly because her guardians disapprove.
Shadow on the Stage - A girl with outstanding acting ability finally gets her big break - but a jealous, spiteful shadow figure keeps threatening her very life.
Temper, Temper, Tina!
Thursday's Child - Thursday Brown finds a strange girl called Julie in her bed. Julie is in fact Thursday's own daughter. Julie has travelled back in time, with the help of a cursed Union Jack, to wreck revenge on Thursday for causing an accident in the future which left Julie paralysed. However, when the Union Jack causes a man to nearly saw off his own hand, Julie realises that she has been so obsessed with revenge that she failed to see that she had opened a Pandora's Box. Julie helps Thursday to destroy the Union Jack, willing to take the risk that she may return to her own time as a paraplegic - or perhaps not, thanks to her interfering with the past.
Upper Crust, The - a super-snobby district finds its upper crust image cracking when the mysterious Carrington-Crusts move in.
Wolf at our Door - Are wolves threatening the kennels owned by a widowed mother and her daughter?

TAMMY 1980

A Girl Called Midnight - Midnight Meredith is plagued by strange "moods" which cause her to wander off in a trance.
Cindy of Swan Lake - Cindy Grey should be looking forward to pursuing a ballet career at ballet school. Instead she is fraught with worry over her beloved swan, Charlie, who is being poisoned by pollution. And her jealous rival, Zoe, is using this to her full advantage.
Cut-Glass Crystal - Crystal Manners has lived the good life until her father's business crashes. She now has to adapt to a different way of life.
Daughter of the Desert - when an Arabian princess enrols at Greenfields boarding school, the school mysteriously transforms into a desert pattern.
Donna Ducks Out - Donna Desmond can't swim. Then a bathroom duck somehow gives her the ability.
Dulcie Wears the Dunce's Hat - Dulcie Dobbs is obliged to wear the dunce's hat, but she is not a dunce. Her poor school work is in fact the handiwork of troublemakers in her class. Meanwhile, Dulcie develops a curious love/hate relationship with her hat. While it shames and embarrasses her, she is finding 1001 uses for it in helping others.
Hit the Headlines, Hannah! - Hannah Hilton must hit the headlines as part of a wager and prove herself equal to her more successful sisters - but not if they can help it.
Jolly's Hockey Stick - Jolly owns a very special hockey stick.
Loneliest Girl in the World, The -
Lucky by Name - about Lucky Starr and her horse Fortune. (There was an unrelated 1983 story with the same title)
My 'Brother' George Giggles galore with Gemma and George the Gorilla. George has been humanised and thinks he is Gemma's kid brother.
My Shining Sister - The constellation of the Pleiades has suddenly vanished, and a mysterious glowing girl appears on Earth.
My Terrible Twin - Moira and Lindy are fraternal twins. Moira is plain, Lindy is beautiful, but Moira is the pleasant twin while Lindy is the problem one. So problematic, that she has been sent to a remand home for shoplifting. Now out on parole, Moira is faced with helping Lindy to rehabilitate, but her efforts to keep her sister out of trouble often end up with Moira getting into trouble herself. Eventually Lindy changes, but the past is catching up with her, for a spiteful girl from the home is out to get revenge on Lindy for refusing to help her "nick stuff"... (sequel to 1979 story)
Peggy in the Middle - Peggy Morrow is caught in a custody battle.
Plain as Pearl - Pearl has considered herself plain until she discovers that she has what it takes to be a model. She takes a modelling job to raise enough money to send her sick mother on holiday. However she must keep her job a secret from the people she is staying with, because their daughter will be jealous.
Push-along Patti - Patti Collins wants to be accepted into the biker club at her school, but they just tell her to "push along."
Rita, My Robot Friend - Lonely Jenny James finds herself a complete outcast at her new school because of her grandfather-scientist. Jenny's only friend is "Rita," a girl-like robot created by her grandfather. The whole story revolves around Jenny keeping the truth about Rita from her arch-enemy, Angelina.
Rosie-Lee Rosie - Rosie Lee is crazy about tea (Cockney rhyming slang; Rosie Lee - tea). And two other stories which got cut off when Tammy disappeared abruptly.
Rosie of Ragged Row - Rosie Fields, daughter of a rag and bone man, longs to get out of Ragged Row someday. Her chance comes when supernatural ballet teachers come into her life. In a sequel "Rosie at the Royalty," Rosie is admitted to a prestigious ballet school, but is constantly battling snobbish prejudice from both the headmistress and the pupils.
Sandy and Steve - Sandy Rawlings meets her first boyfriend. Unfortunately her snobby father disapproves and keeps trying to pair her off with and incompatible boy. Two Sandy sequels followed, "Sandy - A Girl Like You" and "Sandy - A Fresh Start."
Sea Witches, The - Kate discovers that a flock of geese called "the Sea Witches" are exactly that. The Sea Witches are angry with a military aircraft base because their noisy aircraft are disturbing their grounds. They are going to drown the base in a flood - can Kate stop them?
Sister in the Shadows - Wendy Weekes joins the school where her sister Stella was once the star pupil and now enjoys success as an actress. Her over-expectant parents and teachers expect Wendy to be living up to Stella's reputation. But Wendy is not an all-round winner like her sister and bullies start calling her "Weak sister Wendy."
Sour Grapes for Sophie -
Spiderwoman - (from the Misty merge)
Tina's Telly Mum - Tina persuades her grieving, widowed mother to apply for a job as a television announcer. This backfires on Tina when she becomes neglected because of Mum's new job. And the nasty housekeeper is not helping matters.
Two Leads for Luther

