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The Green Cross Code man.
Early in 1976 I got the best job I've ever had.
My agent, Penny Harrison, called to tell me that her husband Peter, who was an account executive producer at the world famous advertising agency - Olgilvy, Benson & Mather - had got the brief to produce some Child Pedestrian Road Safety commercials on behalf of the Department of Transport. The brief was that they needed a 'SuperHero' type character to front a T.V. campaign aimed at the 4 to 11 year olds and I was asked if I would like to have some test photos taken with kids in the streets of Clapham, South London.
I turned up for the 'shoot' on a freezing cold January day dressed in white cricket trousers, a black sweater, on top of which I was wearing a white vest, and white shoes. Somebody came and slapped a large green plastic cross on my chest and I then spent the day having photos taken of me with various combinations of kids, walking across the road, standing at the kerbside, picking the kids up in my arms and obviously lots of pics with cars, motor cycles, bikes and lorries featuring.
The resulting photos went to the advertising agency, the Department of Transport and the Central Office of Information all of whom liked the idea for the campaign and 6 months later I eventually was offered the job as the Green Cross Code man and the first set of three television commercials aired late in 1976.
The commercials were a huge success both with the kids and their parents and the press Office of the Department of Transport asked me if I would like to prepare a talk which I could take all over the schools in Great Britain in order to force the road safety message home still further.
The Green Cross Code is only four sentences long -
First find a safe place to cross then stop.
Stand near the kerb not on it.
Look all around for traffic and if traffic is coming let it pass.
If there is NO traffic coming, walk straight across the road, looking and listening as you cross.
From those four brief sentences I compiled a three quarters of an hour show which was acclaimed to be the best road safety message ever to hit the schools.
The campaign lasted fourteen years, the first five of which were accompanied by the T.V. commercials and the Green Cross Code man became an icon figure for the children (and parents) of Great Britain.
In the fourteen years that I worked with the campaign I visited over 700 cities throughout the world, over two thousand schools and spoke to over half a million school kids. The net result was a reduction in the U.K road accident figures from over 40,000 annually to less than 20,000 - a total saving of something like a quarter of a million children’s lives.
One of the proudest days of my life was in June 2000 when I was awarded an M.B.E. in the Millennium Honours list and was presented with my medal by Her Majesty the Queen a. Buckingham Palace with my wife Norma, daughter Rachel and grand daughter Hannah all in attendance.
There's not a place in the World that I go to where I am not known for my Green Cross Code work. Anglophiles worldwide who grew up in the late 70's and 80's all remember the Green Cross Road Safety Campaign with great affection.
If you are interested in Green Cross Code memorabilia there is a selection of various items listed on the Web Site sales page: Posters, Singles of the Green Cross Code song - Stop, look listened and Think, L.P.'s, badges, autograph cards but be warned, there is only a limited supply. I've even got the old Green Cross Code Robot in the shed at the bottom of my garden - but he's not for sale.
There is an extensive chapter in my forthcoming book - 'Straight From The Forces mouth' which deals with my work with the Road Safety campaign. Find out how you can learn more and reserve a personally autographed copy of my book by clicking onto the Web Site sales pages.
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