Ink: 'The Monument, my goodness! Belisha's thought of a new one!'

Producer: Lee, Joseph

Date: 1935

Accession number: 81.485/3

Measurements: 53.7 x 38 cm

In this cartoon, motorists mistake the Monument in the City of London for a gigantic 'Belisha Beacon'. The beacons (black and white poles topped by a flashing orange globe) had been introduced in 1934 as a road safety measure. They were placed by zebra crossings to warn motorists of pedestrians. The man behind the beacons was Leslie Hore-Belisha, the Liberal M.P. for Devonport, who served as Minister of Transport between 1934 and 1937. Hore-Belisha rewrote the Highway Code and introduced compulsory driving tests. His measures led to a dramatic drop in road accidents. The cartoonist, Joseph Lee, published many cartoons in London's Evening News between 1934 and 1955. This example appeared in the London Laughs series on 23 April 1935.