TAMMY 1981

Belinda Bookworm - Belinda Binder is tired of being a bookworm and wants to become a sports champion.
Black-and-White-World of Shirley Grey, The - Shirley blames herself for her friend Trisha's accident because she had covered up about Trisha's whereabouts (although Trisha had actually asked her to do this). Shirley vows never to lie again, but takes it to the extremes of refusing to tell even a white lie. This causes so much trouble that Shirley runs away, has an accident as well, and lands up in hospital with her friend, before things begin to sort themselves out. (reprinted in 1986 or 1987 Tammy annual)
Breaking of Faith, The -
Goodbye, Jo... - Jo Dalby has been Dad's best pal, but now she is finding new interests.
High-Rise Hazel - Hazel is keeping secret pets in her apartment.
Jump, Jump, Julia - Horse story
Lara the Loner - Lara Wolfe has ochlophobia, the fear of crowds. Her phobia causes a string of misunderstandings which makes her very unpopular and earns her the nickname "Lara the Loner."
Linda's Fox - Linda Barnes' policeman father is imprisoned on the perjured testimony of a crooked policeman. Linda befriends a family of foxes who become embroiled in a train of events that lead to Mr Barnes' release.
No Love for Lindy -
No Haven for Hayley - Hayley Moore's mother works tirelessly for charity. But she is spending so much time addressing other people's needs that she is neglecting Hayley's.
Olympia Jones - (repeat : originally published 1977)
Rosie at the Royalty - (sequel to 1980 Rosie of Ragged Row)
Sandy - A Girl Like You - (sequel to 1980 Sandy and Steve)
Sheena so Shy - Sheena Willcox is a shy, bullied girl who longs to prove herself and have a few friends. But her spiteful cousin Sabrina keeps sabotaging her every attempt.
Stella Stirrer - Stella takes a job as a kitchenmaid at a top boarding school. She finds the kitchen an ideal place to stir up revenge for a snobby girl who keeps pestering her.
Tag-Along Tania - Tania is so put-upon that she has earned the nickname "tag-along." Finally, Tania decides enough is enough, but shedding the "tag-along" tag is proving far from easy. (repeat)

TAMMY 1982

A Gran for the Gregorys
A Horse Called September (Ann Digby adaptation)
Backhand Billie - Appeared in the 1982 Tammy annual, but I believe it was a repeat of an old Tammy story since the feature stories in the Tammy annuals always were.
The Button Box - The Button Box was one of the most popular features ever to appear in Tammy. It ran from (circa) 1982 right up until Tammy's disappearance.

