Wilbert Awdry facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Wilbert Awdry
|
|||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
_2.jpg)
Awdry in 1988
|
|||||||
| Born |
Wilbert Vere Awdry
15 June 1911 Ampfield, England
|
||||||
| Died | 21 March 1997 (aged 85) Rodborough, England
|
||||||
| Alma mater | |||||||
| Occupation | |||||||
| Spouse(s) |
Margaret Wale
(m. 1938; died 1989) |
||||||
| Children | 3, including Christopher Awdry | ||||||
|
|||||||
| Writing career | |||||||
| Genre | Children's literature | ||||||
| Years active | 1945–1972 | ||||||
| Notable works | The Railway Series | ||||||
Wilbert Vere Awdry (born June 15, 1911 – died March 21, 1997) was an English author. He was also a minister and loved railways. He is best known for creating Thomas the Tank Engine. Thomas and many other characters appeared in his famous The Railway Series books.
Contents
Wilbert Awdry's Life Story
Wilbert Awdry was born in Ampfield, England, on June 15, 1911. His father was a vicar, a type of church minister. Wilbert's family moved to Box in 1917.
Early Life and Railway Inspiration
Their home in Box was very close to the Box Tunnel. This tunnel was part of a busy railway line. Wilbert could hear the trains from his bed at night. He listened to the sounds of the engines working hard.
He imagined the trains were talking to each other. This idea gave him the inspiration for his stories. He thought of engines having their own personalities. This is how the idea for Edward helping Gordon came to be. He told this story to his son Christopher years later.
Education and Ministry
Wilbert Awdry went to school in Kent and Wiltshire. He then studied at Oxford University. He also studied theology at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford. From 1933 to 1936, he taught at St George's School in Jerusalem.
He became a minister in the Church of England. In 1938, he married Margaret Emily Wale. He worked as a minister in different places in England. He retired from full-time ministry in 1965.
Creating The Railway Series
The famous characters from The Railway Series were created in 1943. Wilbert Awdry made them up to entertain his son, Christopher. Christopher had measles and was feeling unwell.
How Thomas the Tank Engine Began
Awdry first wrote The Three Railway Engines. After that, he built Christopher a model of Edward. He used a broomstick and wood scraps. Christopher then wanted a model of Gordon.
However, during wartime, materials were hard to find. So, Awdry made a smaller engine instead. He said, "The natural name was Thomas – Thomas the Tank Engine." Stories about Thomas followed. The book Thomas the Tank Engine was published in 1946.
The Books and Their Impact
The first book, The Three Railway Engines, came out in 1945. Wilbert Awdry wrote 26 books in The Railway Series. He stopped writing them in 1972. His son Christopher later wrote more books for the series.
A real engine, No. 1800, was built in 1947. It worked at a sugar factory. This little blue engine is now at the Nene Valley Railway. It looks a lot like Thomas!
A Passion for Railways
Wilbert Awdry loved railways very much. In 1952, he volunteered as a guard on the Talyllyn Railway in Wales. This railway inspired him to create the Skarloey Railway in his books. Some of his real-life experiences were even put into the stories.
He also built model railways. He took them to shows around the country. He even had a large model railway in his attic. This model was based on the railway system in Barrow-in-Furness.
Awdry wrote other books too, not just The Railway Series. One story, Belinda the Beetle, was about a red car.
Later Years and Recognition
In 1988, one of his model railway layouts was shown to the public for the last time. He was also featured on TV for Thomas's 40th anniversary in 1990.
Wilbert Awdry received an OBE award in 1996. This award recognized his great contributions. He passed away peacefully on March 21, 1997, at the age of 85.
Memorials and Tributes
Many things have been named or dedicated in memory of Wilbert Awdry.
- A train, Class 91 locomotive 91 124, was named The Rev W Awdry.
- An engine on the Dean Forest Railway is named Wilbert after him.
- In 2003, a special stained glass window was put in St. Edmund's church in Emneth, Norfolk.
- Blue plaques mark houses where he lived in Emneth and Box.
- In 2013, new offices in Wisbech were named Awdry House.
- He has appeared as a CGI character in Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure (2015) and The Great Race (2016). He is called 'The Thin Clergyman' in the show.
- A pedestrian bridge was dedicated to him in 2017 in Chandlers Ford.
- In 2021, another blue plaque was unveiled at the old Rectory of Holy Trinity Church in Ellsworth.
A Special Letter to Christopher
In the second book of The Railway Series, Thomas the Tank Engine, Wilbert Awdry wrote a special letter to his son Christopher.
Here is what he wrote: "Dear Christopher, I hope you will like this book. You asked me to write some more about Thomas, and here he is. I hope you will like him as much as Edward, Gordon and Henry. Your Loving Daddy"
Later books also had similar letters from the author. These letters were addressed to "Dear Friends" (the readers). They helped introduce the stories in each book. This letter also appears at the beginning of Thomas and Friends TV episodes from 2004 to 2012.
See also
In Spanish: Wilbert Awdry para niños
