Carl Giles was a cartoonist for the newspaper Daily Express.

He drew the illustrations of his friends, Ike and Butch. Unlike in the United States, where they were subject to segregation, black troops mixed with local, mostly white, communities.

Giles and five members of the local Engineer Aviation Regiment set up their own jazz band, playing in the local pub, The Tuddenham Fountain, on a Saturday night. Their tunes included ‘Fat Mama With The Meat Shakin’ On Her Bones’.