Familiar wartime character Mr Chad appears on Havant tea room to spread some cheer

Mr Chad, a humourous drawing to bring attention to shortages, was used throughout the Second World War to bring light to a dark situation - which is exactly what has happened at 19 Fourteas in West Street.

The cartoon has appeared on the door of the closed establishment with the words ‘What, no grub?’ and familiar wartime slogan ‘Closed for the duration’.

Created by Bob Habens, a Havant resident who was the first customer of the tea rooms with his wife Mary, the drawing was intended to bring a smile to tea room owner Jacqui Unal.

Jacqui said: ‘I went down to check on the tea room and it did make me smile.’

The Waterlooville resident reminisced happily about the first day of business, when Bob arrived fully dressed up in a suit and grey trilby, with some ‘knocked off’ goods inside his coat in true war period style.

After closing the tea room, which has been established for six and a half years, Jacqui is eagerly awaiting the day she can open the doors to customers again.

She added: ‘It’s the likes of us who are self employed who have lost our livelihoods. People just think it’s a joke and it’s not, it’s people’s lives.’

Although VE Day celebrations have been postponed, Jacqui hopes the community can have a celebration when life goes back to normal.

A message from the Editor

Thank you for reading this story on portsmouth.co.uk. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to portsmouth.co.uk and enjoy unlimited access to local news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit our Subscription page now to sign up.

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.