North Cumberland Historical Society

Captain Pugwash

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This is how the story goes.  In the 1800's,  a group of Pugwashians built a ship and emigrated to Australia. By the early 1950's, an offspring of these adventurers, John Ryan, was living in Great Britain and being a gifted cartoonist needed a name for a fictional comic book character - a laughable pirate he created for the amusement of young people. He settled on the name Captain Pugwash, paying tribute to the home town of his great, great grandparents. 

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By the mid-fifties Captain Pugwash became famous and widely known throughout the British Isles, a sort of a Howdy Dowdy character, who was to play a future role in a drama that became part of the history of his name-sake village.

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By 1955, the famous Russell Einstein  manifesto had been written and signed by Lord Bertram Russell and Albert Einstein calling for the elimination of nuclear weapons. Russell and Joseph Rotblat were looking for a place to hold a founding meeting, having eliminated India where domestic problems were brewing and Monaco, which seemed inappropriate. Knowing this, Cyrus Eaton wrote and suggested the founding meeting of the Manifesto proposals be held in Pugwash.

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Russell and Rotblat looked at the name of the suggested village, and acquainting it with Captain Pugwash, who was a well known character, felt that it was a joke being played on them. Six months later Cyrus tried again.  This time the two statesmen went to a map of Nova Scotia and, lo, there was such a village, and the rest is history, as they say.

 

Prepared by Stephen Leahey

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Alas - the myth has been busted.  It is true that John Ryan invented Captain Pugwash and that we almost missed out on being the hosts of the Thinker's Conference because of it.  However, here is a letter from John Ryan's daughter when queried about which ancestor had been from Pugwash:

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Thank you so much for getting in touch about your town and my father John Ryan.

 

It is exciting to hear from you and to think of you in your town called Pugwash. I hate to disappoint you but I'm afraid that rumour is completely untrue! John Ryan's great grandfather was an Irishman living in Cork, Ireland. John Ryan had no idea why he named the pirate he first drew in 1950 'Pugwash' - full name Captain Horatio Pugwash. He had just got married, turned down a secure teaching job, and decided to go freelance as a commercial artist instead. He started doodling and a pirate hat appeared on the page. THis was the very beginning of Pugwash.

 

Imagine John Ryan's surprise when he discovered that there is a place called Pugwash associated with famous the peace conference and the winning of the Nobel Prize in 1995! In fact he had a correspondence with someone there. 

 

I like to imagine Captain Pugwash sailing up the Pugwash river, through Cumberland County, in his good ship The Black Pig - maybe in about 1775!

 

With kindest regards, and best wishes,

Isabel

 

ISABEL RYAN LONDON, UK