Summer Holiday specials

Summer for me was linked with vacations and one of things I always did on them was gather together some reading material to help pass the time away such as if I was on a deck chair on the beach or in the event of rain, not unknown in the UK to read when we couldn't go outside.

In my earlier years Whizzer and Chips featured reading them at infant and the first year of junior school and while I had different comics at home, I'd get the bumper Summer Special which was like a mini annual. This copy is from 1970 hence the old currency we only briefly handled before being decimalized the year after.
Tiger was always popular with me because it was more a sporting and boys own adventure type of comic that also had had "Roy of the Rovers" that spun out to a comic in its own right, about a grammar school boys footballing (or as I'd say soccer) adventures on and off the field. 
Soccer was a part of the glue that kept us boys together so we'd often share and talk about his adventures.
This edition from the early 80's shows a cricketing series which as sports go isn't something I got into at all although two of my closest male friends were really into it.

The Dandy was a big comic with me, usually I had three a week bought by my folks and relatives when I was with them such as weekends and so I'd nearly always get the Dandy's summer specials  of which this is another pre-decimalization edition with Korky the cat on the front cover.
It featured the iconic Desperate Dan cartoon strip.

In 1974 into what can be seen now as being a  more staid comic world Warlord was launched with its bright almost garish use of colour in what was in so many ways the boys own comic of the 1970's.
Regular editions featured stories based on various military campaigns of the past not least both World Wars with fairly realistic detail, informative articles about military medals, weaponry and military discipline.

For most of the 70's therefore this was one I always made a beeline to get on arrival each summer vacation as it often had things like posters and anyway I belonged to the fan club.
As to use a modern expression gender fluid I was I loved these stories and playing war games with boys being very much at home with it.