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The images on
this page not only give a taste of Britain since 1948, they also
reflect a Yorkshire home, as they show Skeldale House, home of James
Herriot (Alf Wight) famous for the vet books. Can you find Mrs
Pumphrey holding her dog Trikki Woo? What type of dog is it? What do
you think of the old car? It is a pre-war car and is an Austin 7,
made in England. Plastic hadn't been invented and the telephone is
made from Bakelite. Antibiotics were just becoming used in
veterinary practice.
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James Herriot is the pen name of James Alfred Wight, OBE, also
known as Alf Wight (3 October 1916 – 23 February 1995), a British
veterinary surgeon and writer. Wight is best known for his
semi-autobiographical stories, often referred to collectively as All
Creatures Great and Small, a title used in some editions and in film
and television adaptations.
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Darrowby 385 |
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James Alfred Wight was born on 3 October 1916 in Sunderland, County
Durham, to James (1890-1960) and Hannah (1890-1980) Wight. Shortly
after their wedding, the Wights moved from Blandford Street,
Sunderland to Glasgow in Scotland, where James took work as a
pianist at a local cinema, and Hannah was a singer. For Alf's birth,
his mother returned to Sunderland, bringing him back to Glasgow when
he was three weeks old. He attended Yoker Primary School and
Hillhead High School.
In 1939, at the age of twenty-three, he qualified as a veterinary
surgeon from Glasgow Veterinary College. In January 1940 he took a
brief job at a veterinary practice in Sunderland, but moved in July
to work in a rural practice based in the town of Thirsk, Yorkshire,
close to the Yorkshire Dales and North York Moors, where he was to
remain for the rest of his life. On 5 November 1941, he married Joan
Catherine Anderson Danbury. The couple had two children, James
Alexander (Jim), born 1943, who also became a vet and was a partner
in the practice, and Rosemary (Rosie), born 1947, who became a
medical doctor.
From 1942, Wight served in the Royal Air Force. His wife moved to
her parents' house during this time, and upon being discharged from
the RAF as a Leading Aircraftman, Wight joined her. They lived here
until 1946, at which point they moved back to 23 Kirkgate, staying
until 1953. Later, he moved with his wife to a house on Topcliffe
Road, Thirsk, opposite the secondary school. The original practice
is now a museum, "The World of James Herriot", while the Topcliffe
Road house is now in private ownership and not open to the public.
He later moved with his family to the village of Thirlby, about 4
miles from Thirsk, where he lived until his death.
Wight intended for years to write a book, but with most of his time
consumed by veterinary practice and family, his writing ambition
went nowhere. Challenged by his wife, in 1966 (at the age of 50), he
began writing. After several rejected stories on other subjects like
football, he turned to what he knew best. If Only They Could Talk
was published in the United Kingdom in 1969, but sales were slow
until Thomas McCormack, of St. Martin's Press in New York City,
received a copy and arranged to have the first two books published
as a single volume in the United States. The resulting book, titled
All Creatures Great and Small, was an overnight success, spawning
six sequels (published as four outside the UK), movies, and a
successful television adaptation.*information from Wikipedia the
free encylopedia |
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