Wilbert Vere Awdry
Wilbert Vere Awdry (1911-1997) was an English clergyman and author best known for creating the beloved children's book series, the Railway Series, which introduces readers to the fictional island of Sodor and its anthropomorphic steam and diesel engines. Awdry's early life was influenced by his family's proximity to the Great Western Railway, leading to a lifelong passion for trains. He pursued education at Dauntsey's School and later at Oxford University, where he trained for ordination in the Church of England.
Awdry began writing stories about trains to entertain his son Christopher during a bout of illness in 1942. His first book, The Three Railway Engines, was published in 1945 and quickly became a bestseller, paving the way for a total of 26 books in the series. The Railway Series not only captivated young readers but also inspired the popular television adaptation, Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends, which premiered in 1984. Throughout his life, Awdry was also involved in railway preservation and authored a guide on steam railways in Britain. His contributions to literature and culture were recognized when he became a member of the Order of the British Empire in 1996. Awdry's legacy endures through the extensive sales of his books and the enduring popularity of the characters he created.
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Wilbert Vere Awdry
Writer
- Born: June 15, 1911
- Birthplace: Ampfield, England
- Died: March 21, 1997
- Place of death: Stroud, Gloucestershire, England
Biography
Reverend Wilbert Vere Awdry was born on June 15, 1911, in Romney, Hampshire, England, the son of Reverend Vere Awdry, vicar of Ampfield, and Mary Louisa Awdry. The family’s home was near the Great Western Railway in southwestern England, and young Awdry would lie in bed at night and listen to the trains. Many of his father’s parishioners worked for the railway, and his father, who was interested in trains, built Awdry a model railroad.
Awdry attended Dauntsey’s School in Wiltshire before entering St. Peter’s College of Oxford University, where he earned his undergraduate degree, and Wycliffe Hall at Oxford for his ordination. He taught at St. George’s School in Jerusalem, in what was then Palestine, before he was ordained in the Church of England in 1936. He met his future wife, Mary Ware, in Palestine, and they married in 1938; the couple had two daughters and a son. Awdry became the priest of a parish in King’s Norton, Birmingham, in 1940.
In 1942, his son, Christopher, was ill with the measles, and Awdry created stories to amuse him. Awdry eventually wrote these stories down, and his wife encouraged him to send them to a publisher. After some rejections, Edmund Ward, the retired director of a boot making company, bought the stories for a small publishing house in which he had an interest. The Three Railway Engines, published in 1945, was an immediate best- seller and the first book in what later became known as the Railway Series. Awdry wrote twenty-five more books before retiring from writing in 1972; Christopher continued his father’s series, writing an additional fourteen books.
The Railway Series is the story of a railway system located on the imaginary island of Sodor. The name comes from a bishop Awdry once met whose full title was “Bishop of Sodor and Man.” The main characters in the books are living, talking steam or diesel engines. The engines were based on real train cars and the stories on events in British railway history, such as the engine that fell down a deep hole in 1892. More than fifty million copies of the books have been sold. A television series based on the books, Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends, premiered in 1984 and inspired a line of toys and other merchandise.
Awdry was also active in railway preservation, exhibited his model railroads throughout England, and edited A Guide to the Steam Railways of Great Britain with Chris Cook. In 1996 he became a member of the Order of the British Empire. He retired from the clergy in 1965 after having served as the rector of Elsworth in Cambridgeshire, and the vicar of Emneth in Norfolk. Upon retirement, he moved to Stroud, Gloustershire, where he died on March 21, 1997.