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James Alfred Wight OBE FRCVS (3 October 1916 – 23 February 1995), better known by his pen name James Herriot, was an English veterinary surgeon and author.. Born in Sunderland, Wight graduated from Glasgow Veterinary College in 1939, returning to England to become a veterinary surgeon in Yorkshire, where he practised for almost 50 years.
Marjorie Warner is the Real Mrs. Pumphrey. According to Jim Wight’s biography of his father, this character of a rich older woman was based on a Mrs. Marjorie Warner of Sowerby, a local ...
- Masterpiece
- Masterpiece
- He Started Writing at Age 50. Wight’s early ambitions to author a book were sidelined by the long hours demanded of a rural vet. He finally began a manuscript in 1965 after some persuading by his wife.
- Legions of Fans Called at His Veterinary Practice. By the late 1970s, James Herriot was becoming a household name, his books each selling more than a million copies.
- Queen Elizabeth was an Admirer. With literary fame came an invitation for Alf Wight to join Her Majesty for lunch. “Over a private [meal] at Buckingham Palace, she told [him] his were ‘the only books that have made me repeatedly laugh out loud,’” the author’s children tell the Daily Mail (UK).
- He Struggled with Depression. For a man who delivered such uplifting stories, it’s a surprise to learn from his son, Jim Wight, that the vet and author suffered from depression at times, and especially after the 1960 death of his father.
Childhood & Early Life. James Herriot was born on 3 October 1916, in Sunderland, England, as James Alfred Wight. His father, James Henry Wight, was by profession a ship plater. In addition, he was also a good pianist who played background music for silent films in Sunderland. His mother, Hannah Bell Wight, was a singer and a dressmaker.
Sep 26, 2024 · Helen Alderson, later Herriot, is based on James Alfred Wight's real wife, Joan Danbury. Unlike her TV counterpart Helen, who is a farmer's daughter, Joan worked as a secretary in a Thirsk corn mill.
Feb 19, 2021 · By Jennifer Vineyard. Feb. 19, 2021. Beginning at the age of 50, the beloved veterinarian James Alfred Wight led a double life. By day, he tended to animals in and around the English village where ...
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Jan 10, 2021 · The published stories share numerous autobiographical elements from Alf Wight’s life as a country vet: Wight lived and worked with Donald and Brian Sinclair in Skeldale House; there really was a ...
