Alan Alexander Milne (1882-1956) was born in London. He was a regular contributor to Punch, and later, assistant editor, before the interruption of active service in the First World War. A remarkably versatile writer, Milne went on to become a hugely successful and widely-known playwright, both in the West End and on Broadway, as well as an essayist, poet, novelist and – most famously – children’s author, as the creator of Winnie-the-Pooh.

Gyles Brandreth is a former Punch contributor and lifelong admirer of the work of A. A. Milne. A friend of Christopher Robin Milne, Gyles wrote Now We Are Sixty with the composer Julian Slade in the 1980s, a play celebrating A. A. Milne, in which the young Aled Jones starred as Christopher Robin.