Elisabeth Beresford facts for kids

Elisabeth Beresford, also known as Liza Beresford, was an English author. She is most famous for creating the beloved characters called The Wombles. Born into a family of writers, she first worked as a journalist. She found great success after creating the Wombles in the late 1960s. Their message about recycling was very important. The Wombles became popular with children all over the world. While Beresford wrote many other books, the Wombles remained her best-known work.

Early Life and Writing Journey

Elisabeth Beresford was born on August 6, 1926, in Paris, France. Her father, J. D. Beresford, was a successful novelist. He also reviewed books for newspapers. Many famous writers were friends with her parents. These included Walter de la Mare, Cecil Day-Lewis, and Eleanor Farjeon. They even dedicated poems to her. Elisabeth went to Brighton and Hove High School.

After school, she served in the Women's Royal Naval Service for 18 months. Then, she started working as a ghostwriter. This meant she wrote speeches for other people. She also trained as a journalist. Soon, she was writing about radio, film, and television. She even worked as a reporter for the BBC radio.

In 1949, Beresford married Max Robertson. He was a BBC tennis commentator. They had a son and a daughter. Traveling with her husband inspired her to write children's books. Her first book, The Television Mystery, came out in 1957. She wrote several adventure stories and thrillers. She also created two television series. Later, she wrote fantasy books like Awkward Magic (1964).

In the 1960s, Elisabeth found it hard to succeed as a children's author. But this changed when she created the Wombles.

The Wombles: A Story of Recycling

The idea for the Wombles came from her daughter, Kate. They were walking on Wimbledon Common on Boxing Day. Kate mispronounced "Wimbledon" as "Wombledon." That same day, Beresford made a list of Womble names. Many characters were based on her own family. For example, Great Uncle Bulgaria was like her father-in-law. Tobermory was like her brother, who was a skilled inventor. Orinoco was based on her son. Madame Cholet was like her mother.

The first Wombles book was published in 1968. Margaret Gordon drew the pictures. Her drawings helped create the Wombles' unique look. After a story was read on Jackanory, the BBC decided to make an animated TV series.

The Wombles' famous saying was: "Make Good Use of Bad Rubbish." They loved recycling, which was a very new idea at the time. This inspired children to start "Womble Clearing Up Groups." Thirty-five five-minute films were shown on BBC One. Mike Batt created the music, including the theme song, "Wombling Free." Actor Bernard Cribbins did the voices for the characters. The Wombles became very popular.

Elisabeth Beresford even took part in live phone calls with children in Australia. She told Womble stories to people in South Africa. Back in England, she made many public appearances with the Wombles.

Within ten years, Beresford wrote over 20 Wombles books. These books were translated into more than 40 languages. She also created 30 more television films. There was even a Wombles stage show. Many Wombles products were made, like soap, T-shirts, and soft toys.

Later Life and Legacy

In the mid-1970s, Beresford and her family moved to Alderney. This is one of the Channel Islands. She and her husband, Max Robertson, divorced in 1984.

Besides her Wombles books, Beresford wrote other adventure and mystery stories for children. Many of these were set on the island of Alderney. She lived there in a 300-year-old cottage in St Anne. In 1990, she worked with Jane Aireton on a children's TV series called Bertie the Bat. Elisabeth Beresford was honored with the Order of the British Empire in 1998. This award was for her great contributions to children's literature.

Elisabeth Beresford passed away on December 24, 2010. She died in Alderney's Mignot Memorial Hospital. Her son, Marcus Robertson, said she died from heart failure.

The American actor James Newman is her great-nephew.