[6] He married Grace Maud Pike, in Manly, New South Wales on 9 April 1907; they were divorced in May 1912 (the decree nisi was granted on 30 November 1911).

[7] He married Marjorie Elizabeth Egan (1881-1970), at Fitzroy, Victoria on 5 April 1912; on 17 September 1931, Wells was granted his petition for a decree of nullity of this marriage,[8] on the grounds that, although he had (incorrectly) believed that his earlier marriage had been terminated in November 1911, he had not, in fact, been free to marry until 19 June 1912 (when the decree nisi had been pronounced absolute).

This is Wells's impression of them after a visit to Gunns Gully" — and, on 20 June 1923, the Herald presented 'caricatures' of the fictional pair, as if they were, indeed, real people.

[45][46][47] His first cartoon was published on 14 January 1941, and he continued to work at the Herald until he was forcibly retired, due to the paper's retirement-at-sixty-five policy.

He moved to Melbourne Age, and contributing a special cartoon, every Monday and Friday,[48][49] in the newspaper's sports section, until the end of January 1967.