Suitcase belonging to Glasgow cartoonist Bud Neill reunited with family thanks to Glasgow Times

When Ross and Sam Porter found a leather suitcase engraved with the name of one of the city’s most famous writers and cartoonists, they were stunned. 

And now, thanks to Times Past, Bud Neill’s travel case is on its way back to his family. 

Bud was one of Scotland’s greatest cartoonists, creator of famous sheriff Lobey Dosser, sheriff of Calton Creek in the wild west of Arizona. At the height of his career, Bud was a megastar, earning a massive £1000 a week in the 1950s and 60s. 

Bud Neill, 1951. Pic: Newsquest (Image: Newsquest)

He started at the Glasgow Evening Times in 1944, and Lobey and his two-legged horse El Fideldo debuted in the newspaper five years later. He was also famous for ‘wee wifie’ cartoons, and after his death in 1970, his creations achieved cult status around the world. A statue of Lobey, Rank and El Fideldo was unveiled in Woodlands Road in 1992 and recently, a giant mural painted by celebrated London street artist Voyder was revealed in Partick.

Adam MacPhee, whose mother Nora is Bud’s daughter, read our story about the Porters’ unexpected find. 

Bud Neill's case. Pic: Colin Mearns/Newsquest (Image: Colin Mearns, Newsquest)

“My mum and I were amazed to read your story about my grandad’s case,” he said. “It’s incredible that it should turn up after all these years. 

“We’d like to thank Sam and Ross very much for finding it and The Glasgow Times for reuniting us with this memento of my grandad.” 

Adam explains: “He used the case during a visit to his cousin in Canada.  My mum remembers the brightly coloured clothes he brought back for the family – a big contrast to the drab offerings here at the time.” 

Adam says he and his mum are baffled as to how the case ended up in Ross and Sam’s house in Dunfermline. The couple had lived in the house for 10 years when, investigating a leak in the loft, Ross discovered it tucked away in a corner. 

“We nearly threw it out, but something made us check out the name and we were absolutely amazed to find out Bud Neill was a famous Glasgow cartoonist and known throughout the world,” said Ross. A sticker on the case, with the name William Neill, gives details of a journey he’d taken on a ship called the Laurentia – the Donaldson Atlantic line – in August 1951. 

Adam said: “We’ve no idea how it got to Sam and Ross’s house.  My grandad and family moved to Dunfermline from Lenzie in the early 50s.   

“He thought it would be a nice place to bring up my mum and her three brothers.  They lived in Halbeath Road, where, with his typical sense of humour, he changed the name of their house to ‘Dim View’.   

“His studio was in the nearby village of Halbeath.  He once held an exhibition at the studio.  One day he decided to close early and put a sign in the window that read: ‘Budgies Repaired Saturdays’.” 

Adam says he and his mum are touched his grandad’s legacy lives on. 

“It’s lovely that there’s still so much interest in my grandad, as shown again recently by the new mural in Glasgow,” he adds. “We still have his desk and some original work within the family.  It would be great to see some of that on public display again.” 

Ross and Sam were delighted to hear Adam had got in touch. 

Ross said: “It’s great news, we’re really happy the family has got it back – hopefully it will give them a chuckle, and bring back happy memories of him. We’re glad to have been of help.”