The Wombles’ names
What are the Wombles called?
The seven best-known Wombles appear throughout most of the books and TV programmes:
- Great Uncle Bulgaria (old and wise - his full name is Bulgaria Coburg Womble)
- Tobermory (handyman)
- Madame Cholet (chef)
- Orinoco (lazy and greedy)
- Wellington (clever and shy)
- Tomsk (sporty and strong)
- Bungo (bossy and excitable)
However, there are many more Wombles in the Wimbledon burrow, and there are Womble burrows all over the world. In chapter 7 of The Wombles, Great Uncle Bulgaria mentions, “Family? Me? Oh yes, about two hundred and thirty of them.”
The 1990s television series focussed on ten to twelve Wombles - the core seven above, plus another five regular characters and visitors:
- Alderney
- Shansi
- Stepney
- Cairngorm, the MacWomble the Terrible
- Obidos
Other Wombles mentioned in the books, short stories and TV episodes include:
- Miss Adelaide
- Nanny Alexandria
- Cousin Van Amsterdam
- Ms Atlanta
- Bermondsey
- Onkel Bonn
- Cousin Botany
- Cairns
- Culvain
- Uncle Dunedin
- Eucula
- Chieftain Fashven
- Frau Heidelberg
- Heilbronn
- Workshop Master Hirado
- Hoboken
- Great-great-great Uncle Hohenzollern (Hapsburg Von Hohenzollern Womble)
- Idaho
- Old One-eyed Jamaica
- Tante Lille
- Livingstone
- Moosonee
- Great-great Aunt Matilda Murrumbidgee
- Nanking
- Normandy
- Omsk
- Cousin Ontario
- Osborne
- Perth
- Quetta
- Serengeti
- Speyer
- Stromboli
- Great Aunt Thessaly
- Honourable Cousin Tokyo
- Winnipeg
- Woy Woy
- Cousin Yellowstone (Yellowstone Boston Womble)
There are also Water-Wombles in Loch Ness (including Nessie, Ross and Cromarty), and larger, snow-white Great White Wombles of Tibet - “Jeti or some such” - in the Everest burrow up in the Himalayas (including Dalai Gartok and Cousins One, Two, Three and Four).
The Wombles of Wimbledon all choose their own names out of Great Uncle Bulgaria’s atlas. Some of them spend a long time looking for a name that suits them, while others just close their eyes and point, and hope for the best!
To find out more about the Wombles’ characters and personalities, see the who’s who page, and visit the ‘Meet the Wombles’ section on the official Wombles website.
Which Wombles are in the band?
The official 1970s line-up was:
- Vocals / sax: Orinoco
- Lead guitar: Wellington
- Bass guitar: Madame Cholet
- Violin: Great Uncle Bulgaria
- Drums: Bungo
Other Wombles sometimes join the band for live appearances, including Tomsk and Alderney.
Who are Wandle and Haydon?
Wandle the Womble and Haydon the Womble are mascots of past and present Wimbledon football clubs – see the football mascots page for more details.
Who are Waverley and Guildford?
Waverley Womble and Guildford Womble were the recycling mascots of Waverley Borough Council and Guildford Borough Council in Surrey.
Waverley was specially created by Elisabeth Beresford in 2002 for the council’s waste awareness campaign, to encourage residents to reduce, re-use and recycle. He’s a sporty Womble with a blue hat, and was described by the author as “an eager fellow who makes the occasional mistake but always puts them right”.
Guildford was created in 2003 and joined forces with neighbouring Waverley, appearing at school assemblies and in town centres.
In 2003, Waverley Borough Council had the highest recycling rate among Surrey’s 11 boroughs.
Who is Barrington Womble?
Barry Wom was the drummer in The Rutles - a parody of The Beatles. His full name was Barrington Womble, but the others persuaded him to change his name to Barry Wom to save time. He was played in the 1978 film by John Halsey.
Who is Yuri Womble?
“Remember Yuri Womble, Remember Yuri Womble, Remember-member-member…”