Who’s Who

Published April 01, 2020 • Updated August 02, 2022

Who’s Who or Food for Thought, a wartime card game, c.1939.

Who’s Who or Food for Thought, published by M P Lambert in 1939

Who’s Who or Food for Thought, the “new M • P topical war card game for everybody”, published by M P Lambert in 1939. The game was devised to be original, amusing and exciting, for young and old, as a novelty in time for the Christmas trade at 1/- (one shilling) per pack.

The pack contains 18 numbered sets of three cards, showing A: someone’s name, B: a clue in the form of a short sentence, and C: a picture which rhymes with the bold word on the second card, making a joke disparaging the Nazis. Thus the game might stimulate laughter and boost morale during the war, along the same lines as “Hitler has only got one… etc.” The numbers at top-right corners are probably for scoring.

Above: Who’s Who or Food for Thought, published / distributed by M P Lambert, Dominion House, Bartholomew Close, London EC1, 1939. 54 cards in box.

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By Rex Pitts (1940-2021)

United Kingdom • Member since January 30, 2009

Rex's main interest was in card games, because, he said, they were cheap and easy to get hold of in his early days of collecting. He is well known for his extensive knowledge of Pepys games and his book is on the bookshelves of many. His other interest was non-standard playing cards. He also had collections of sheet music, music CDs, models of London buses, London Transport timetables and maps and other objects that intrigued him.

Rex had a chequered career at school. He was expelled twice, on one occasion for smoking! Despite this he trained as a radio engineer and worked for the BBC in the World Service. Later he moved into sales and worked for a firm that made all kinds of packaging, a job he enjoyed until his retirement. He became an expert on boxes and would always investigate those that held his cards. He could always recognize a box made for Pepys, which were the same as those of Alf Cooke’s Universal Playing Card Company, who printed the card games. This interest changed into an ability to make and mend boxes, which he did with great dexterity. He loved this kind of handicraft work.

His dexterity of hand and eye soon led to his making card games of his own design. He spent hours and hours carefully cutting them out and colouring them by hand.