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Obituary | The Snowman and When The Wind Blows illustrator, Raymond Briggs, dies aged 88
- In Raymond Briggs’ When The Wind Blows, a working-class couple struggle to survive a nuclear attack; in The Snowman a boy’s new-found wintry friend melts away
- Briggs’ world was never sugar-coated, and much of the British illustrator’s work was autobiographical. But beneath his grumpiness was ‘a great heart’
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British cartoonist and illustrator Raymond Briggs called himself “a miserable old git”. Even his publisher said he was “the grumpiest of grumpy old men”.
But he will be forever associated with a joyous creation – The Snowman, which has enchanted generations of children since it was published in 1978.
The delicately drawn picture book, about a young, ginger-haired boy who builds a snowman that magically comes to life, was transformed into an animated film in 1982.
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First shown on British TV, with an introduction by the late David Bowie in some later versions, the film and its memorable musical score have become synonymous with Christmas ever since.
Children have got to face death sooner or later ... So there’s no point avoiding it
Briggs, whose death aged 88 was announced on August 10, himself famously disliked the festive season but the story, which sparked a whole industry of memorabilia and spin-offs, was not what it seemed.
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