Thomas the Tank Engine is 55 years old this year. He originated in England in 1945 when The Reverend W. Awdry wrote the first book in the Railway Series. Since then a generation of children have grown to love the cheeky engine and friends on the Island of Sodor.
The Reverend Wilbert Awdry, who passed away in 1997, was a retired Anglican clergyman. His father, Vere was also a clergyman and had the same passionate interest in railways. As a little boy in his father's vicarage in Box, Wiltshire, Wilbert would be in bed at night and listen to the trains of the Great Western Railway running along the main line from Paddington to Bristol within 200 yards of the house. He would imagine all the engines talking to one another and invented characters for them all.
He first made up stories about Thomas and his friends in 1943 to keep his son Christopher amused when he was ill with the measles. Mr. Edmund Ward, a businessman who wanted some diversion for his retirement eventually published the books, but they were so successful that Mr. Ward had to come out of retirement to cope with the demand.
When, after 26 books, The Rev. W. Awdry decided he could write no more, his son Christopher for whom the stories were first created, took up the series. Christopher began writing the books when his own son Richard was three - the same age as Christopher himself when his father started the Railway Series. It is through Christopher's efforts that there are now an additional 40 stories in an increasingly popular series.
Thomas the Tank Engine is one of the top children's favorite characters of all time. The timeless charm of the Awdrys' works have sold 25million units in the US and world wide book sales are approaching 80 million units.
Thomas the Tank Engine is © by Britt Allcroft (Thomas) Limited. All rights reserved.
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