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The bald cartoon character peeking over and gripping a wall, who, widely appearing as wartime graffiti, had his origins with British cartoonist George “Chat” E. Chatterton in 1938. During the war, Chatterton’s half-hidden character called Chad complained of ration shortages through inscriptions such as “Wot, no bread?” or “Wot, no fags?” In the case of a British glider he was seen on its fuselage exclaiming, “Wot, no engines?” His American cousin is believed to have been created in 1940 by James J. Kilroy, a shipyard riveter who marked his work “Kilroy was here.”
Troops sailing on the ships found the graffiti in out of the way spaces and around 1942 it was merged with the Chad figure. Kilroy began to appear wherever US troops were stationed. It was not so much the mere appearance of the figure, but where it appeared that made it so humorously outrageous. While a soldier’s and sailor’s prank, Kilroy sometimes found his way to the highest echelons. It is reported that German intelligence found him on captured American equipment, leading Hitler to believe Kilroy was a high-level Allied spy. At the Potsdam Conference Stalin found him in the VIPs’ latrine, prompting him to ask who this Kilroy was. Neither story has been confirmed, but he did appear on Paris’ Arc de Triomphe, on countless Westwall bunkers, inside 40x8 boxcars, and on other structures throughout Europe.
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