With the growth of education in the later part of the 19th century, (Universal education started in England in 1871) demand was growing for reading material aimed at the juvenile market. While the first known edition of what would later become known as a story paper was The Young Gentleman's Magazine, published in 1777 the first story paper to make an impact was The Boys' and Girls' Penny Magazine, first published in September 1832. One of the first publications aimed at boys alone was Every Boy's Magazine in 1863. In 1866, Boys of England was introduced as a new type of publication, an eight page magazine that featured serial stories as well as articles and shorts of interests and was printed on cheap paper.
Some, however, did last; Boy's Own Paper was published from 1879 to 1967 and Boys' Friend from 1895 to 1927. Another magazine with a comparatively long life was Chums, which started in 1892 and survived until 1934. It had stories about animals and sports as well as many about young people. Chums in its early days worked closely with Baden Powell, but after a disagreement with him became quite derisive about the Scouts. In 1909, however, it became the official Journal for the British Boy Scouts, a break-away group from Baden Powell's Scout movement.
In between the two world wars there appeared in Britain a number of weekly magazines or papers aimed at boys between the ages of 8 and 16. Their price was 2d (two pence) and they were consequently known as the Tuppenny bloods . They were printed on newsprint, with a coloured front cover. Inside there were short stories, with illustrations and often in a serial form. Some factual article were included. They were published by D C Thomson and known as the Big Five .
During the 1920's the magazine continued to thrive and the third editor, Geoffrey Pocklington (from 1924 i– 1933) secured the services of Major Charles Gilson, one of the leading boys' fiction writers of the time. Mention should also be made of the many talented artists that have made invaluable contributions to the visual impact of the B.O.P. since its early days. These include Stanley L. Wood, R. Caton Woodville and the long-serving Alfred Pearse who was a staff artist for over 50 years. In other ways every attempt was made to keep up with the changing times and articles would appear on subjects as diverse as making radio sets, gun-laying, motor-cycling and winter sports. It even managed to survive the industrial and political problems thrown up by the General Strike. By the time of the B.O.P's 50th birthday in 1929 its continued fame was reflected by the attendance of Mr. Stanley Baldwin, the Prime Minister, at the Jubilee luncheon.
