Hugh James Morren was born in Norwich on 24 May 1921. He had moved to Manchester by 1952, when he married Dorothy Marcus. While working in a factory in Manchster, he took night classes in drawing. His comic strip Tommy Wack, about a lazy workman, which ran in the Daily Express from 1968 and later in the Sun, was based on his experiences in the factory.
He also worked in weekly comics. Strips he worked on include "Wee Peem" (1956-57), "Dippy the Diver" (1957), "Betty's Grandad" (1958), "Joe for Champ" (1959), "Lazy Jones" (1960) and "The Country Cuzzins" (1963-64) for The Beano; "Just Jimmy" (1956-58) and "The Smasher" (1957-) for The Dandy; "Sporty Shorty" (1959) for The Comet; "Little Al" (1960) for The Hotspur; "Calamity Jane" (1956-60), "Big Ed" (1956) and "The Mob Next Door" (1964) for The Beezer; and "Harry Presto" (1969) and "Helpful Henry" (1970) for Sparky.