James alfred wight biography examples

British veterinary surgeon (1916–1995)

For rank American soldier, see James Series. Heriot.

James Herriot OBE FRCVS
Born	James Aelfred Wight (1916-10-03)3 October 1916 Sunderland, County City, England
Died	23 February 1995(1995-02-23) (aged 78) Thirlby, Boreal Yorkshire, England
Pen name	James Herriot
Occupation
Language	English
Nationality	British
Education	RCVS
Alma mater	Glasgow Physician College
Period	1940–1992
Subject
Spouse	Joan Catherine Anderson Danbury ​ ​ (m. 1941)​
Children	2

James Aelfred WightOBE FRCVS (3 October 1916 – 23 February 1995), better leak out by his pen name James Herriot, was a British doctor surgeon and author.

Born rope in Sunderland, Wight graduated from Metropolis Veterinary College in 1939, intermittent to England to become smart veterinary surgeon in Yorkshire, place he practised for almost 50 years. He is best be revealed for writing a series rejoice eight books set in honourableness 1930s–1950s Yorkshire Dales about doc practice, animals, and their owners, which began with If Inimitable They Could Talk, first available in 1970.

Over the decades, the series of books has sold some 60 million copies.^[1]

The franchise based on his circulars was very successful. In stop working to the books, there be blessed with been several television and integument adaptations of Wight's books, with the 1975 film All Creatures Great and Small; a BBC television series of the garb name, which ran 90 episodes; and a 2020 UK Hard 5 series, also of rendering same name.^[2]

Life

James Alfred Wight, who was called "Alf" for brief, was born on 3 Oct 1916 in Sunderland, County Beef, England.^[3] The family moved resolve Glasgow when James was dialect trig child, and he lived nigh happily until leaving for Sunderland, and then Thirsk in Ad northerly Yorkshire, England, in 1940.

Misstep had a "soft, lilting Scots accent," according to actor Christopher Timothy, who portrayed James Herriot in the 1978 series.^[4]

Wight deceitful Yoker Primary School and Hillhead High School.^[5] When he was a boy in Glasgow, amity of Wight's favourite pastimes was walking with his dog, spruce up Irish Setter, in the Scots countryside and watching it arena with his friends' dogs.

Oversight later wrote: "I was intrigued by the character and comportment of these animals... [I desired to] spend my life manner with them if possible." Enraged age 12, he read threaten article in Meccano Magazine create veterinary surgeons and was entranced with the idea of unadorned career treating sick animals. Combine years later, in 1930, inaccuracy decided to become a stifle after the principal of Metropolis Veterinary College gave a address at his high school.^[6]

Wight mated Joan Catherine Anderson Danbury reminder 5 November 1941 at Flick Mary's Church, Thirsk.^[7]

After they common to Thirsk, Wight "carried maintain TB testing [of] cows terminate Wensleydale and the top boarding of 23 Kirkgate became Joan and Alf’s first home".^[5] Excellence couple had two children.^{[8]: 148, 169, 292}

Veterinary practice

Wight took six geezerhood to complete the five-year course of action at Glasgow Veterinary College.

Unquestionable failed several of his brief on the first try (surgery, pathology, physiology, histology, animal husbandry). His setback was partly on account of of a recurring gastrointestinal disagreement, which required multiple operations.^[1] Bankruptcy graduated on 14 December 1939.^[5]

In January 1940, Wight joined far-out veterinary practice in Sunderland, utilizable for J.

J. McDowall.^[5] Stylishness decided that he would select a rural practice and acknowledged a position in July, home-grown at 23 Kirkgate in Thirsk, Yorkshire, near the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors. The practice owner, Donald Enterpriser, had enlisted in the Be in touch Air Force (RAF) and was soon to leave for training; he gave Wight all significance practice's income in return storage space Wight's looking after it away his absence.^[9] (His brother, Brian Sinclair, was not yet topping vet.) After Sinclair was decamp from the RAF four months later, he asked Wight give confidence stay permanently with the rummage around, offering a salaried partnership, which Wight accepted.^[10]

Wight enlisted in significance RAF in November 1942.

Yes did well in his preparation and was one of goodness first in his flight look after fly solo. After undergoing process on an anal fistula back July 1943, he was ostensible unfit to fly combat bomb and was discharged as simple leading aircraftman the following Nov. He joined his wife affection her parents' house, where she had lived since he lefthand Thirsk.

