As Pogles’ Wood turns 60, co-creator Peter Firmin’s daughter reflects on the beloved children’s TV show

A condensed version of this article first appeared in Radio Times magazine.

If you went down to the woods in Kent in the mid-60s, you’d have been sure of a big surprise, and found a family of tiny forest-dwellers. This curious clan followed in the whimsical tracks of Ivor the Engine and epic footsteps of Noggin the Nog – but Pogles’ Wood was no less loved by youngsters.

Its two, quirky series were shown many times after the programme’s debut 60 years ago this month, while its storytelling bore the magical hallmarks of other Smallfilms created by writer/animator Oliver Postgate and artist/craftsman Peter Firmin.

“It was the combination of Oliver and my father creating the fictitious stories around the characters they invented,” says Emily Firmin – the youngest of Peter’s six daughters – regarding Pogles’ Wood’s particular charm. “They hit on a good method and stuck with it.”

In fact, Mr and Mrs Pogle had first emerged, blinking, into the sunlight the year before in 1965. When trying to dream up a new show, Postgate imagined small people who might inhabit the beech trees in woods behind his house, a converted pub near Canterbury.

These low-angle persons, as he called them, "wouldn't want to have anything to do with magic" and were the ordinary heroes of The Pogles, which ran for six episodes but the BBC deemed one character, the Witch, too frightening for children.

Not that you need worry today – she’s kept at a museum, The Beaney House of Art and Knowledge in Canterbury, thanks to artist Emily: “That was great fun, collecting brambles from the woods and making her a new cage to keep her in. She’s safe!” Also on display at the Beaney are the Pogles’ Smallfilms stablemates including Ivor the Engine, the Clangers and Bagpuss.

The Pogles soon returned with a few tweaks as Pogles’ Wood, where the central couple were joined by their adopted son Pippin and a sylvan sprite called Tog. The other “regular” was a storytelling plant or flower that favoured a generous pouring of bilberry wine around its roots! The show's tale-within-a-tale prefigured the same format in Bagpuss some eight years later, when the eponymous moggy would hold court with his fantastical shaggy cat fables.

Pogle adventures would typically involve members of the family venturing into the human world and learning about dairy farming, sheep's wool or "eggs for breakfast", with a view to introducing young minds to new ideas.

Peter Firmin created the Pogles’ tree-root burrow in his barn in Blean near Canterbury, not far from Oliver’s home. He fashioned many of the puppets and props, and drew and painted all the illustrations to appear.

Few original props from Pogles' Wood survive to show off at The Beaney House. Fortunately Emily inherits her father’s gifts... “There were no sets left, lots of things have been eaten by mice and moths, so I did a re-creation of the set for the glass cabinet. And there was no flower left, but I’m a papier-mâché artist and it wasn’t hard for me to re-create that."

Elaborating on the Firmin artistic gene, she adds, "Me and my sisters grew up with Dad’s printing press and him persuading us all to have a go from pretty much as very small children.” These days, she says, "I try not to look at my Dad’s work, and make my own. But I’ve got so much respect for his incredible detail."

Despite the show’s studio work, many scenes were filmed outdoors. But plein-air animation brings with it a host of problems, like changing light conditions. “Oh, my God, I love that!” says Emily. “And the treadmarks of Oliver’s footsteps, leaving imprints in the grass, are magical. No one would have noticed then, but now, obviously, with people knowing so much about film... It is a classic!”

The Smallfilms productions were very much a family affair, and Pogles’ Wood was no exception. While Postgate roped in his children to appear in an episode, Emily’s sisters were in the Pogle annuals, her aunt knitted the Pingwings (stars of a previous Smallfilms show) and mother Joan made many of the miniature costumes, and later on, the knitted "skins" of the Clangers: “I often say these days my mum would be artistic director."

Emily herself went on to have a starring role in Bagpuss when she was just seven, as the cat's owner. You can read all about her adventures in our 50th anniversary article.

Emily's artistic speciality, however, is papier-mâché, and she runs a company called Total Pap with her partner Justin Mitchell, who makes automata.

"We’re eccentric artists who create people’s mad ideas in three dimensions. Making 3D stuff and painting it, that’s my joy. People would like us to make, say, an otter in a bath being bathed by a dachshund, with a monkey hanging from the curtain rail. When someone says that to me, I’m like, 'Brilliant! That’s what we like to do!'”

Although Pogles' Wood isn't available on any UK streamer, many episodes can be watched on YouTube. And of course there's always The Beaney.

In common with Noggin, Bagpuss et al, the Pogles had warmth and charm in abundance. “There was always some good in all their programmes,” agrees Emily. “They always had kindness.”

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You can find out about The Beaney House of Art and Knowledge at thebeaney.co.uk. Emily Firmin and Justin Mitchell take on papier-mâché commissions at totalpap.co.uk.

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