Wilbert Awdry


Wilbert Vere Awdry, OBE was an English Anglican cleric, railway enthusiast, and children's author. Better known as the Reverend W. Awdry, he was the creator of Thomas the Tank Engine, the central figure in his Railway Series.

Biography

Awdry was born at Ampfield vicarage near Romsey, Hampshire on 15 June 1911. His father was the Reverend Vere Awdry, the Anglican vicar of Ampfield who was 56 years old at the time of his birth, and his mother was Lucy Awdry . His younger brother, George, was born on 10 August 1916 and died on 27 October 1994. All three of Awdry's older half-siblings from his father's first two marriages died young. In 1917 the family moved to Box, in Wiltshire, moving again within Box in 1919 and in 1920, the third house being "Journey's End".
"Journey's End" was only from the western end of Box Tunnel. There the Great Western Railway main line climbs at a gradient of 1 in 100 for two miles. A banking engine was kept there to assist freight trains up the hill. These trains usually ran at night and the young Awdry could hear them from his bed, listening to the coded whistle signals between the train engine and the banker as well as the sharp bark from the locomotive exhausts as they fought their way up the incline. Awdry related, "There was no doubt in my mind that steam engines all had definite personalities. I would hear them snorting up the grade and little imagination was needed to hear in the puffings and pantings of the two engines the conversation they were having with one another." Here was the inspiration for the story of Edward helping Gordon's train up the hill, a story that Wilbert first told his son Christopher some 25 years later, and which appeared in the first of the Railway Series books.
Awdry was educated at Marlborough House School, Hawkhurst, Kent, Dauntsey's School, West Lavington, Wiltshire ; St Peter's Hall, Oxford and Wycliffe Hall, Oxford where he gained his diploma in theology in 1933. He taught for three years from 1933 to 1936 at St George's School, Jerusalem. He was ordained to the Church of England priesthood in 1936. In 1938 he married Margaret Wale. In 1940 he took a curacy at St Nicolas Church, Kings Norton, Birmingham where he lived until 1946. He subsequently moved to Cambridgeshire, serving as Rector of Elsworth with Knapwell, Rural Dean at Bourn and then Vicar of Emneth, Norfolk. He retired from full-time ministry in 1965 and moved to Rodborough in Stroud in Gloucestershire.
" on the Talyllyn Railway, Wales
The characters that would make Awdry known and the first stories featuring them were invented in 1943 to amuse his son Christopher during a bout of measles. After Awdry wrote The Three Railway Engines, he built Christopher a model of Edward, and some wagons and coaches, out of a wooden broomstick and scraps of wood. Christopher also wanted a model of Gordon; however the wartime shortage of materials limited Awdry to making a little 0-6-0 tank engine. Awdry said, "The natural name was Thomas – Thomas the Tank Engine." Then Christopher requested stories about Thomas and these duly followed and were published in the book Thomas the Tank Engine, published in 1946.
The first book, was published in 1945, and by the time Awdry stopped writing in 1972, The Railway Series numbered 26 books. Christopher subsequently added further books to the series.
In 1947 0-6-0T engine No.1800 was built by Hudswell Clarke, it spent its working life at the British Sugar Corporation, Peterborough factory pushing wagons of sugar beet until it was finally replaced by a Diesel engine. Peterborough Railway Society purchased the engine in 1973 and this little blue 'Thomas' engine is the star of the Nene Valley Railway.
In 1952, Awdry volunteered as a guard on the Talyllyn Railway in Wales, then in its second year of preservation. The railway inspired Awdry to create the Skarloey Railway, based on the Talyllyn, with some of his exploits being written into the stories.
Awdry's enthusiasm for railways did not stop at his publications. He was involved in railway preservation, and built model railways, which he took to exhibitions around the country. At Emneth he created an extensive model railway network in his loft - based on Barrow-in-Furness. Emneth was also close to three Wisbech railway stations. Emneth railway station was on the EAR line from Magdalen Road Station to Wisbech East, Emneth station is now a private residence. The GER Wisbech and Upwell Tramway tram engines, coaches and rolling stock were similar to Toby the Tram Engine and Henrietta and the Ely to King's Lynn mainline with Wisbech East station. The M&GN Peterborough to Sutton Bridge via Wisbech North station. There were also harbour lines either side of the River Nene - M&GN Harbour West branch and GER Harbour East branch.
Awdry wrote other books besides those of The Railway Series, both fiction and non-fiction. The story, Belinda the Beetle was about a red car.
In 1988, his second Ffarquhar model railway layout was shown to the public for the final time and was featured on an ITN News news item. He was again featured on TV-am for Thomas' 40th Anniversary in 1990. During all this, Awdry faced many battles - health problems, depression, and the death of his wife, brother and close friend Teddy Boston. Five years later, he gave no protest whilst being interviewed by Nicholas Jones for the Bookmark film "The Thomas the Tank Engine Man" first aired on 25 February 1995 and repeated again on 15 April 1997 shortly after his death.
Awdry was awarded an OBE in the 1996 New Year's Honours List, but by that time his health had deteriorated and he was unable to travel to London. He died peacefully in his sleep in Stroud, Gloucestershire, on 21 March 1997, at the age of 85. His ashes are interred at Gloucester Crematorium.
A biography entitled The Thomas the Tank Engine Man'' was written by Brian Sibley and published in 1995.

Memorials

A Class 91 locomotive, 91 124, used to bear the name The Rev W Awdry. A Hunslet Austerity 0-6-0ST engine on the Dean Forest Railway is named Wilbert after him; and was used as the title character in Christopher Awdry's Railway Series book Wilbert the Forest Engine.
In 2003, a stained glass window commissioned by the Awdry family was unveiled at St Edmund's church, Emneth, Norfolk.
In 2011 a blue plaque was unveiled by his daughter Veronica Chambers at The Old Vicarage, Emneth where he lived between 1953 and 1965.
In 2015, he was rendered in CGI for a special cameo in Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure, then later in 2016, he was rendered in CGI again as a cameo in . He made frequent appearances ever since.
A pedestrian rail crossing bridge has been dedicated to Awdry in 2017 in the small Hampshire town of Chandlers Ford, which is very close to his birthplace of Ampfield.

Letter to Christopher

In the second book in the series, Thomas the Tank Engine, Awdry wrote this "letter" to his son Christopher:
Subsequent books featured a similar letter from the author, addressed to the readers of the book as "Dear Friends", which introduced the background to the stories within the book.
This text also appears at the beginning of Thomas and Friends episodes from 2004–2012. The "letter" appears with a story book showing Thomas on the front cover with "Thomas the Tank Engine" at the top and "By the Rev. W. Awdry" at the bottom. The book then opens up and we see the letter, read by British actor Nigel Plaskitt, and after the letter is finished a "steam" transition appears and it transitions to the Thomas & Friends theme song. A flash version of this letter can be seen on the Thomas & Friends website as "Author's Message", which inaccurately states that Awdry wrote the letter in The Three Railway Engines.

Publications

Fiction
Non-fiction'