The feature concerned one Beverley Jackson, who has become paralysed after an accident. To buck her up, Bev's grandmother gives her a family heirloom, the Button Box. Every button in the box tells a story and Bev knows them all by heart (she must have some photographic memory!). Every week Bev brings a button and tells the story (or alternatively, she is told a new button story to add to her collection). Some of the button stories include:

The first story - a broken pink button, and the story of how it brought Bev's grandmother the birthday present she wanted.
Salvation Army button, with the story of how the Salvation Army brightened the life of would-be suicide, Milly Hawkins.
Two fox buttons, (one appearing in the 1985 Annual) with, as you might have guessed, anti-fox-hunting stories.
Black Op-Art button, with the story of how Bev's parents met.
Ladybird button, with an inspirational story about courage set in World War 2.
Glass button, with a love story.
Soldier button, with the story of how buttons saved the life of a wounded World War 1 soldier.
Oriental shell button, with a stern warning about stealing.
Barrel button, with the story of how Miriam Warner put a barrel to good use when rustlers strike.
Coachman's button, which teaches a humility lesson twice over - and one century apart.
Dog's Head button, and how it comforted two girls (again, one century apart) when they have to say goodbye to their dogs.
Dog's nose button, with a message on how to get over stage fright.
Elephant's button - about an elephant who did not forget.
Waistcoat button, and how it became a bone of contention between a father and daughter.
Rusty raincoat button, with a message about not judging people too hastily.
The snake button teaches a similar moral.
Guides button, with the story of a Girl Guide finding a lost guide dog.
Bell button, which brings a story about how kindness repays.
Zookeeper's button, with a warning about being cruel to the person who loves you.
Daisy button, with a special story for left-handers (especially for ones who think they can't sew).
Mattress button, with a hilarious story about two greedy schemers unwittingly burning the fortune they were looking for.
Coin button, which saved two children from the workhouse.
Jewel button, and how it brought joy to a dying girl.

Come back, Bindi - Bindi the dog (wrongly) blames herself for an accident that left her mistress in a coma. Bindi runs away, but without her, the girl may not recover.
Danger Dog - Beth Anderson rescues her dog, Sammy, when he is mistakenly taken to a research station for experimentation. Her parents insist on returning Sammy, fearing he is somehow contaminated and a danger to people. Beth runs away with Sammy, determined to prove them wrong. But then, weird things start happening to her sight, hearing and muscles. Beth finally realises her parents are right - Sammy IS dangerous. What is she to do?
Destiny Dolls, The - Miss Armitage uses voodoo dolls to get revenge on Friendly Lane, which had not been friendly to her when she lived there. As might be expected, her revenge goes too far.
Di and the Dolphins - Why are Di Martin's parents keeping her away from water. How is it connected to a strange telepathy Di has with a pod of ill-treated dolphins at the dolphinarium?
Father's Footsteps
Human Zoo, The - (Jinty repeat)
Little Sisters - The exploits of Carol and her kid sister, "Sam" (Samantha).
Jaws 3 - Joyce Daws can't stop "jawing," to the annoyance of her classmates.
Monster Tales
Nanny Young
Rae Rules OK - Rae has been a shy girl until she finds a mysterious ruler.
Sandy - A Fresh Start (sequel to 1980 and 1981 Sandy stories)
Saving Grace - Sue Blackstone returns from abroad to find her former best friend, Grace Clarke, has become the school bully. Why has Grace changed so much and can Sue save Grace from herself?
Shadow of Sherry Brown, The: Katy Bishop is adopted by the Browns - but the shadow of their late daughter, Sherry, is very jealous.
Slave of the Clock - Allison Thorne is a talented, but not dedicated, ballerina. She falls foul of an over-zealous ballet teacher whose idea of instilling dedication is to hypnotise pupils into dancing whenever they hear the ticking of a clock. Predictably, this causes a great deal of trouble for Allison, and when the teacher realises this, she reverses the hypnotism.
Tomorrow Town - a Japanese electronics company sets up a town with the very latest in computers, gadgets and state-of-the-art technology. Tomorrow Town is a little too technical and the human touch is disappearing.

