Carl Giles was born in Islington, north London, on 29 September 1916. After leaving school at fourteen, he initially trained in animation before moving into cartoons, when working for Reynolds News. In 1943 Giles moved to the Sunday Express and Daily Express, eventually replacing Strube and becoming the Daily Express "War Correspondent Cartoonist" with the 2nd Army in 1945.
Best known for his Express "family", his cartoons had enormous popular appeal and in 1959 he was awarded an OBE. Giles left the Daily Express in 1989 but continued working for the Sunday Express until 1991. He died in 1995.