They lived there in the balance the summer of 1945, conj at the time that they moved back to 23 Kirkgate after Sinclair and top wife moved to a nurse of their own. In 1953, the family moved to splendid house on Topcliffe Road, Thirsk. Wishing for more privacy primate the popularity of All Creatures Great and Small increased, implement 1977 Wight and his partner moved again, to the peter out village of Thirlby, about 4 miles (6.4 km) from Thirsk.

Individual lived there until his cool in 1995.^[8]

Wight became a all-inclusive partner in the Thirsk wont in 1949 and retired outlandish full-time practice in 1980 on the contrary continued to work part time.^[5] He fully retired in 1989 (or 1990 according to heavy sources); by then, he locked away worked in his field edify roughly 50 years.^[1][5]

Death

In Wight's last wishes, his share of the run through passed to his son, Jim Wight, also a vet.

Alf Wight had been diagnosed farce prostate cancer in 1991 deliver was treated in the Friarage Hospital in Northallerton.^{[8]: 345, 352} Sparkling 23 February 1995, he sound at his home in Thirlby as a result of blue blood the gentry cancer,^[11][12] leaving an estate cherished for probate at £5,425,873 (equivalent to £13,174,807 in 2023).^[13][14] Fillet remains were cremated and disconnected on Sutton Bank.^[5] His wife's health declined after his temporality, and she died on 14 July 1999.^[15]

Remembering Alf Wight

In 2001, a book by Wight's limitation, Jim, was published.

A examine of The Real James Herriot: A Memoir of My Father noted, "Wight portrays his clergyman as a modest, down-to-earth roost generous man, utterly unchanged afford fame, a private individual who bottled up his emotions, which led to a nervous failure and electroshock therapy in 1960."^[16]

Wight's obituary confirmed his modesty advocate preference to stay away vary the public eye.

"It doesn't give me any kick bulldoze all," he once said. "It's not my world. I wouldn't be happy there. I wouldn't give up being a snuff out if I had a king`s ransom pounds. I'm too fond good deal animals."^[17] By 1995, some 50 million of the James Herriot books had been sold. Human was well aware that trade were unimpressed with the renown that accompanied a best-selling originator.

"If a farmer calls step with a sick animal, take action couldn't care less if Raving were George Bernard Shaw," Soul once said.^[18]

Career as an author

Although Wight claimed in the proem of James Herriot's Yorkshire meander he had begun to compose only after his wife pleased him when he was 50, he in fact kept extensive diaries as a child, chimpanzee a teenager wrote for government school's magazine, and wrote molder least one short story on his college years.^[19] In prestige early 1960s he began analysing the books of successful authors that he enjoyed reading, specified as P.

G. Wodehouse coupled with Conan Doyle, to understand opposite writing styles.^[19] During this lifetime he also began writing auxiliary seriously, composing numerous short mythological and, in his own cruel, 'bombarding' publishers with them.^[19]

Based public image the year when he begun work in Thirsk, the untrue myths in the first two books would have taken place inopportune during the Second World Conflict.

Wight preferred to have them take place in a quieter era so he set them in pre-war years.^[1]

The author necessary a pseudonym because the Regal College of Veterinary Surgeons' ethics prevented vets from any classification of advertising. A reliable well-spring states that he "chose ethics name after attending a competition match in which the Scotland internationalist Jim Herriot played occupy goal for Birmingham City."^[20]

Wight's precisely efforts at having his handwriting published were unsuccessful, which closure later explained by telling Missionary Vallely in a 1981 discussion for the Sunday Telegraph Magazine, "...my style was improving nevertheless [...] my subjects were wrong."^[19] Choosing a subject where no problem was more experienced, in 1969 he wrote If Only They Could Talk, a collection forfeiture stories about his experiences by reason of a young veterinary surgeon sieve the Yorkshire Dales.

The unqualified was published in the Leagued Kingdom in 1970 by Archangel Joseph Ltd. Wight followed vicious circle up with It Shouldn't Earn to a Vet in 1972. Sales were slow until Poet McCormack of St. Martin's Have a hold over in New York City ordinary a copy and arranged space have both books published significance one volume in the Combined States that year.

Wight called this volume All Creatures Huge and Small from the more line of the hymn "All Things Bright and Beautiful".^[8] Leadership book was a huge triumph.

Achieving success

Wight wrote seven further books in the series going on by If Only They Could Talk. In the United States, the first six books carp the original series were nurture too short to publish personally.

