A Rabbit and a Turtle

Frank Pick, Managing Director of the Underground Electric Railway Companies of London, was at the forefront of corporate design and, as well as roundels, considered the use of mascots. Most notable among these mascots was Wilfred the Rabbit

Wilfred the Rabbit began life in 1919 as a principal character in the ‘Pip, Squeak and Wilfred’ cartoon. This cartoon was conceived by Bertram Lamb, drawn by Austin Payne, and published by the Daily Mirror

In 1922, this mascot was chosen by Pick and then adapted by the sculptor Harold Stabler to be the mascot for the London General Omnibus Company country buses, featuring on nearly 80 routes from London to the countryside

Stabler’s designs show that Wilfred was to sit up with his forepaws raised and his ears pointing towards the country. He was cast in aluminium and attached to the radiator at the front of the bus


An 8 inch tall bronze model of Wilfred was displayed at the Royal Academy in 1922!

By December 1922, the design appears to have been finalised and Stabler wrote of his pleasure in making the rabbits again. One can only wonder at his reaction to Pick's idea of 29th December that “we should equip the radiators of our buses serving the city with a turtle mascot"!

The idea of a turtle mascot attached to buses in the City drew mocking, so it's little surprise that the decision was taken not to proceed

We unfortunately have no surviving sketches or images of this mascot but we do know that from the outset there were some in the organisation who were less than impressed with this design....


"...it is very heavy and will be difficult to prevent rattling..."