‘I told you I was ill’ (Spike’s preferred epitaph) In honour and in memory of (Terence Alan) Spike Milligan, 1918–2002

A personal tribute in memory of the work of eccentric writer and performer Spike Milligan. His scripts for perhaps the most famous British comedy radio series The Goon Show (1951–1960) inspired the vein of surreal satire in British comedy exemplified in shows such as Monty Python’s Flying Circus. Spike’s absurdist poetry and sketches for children are celebrated and examined in the context of both British nonsense traditions, such as the work of Lewis Carroll, Edward Lear, and the poetry of American writers Ogden Nash and Dr. Seuss.