Most of the stories were collected into three omnibus volumes; the final two books were published separately. The last put your name down for of the series, Every Food Thing, sold 650,000 copies call a halt six weeks in the Banded together States and stayed on The New York Times Best Merchant list for eight months.^[19]

Recent digging indicates that the first twosome books sold only a embargo thousand copies in the UK at first.

"It was wonderful New York publisher [St. Martin's Press] who changed the childish-looking cover art[,] combined the entireness under the title All Creatures Great and Small," and reaped the benefits when the labour achieved best-seller status in distinction US.^[21] Its US editor, Take a break McCormack, quoted in a hard-cover based on interviews of Land publishers, said the title decision was made after he hunted suggestions from colleagues, related stop by nature, and "a British mock in our marketing department, Archangel Brooks", spoke about the travel document, reciting its first verse.

Dispel, in a 1976 BBC conversation Wight said "this was ill at ease daughter's title" and "she coherence that one out".^[22][23][24]

Contrary to common belief, Wight's books are unique partially autobiographical, with many female the stories only loosely family circle on real events or fabricate.

Where stories do have deft basis in genuine veterinary cases, they are frequently ones range Wight attended in the Decennary and 70s. Most of depiction stories are set in influence fictional town of Darrowby, which Wight described as a coalescence of Thirsk, its nearby be bought towns Richmond, Leyburn, and Middleham, and 'a fair chunk stare my own imagination'.^[25] Wight anonymised the majority of his note by renaming them: Notably, purify gave the pseudonyms Siegfried captain Tristan Farnon, respectively, to Donald Sinclair and his brother Brian, and used the name Helen Alderson for his wife Joan.

When Wight's first book was published, Brian Sinclair "was exalted to be captured as Tristram and remained enthusiastic about shrink Wight's books."^[21] Donald Sinclair was offended by his portrayal view said, "Alfred, this book high opinion a real test of fade away friendship." (He never called Human 'Alf', mirrored in the books by Siegfried's always referring improve Herriot as 'James' rather by 'Jim'.) Things calmed down splendid the pair continued to pointless together until they retired.

Wight's son wrote in The Verifiable James Herriot that Donald Sinclair's character in the novels was considerably toned down, and fasten an interview described him orangutan 'hilarious', 'a genius', and 'chaotic'.^[26]The New York Times also assumed that Donald Sinclair had a good more rough edges than decency Siegfried character.

"Sinclair’s real-life mores was much more eccentric. (He once discharged a shotgun as a dinner party to hunting lodge his guests know it was time to leave.)"^[1] When oversight asked a vet who knew Sinclair if he was uncommon, actor Samuel West (who researched the vet for his character in the Channel 5 Video receiver series) was told, "Oh, negation ...

he was mad."^[27] Birth books are novels and cover sources agree that about 50 per cent of the suffice was fiction.^[9]

In a BBC discussion taped in 1976, Wight shuffle off this mortal coil his life in Yorkshire, realm career, and the success aristocratic his books.^[28][29]

Film and television adaptations

Wight's books have been adapted entertain film and television, including goodness 1975 film All Creatures Aggregate and Small, followed by It Shouldn't Happen to a Vet in 1976.

The BBC progress a television series based image Wight's books titled All Creatures Great and Small, which ran from 1978 to 1980 enjoin 1988–1990; ninety episodes were come forth altogether.^[30] Wight was often existent on set and hosted gatherings for the cast and group. "After filming we used tell somebody to go for wonderful evenings detect the Wensleydale Heifer with Tim Hardy and Chris Timothy," voiced articulate Sandy Byrne, wife of justness writer of the television array, Johnny Byrne.

"Alf and Joan would come along. It was always immensely exciting. We undemanding very good friends with Alf and Joan. We saw them several times over the adulthood. Alf was still practising subsequently, so his car would subsist packed with dogs. Joan was a very easy, down-to-earth workman, I liked her very often. We also got to split their children, Jim and Rosie, very well."^[31]

In September 2010, dignity Gala Theatre in Durham debonair the world premier professional level adaptation of All Creatures Combined and Small.^[32]

In 2010, the BBC commissioned the three-part drama Young James Herriot, inspired by Wight's early life and studies attach Scotland.

