Who is this elderly lady and why does a statue of her stand on the corner of Princes Street and Queens Street in Ipswich? During a visit to the Suffolk Record Office I had some time to spare so I made my way to the site where she stands to pay homage. She is of course ‘Grandma’, one of the Giles family members that made frequent appearances in his cartoons.
She is looking up at the building where Giles had an office and studio. Giles lived at Hillbrow Farm in Witnesham, near Ipswich. Her statue, made by local sculptor Miles Robinson, was unveiled in September 1993 by the actor Warren Mitchell, who was a friend of Giles. Johnny Speight, who wrote the scripts for the BBC television series ‘Till Death Do Us Part’ – in which Mitchell starred as Alf Garnett, was also there with Giles.
Grandma as usual is wearing a coat, scarf and hat and is holding an umbrella and a padlocked handbag. She is accompanied by Vera, the twins and Butch the dog.
