Tom Johnstone – RIP
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Scottish cartoonist and artist Tom Johnstone has passed away.
Tom Johnstone
1935 – 2026
Lorraine Tinney for The Greenock Telegraph reports the death of their longtime cartoonist:
“Tom Johnstone, whose paintings and cartoons preserved scenes of old Greenock, Gourock and Port Glasgow, passed away peacefully aged 91 at the Little Sisters of the Poor’s Holy Rosary Residence in Greenock.”
“Tom was a true Inverclyde gentleman who was generous with both his time and his extensive knowledge of the area.
“He regularly shared his memories of local dance halls, picture houses and days gone by through slide shows at community centres and care homes.
“Generations of Telegraph readers also enjoyed his cartoons, which were a much-loved feature of the newspaper for decades.”
Tinney and The Telegraph covered Johnstone’s career when he retired 5 years ago (or here):
“Tom Johnstone drew his first cartoon for the paper in March 14, 1974 and it has been a popular weekly feature ever since.”
“Tom says his cartoons have been popular because people can associate with the characters or well-kent phrases.
“He said: ‘People love nostalgia and remembering the old dance halls and cinemas, and Greenock was full of characters.’
“His role as Tele cartoonist links in with his other passion, giving demonstrations to local arts clubs such as St Bart’s and presenting slide shows of Greenock in times gone by.”
The cartoons and paintings above come from Johnstone’s Facebook and X/Twitter pages.
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