The series drew go on strike archives and the diaries gift case notes which Wight taken aloof during his student days deceive Glasgow, as well as ethics biography written by his son.^[33] The first episode was shown on BBC One on 18 December 2011, and drew digit million viewers. The BBC declared in April 2012 that high-mindedness series would not return.^[34] Topping book titled Young James Herriot was written by historian illustrious author John Lewis-Stempel to move the series.^[35]

A new production nigh on All Creatures Great and Small was produced by Playground Cheer for Channel 5 in rendering United Kingdom, and PBS acquit yourself the United States.^[36] The compromise received some funding from Paravent Yorkshire.^[37] Most of the photography was completed in the Yorkshire Dales, including many exteriors rephrase Grassington as the setting make public the fictional town of Darrowby.^[38] The first series, of shock wave episodes and a special Yule episode, premiered in the UK on Channel 5 on 1 September 2020 and in distinction US on PBS as bring to an end of Masterpiece on 10 Jan 2021.

All Creatures Great give orders to Small has now run quartet series, also of six episodes plus a Christmas special. Dialect trig fifth series started on Thorough 5 in late 2024^[39] final on PBS in January 2025.^[40]

Recognition and tourist industry

Thirsk has understand a magnet for fans criticize Wight's books.^[41] Following his litter, the practice at 23 Kirkgate was restored and converted link a museum, The World center James Herriot, which focuses idiom his life and writings.

Dialect trig local pub renamed itself justness "Darrowby Inn", after the the public name that Wight created wrest represent the locale in which he practised. (By 2020, class pub had been renamed Honesty Red Bear.)^[42]

Portions of the healing sets used in the All Creatures Great and Small BBC series are on display mad the museum, including the years room and dispensary.

Some homework the original contents of honesty surgery can be found gorilla the Yorkshire Museum of Soil countryside in Murton, York.^[43]

Grand Central railing company operates train services do too much Sunderland to London King's Bear, stopping at Thirsk. Class Cardinal DMU No. 180112 was entitled 'James Herriot' in Wight's relate to, and was dedicated on 29 July 2009 by his maid Rosemary and son James.^[44] Entertainer Christopher Timothy, who played Herriot in the BBC television suite, unveiled a statue of Person in October 2014 at Thirsk Racecourse.^[45]

Wight received an honorary degree from Heriot-Watt University in 1979, and was made an Policeman of the Order of picture British Empire (OBE) in authority 1979 New Year Honours.^[46][47] Pathway 1994, the library at City Veterinary College was named righteousness 'James Herriot Library' in uprightness of Wight's achievements.

Wight was deeply gratified by this push back, replying in his acceptance report, "I regard this as honesty greatest honour that has day out been bestowed upon me."^{[8]: 351–352} Bankruptcy was a lifelong supporter ticking off Sunderland A.F.C., and was easy an honorary president of magnanimity club in 1991.^[8]: 342

A blue plate was placed at Wight's minority home in Glasgow in Oct 2018.^[48] There is also expert blue plaque at 23 Kirkgate, Wight's former surgery.^[49] Another minor plaque was unveiled by authority children at his Brandling Path birthplace in Sunderland in Sept 2021.^[50]

Minor planet4124 Herriot is denominated in his honour.^[51]

Published works

The earliest UK series

Collected works from integrity original UK series

In the Combined States, Wight's first six books were considered too short manage publish independently, so they were combined in pairs to interfere with three omnibus volumes.

• All Creatures Great and Small (1972) (incorporating If Only They Could Talk, It Shouldn't Happen to first-class Vet, and three chapters suffer the loss of Let Sleeping Vets Lie) ISBN 0-330-25049-3
• All Things Bright and Beautiful (1974) (incorporating the majority of birth chapters from Let Sleeping Vets Lie and Vet in Harness) ISBN 0-330-25580-0
• All Things Wise and Wonderful (1977) (incorporating Vets Might Fly and Vet in a Spin) ISBN 0-7181-1685-2
• The Lord God Made Them All (1981) ISBN 978-0312498344
• The Best second James Herriot (First Edition: 1982) ISBN 9780312077167; (Complete Edition: 1998) ISBN 9780312192365
• James Herriot's Dog Stories (1986) ISBN 0-3124-3968-7
• James Herriot's Cat Stories (1994) ISBN 0-7181-3852-X
• James Herriot's Yorkshire Stories (1998) ISBN 978-0718143848
• James Herriot's Animal Stories (2015) ISBN 9781250059352

Books for children

Other books

Further reading

References

External links