Graham Oakley, who has died aged 93, was an illustrator and writer known almost entirely for one series of picture books: The Church Mice, published over a period of nearly 30 years from 1972. Beautifully illustrated, written and designed, the warm-hearted and witty series demonstrates perfectly that a successful picture book needs to be subtle and layered, on the assumption that it may be read and reread many times over and that its audience will be intergenerational.
Art-school trained and with a background in set design, latterly as a production designer at the BBC, Oakley was as interested in the settings of his stories as the characters and their actions. Drawing on the Victorian illustrative painters as well as, in particular, the work of the American artist Norman Rockwell, Oakley’s painterly illustrations for The Church Mouse (1972) appealed immediately, both for their colourful scene-setting and their wonderful observations conveyed in line illustrations. Into these Oakley crammed a mass of detailed action commented on in witty asides presented as part of the picture.
The story about Arthur, the church mouse, and Sampson, a large and handsome church cat, all within the finely drawn setting of an English church, could be read on many levels and spoke to adults and children alike. Oakley viewed the text as having equal importance to the illustrations and frequently wrote it first. Long by traditional picture book standards, Oakley’s words amplified the humour of the illustrations but cleverly never repeated the same joke.
In both words and pictures his story of the friendship between mouse and cat, and the action-packed drama that follows, shows a sharply observant view of English society – whether animal or human – that enjoys its foibles and absurdity. Oakley’s crisp authorial tone had the effect of making the unlikely flights of imaginative action remarkably plausible.
Designed with every spread divided up ingeniously to allow for many angles on the action, The Church Mouse was quickly recognised for all its qualities. Oakley began to create the series that, despite being a novice author, he had always imagined the original title would launch.
Initially he planned to have each new title in a different building in the fictional town of Wortlethorpe, but such was the success of The Church Mouse that the publisher persuaded him to keep Arthur, Sampson and their friends in the church. Oakley was happy to oblige as he felt that the ecclesiastical setting offered the most interesting architectural features, which he enjoyed drawing in detail. Instead of changing the location, Oakley put his energies into coming up with a stronger and more ambitious theme for each of the new stories. The Church Cat Abroad (1973) revolved around making advertisements for cat food, while in The Church Mice and the Moon (1974) the cast took off on lunar adventures.
As the plots grew more complicated so, too, did Oakley’s drawings, which had an increasing number of asides and general busyness. New titles, including The Church Mice Adrift (1976) and The Church Mice in Action (1982), both of which were highly commended for the Kate Greenaway medal, appeared annually at first and then with slightly more time between them until The Church Mice and the Ring (1992) and The Church Mice Take a Break (2000). By 1977 the books were doing well enough for Oakley to be able to leave the BBC and concentrate on writing.
Born in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, Graham was the only child of Flora (nee Madelay) and Thomas, who ran an electrical repair shop in the town. He grew up living above the shop before the family moved to Warrington, now in Cheshire, where he subsequently attended grammar school. Thought to be what he described as a “duffer” at school, Oakley was good at art and, as a teenager, decided he wanted to be an artist.
He went to Warrington Art School in 1946, but his studies were interrupted the following year when he was called up for national service. He spent the next two years in the headquarters of the British Army of the Rhine in Germany. Returning to Warrington, Oakley finished his course as a commercial artist in 1950 and worked briefly in London until, following a long interest in theatre, he took a six-month course in stage design at the Bradford Civic Theatre School.
Oakley became a scenery artist for several repertory companies before moving in 1955 to the Royal Opera House, London, where he worked as a designer’s assistant, adapting paintings by artists, including John Piper, into opera and ballet sets. Two years later Oakley tried a spell as a freelance illustrator, but earning a living from book covers and book illustrations proved to be impossible.
He turned instead to advertising, becoming a layout artist, and swiftly concluded that he preferred designing scenery to advertising. Leaving in 1962 he swapped theatre and opera for television, as a scenery designer at the BBC. Eventually becoming a production designer, he created backdrops for shows such as Z-Cars and Softly, Softly and classic BBC dramas including How Green Was My Valley and Treasure Island.
Despite working full time, Oakley still did freelance illustration commissions and also created his own work. The first book he produced, Magical Changes, allowed readers to create imaginative pictures of various combinations through split pages; it was published later, in 1979, following his success with The Church Mice. In addition to the Church Mice titles Oakley wrote a brief series, The Foxbury Force, about a team of fox detectives, between 1995 and 1997.
He moved out of London when he left the BBC, and lived briefly in France before buying a ruined mill on the River Avon near Chippenham in Wiltshire. It needed extensive restoration, which he undertook during the summer months, and worked on his books in the winter. In the 1980s he moved to Dorset, first to Lyme Regis and later to Poundbury.
Oakley remained fit and active, and continued to write and illustrate to the end of his life. He created a new version of Beauty and the Beast, a long labour that he did for himself rather than for publication. He had many friends and enjoyed music, reading and walking in the countryside.
• Graham Thomas Oakley, writer and illustrator, born 27 August 1929; died 19 December 2022
• The photo caption for the main image on this article was amended on 7 February 2023 to credit Peter Wiles as the photographer. An earlier version attributed the image to Ian Dicks.
