Captain Pugwash is a fictional pirate who appears in a series of British children’s comic strips, books and television shows created by John Ryan.

The eponymous hero – Captain Horatio Pugwash – sails the high seas in his ship called the Black Pig, assisted by cabin boy Tom, pirates Willy and Barnabas, and Master Mate.

At John Ryan’s wedding in 1950, he was introduced by a friend to Marcus Morris, who was launching Eagle, and asked the artist to create a strip for it.

[1] It ran for the first nineteen issues of Eagle, but was dropped due to being considered too childish, and John replaced it with Harris Tweed.

[2] The first Captain Pugwash picture book, subtitled A Pirate Story and featuring Tom’s debut, was rejected by twelve publishers until The Bodley Head picked it up in 1957.

All the voices were provided by Peter Hawkins, who had to be hidden behind a monitor due to his facial expressions made while recording being too distracting for the animators.

[6] Further short films would be produced and broadcast until 1966, and in 1960 a popular and regularly released Radio Times strip was launched to promote the series, running until 1965.

[7] In 1974 a new colour series was commissioned, with Peter Hawkins reprising his roles, and wider-reaching than its sporadically produced predecessor.

A related book by John Ryan is Admiral Fatso Fitzpugwash, in which it is revealed that Pugwash had a medieval ancestor who was First Sea Lord but was terrified of water.

Tom is an expert concertina player, despite this being a 19th-century anachronism for an 18th-century pirate, and part of his repertoire is "The Trumpet Hornpipe" (the Captain Pugwash theme).

He speaks with a stereotypical West Country accent, and is easily recognisable by his eye patch and enormous black beard.

Tom the Cabin Boy’s best friend, who works for barber Betty, and has dreams of becoming a member of the Black Pig.

The series' signature tune was the "Trumpet Hornpipe", a folk dance that dates to at least the early nineteenth century.

The original black-and-white episodes of Captain Pugwash used a solo rendition by the accordionist Tom Edmondson, who had learned the tune from watching Jimmy Shand's band in Northumberland as a teenager.

[11] For the colour Captain Pugwash episodes, a new recording of the "Trumpet Hornpipe" was commissioned from Johnny Pearson in 1973.

From 3 October 1962, episodes 2-23 of Captain Pugwash were repeated (skipping only "The Powder Magazine" and "Ivory Cargo").

Production was set to begin in 2018, with the plot following Captain Pugwash travelling to Botany Bay, where he eventually finds himself at the helm of The Black Pig on a mission to rescue Tom the Cabin Boy's father, who is marooned on a volcanic island.

Edward Philips as Pugwash headed a cast of live actors playing characters including Tom and Cut-Throat Jake.

[21] The following year a second play was performed, entitled Captain Pugwash and the Inca Treasure, from 19 December 1974 to 18 January 1975.

Ed Hartwell’s 2005 short film Time Looters was made using a similar "caption" style of cutouts.

In a 2007 Dead Ringers sketch parodying BBC Two’s loss of The Simpsons, a ripoff entitled The Stimpsons was created, however the characters and their couch were quickly revealed to be Captain Pugwash, Mr. Benn, Charley the Cat and Bagpuss.

In 1981, Corgi Toys produced a model of the Black Pig, complete with stand-up figures of Pugwash and Tom the Cabin Boy.

In 1987 Tempo Video released a new tape, which was also sold in Australia via Thorn EMI and the US via Family Home Entertainment.