TAMMY 1983

Backhand Play - Teri Knightly joins a tennis club and finds a special talent for backhand. But her roguish uncle keeps interfering, with his own brand of "backhand."
Cross on Court -
Cuckoo in the Nest - A unique story in the history of girls' comics. The main character is a boy. What's more, it is a boy who must pretend to be a girl!
Diff'rent Strokes - The only thing twins Jackie and Samantha share is their deep, even bitter, rivalry. However, Tracey is determined to bring the twins together.
E.T Estate - Keats Estate is renamed E.T. Estate after it is badly hit by a meteorite shower. However worse is to come - the shower was the launch of an alien invasion. Jenny Holmes is the only one who knows about it, but nobody believes her. Can she foil the aliens single-handed?
First Term at Trebizon (Ann Digby adaptation)
Foul Play - Katie is badly injured at hockey. Her friends and family are convinced one of her own team fouled her, because they resented her as an usurper. Someone launches a vendetta against the team and Katie turns detective to find out who. I was disappointed with the ending of this story. The culprit was unmasked, but the questions surrounding Katie's injury weren't answered.
Glenda's Glossy Pages - Glenda Slade is given a mysterious mail order catalogue. To her astonishment and delight, everything she marks in the catalogue turns up for real on her doorstep. And Glenda never has to pay - or does she? The glossy pages start causing trouble for Glenda. (repeat)
It's a Dog's Life - Rowan is shoved around in the children's home. Her only friend is Riley, a mistreated mongrel from next door.
Julie's Jinx - Romany Julie gives her friend a corn dolly. Her friend's horse starts acting strangely. Is the doll jinxed? (It turns out the horse is having an allergic reaction to the dyes in the doll).
Lonely Ballerina - What's happened to the ballet teacher at Tall Trees Ballet School, a school now in shambles?
Lucky by Name (about a foal with mysterious powers. Unrelated to 1980 story with same title)
Make Your Mind Up, Maggie - Maggie has to choose between giving up riding or ballet. If she gives up riding, her pony will be sold to a cruel owner, but riding is bad for her ballet. (repeat)
Namby Pamby - Pamela Beeton has lived a very sheltered existence with her over-protective parents. This comes to an abrupt end when her reluctant parents are obliged to send her to school for the very first time. The overgrown baby must now learn to fend for herself.
Portrait of Doreen Grey - as the title suggests, an updated version of the "Portrait of Dorian Grey." The portrait makes shy Doreen Grey more confident, but it is making her more unpleasant as well.
Queen Rider (Ann Digby adaptation)
Romy's Return - Linda has always been happy being second fiddle to her best friend, Romy. Then Romy moves and Linda becomes Number 1. She is determined to stay that way when Romy suddenly returns - even though it means playing tricks on Romy.
Room for Rosie - Pauline Wheeler is trying to find a home for her late gran's beloved pram, Rosie.
Secret of Angel Smith, The: Abby Fox longs to join the family trapeze act, but her father doesn't want to lose her like he lost her mother. Abby is furious when another girl, Angel Smith, is hired instead. But there is something strange about Angel.
Spell of Fog - A supernatural fog appears in the wake of a film being made about a victim of the witch-hunts.

TAMMY 1984

Cassie's Coach - Cassie Lord and her siblings are thrown out of their home when their mother is wrongly imprisoned in Victorian times. They find a most novel new home - an old coach.
Dear Diary - I hate you! - Susie Judd wins a scholarship to a boarding school which is very strict about honesty. This leads to complications when Susie finds she has mistakenly packed her twin sister's diary, in which she confesses to cheating in the scholarship exam. Matters are further complicated when a sly girl reads the diary and starts blackmailing Susie. Eventually the girl is expelled for stealing the diary, which ends up in the gardener's bonfire.
Cora Can't Lose - Cora Street goes on an obsessive binge to win as many sports trophies as she can, in order to win her parents' respect. Danger looms when Cora suffers a head injury which will kill her unless she has an operation, but she is so obsessed with winning trophies that she ignores the warning signs. It is most annoying that Tammy vanished abruptly, just before the final episode of this story.
I'm Her - She's Me! - Nice Paula Holmes and delinquent Natalie Peters swap bodies.
No Use to Anyone
My Terrible Twin (repeat of 1979 story)

Briony
(Briony is our resident expert on UK Girls Comics from the 70s, 80s and 90s - 26pigs)

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