Clarence Reginald Dalby (1904–1983), born in

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

, England, was the third illustrator of ''

The Railway Series ''The Railway Series'' is a series of British books about a railway known as the North Western Railway, located on the fictional Island of Sodor. There are 42 books in the series, the first published in May 1945 by the Rev. Wilbert Awdry. Twen ...

'' by

W.V. Awdry Wilbert Vere Awdry (15 June 1911 – 21 March 1997) was an English Anglican Minister (Christianity), minister, railfan, railway enthusiast, and children's author. He was best known for creating Thomas the Tank Engine. Thomas and several other ...

and a

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

intelligence officer during the Second World War.

History

Dalby was born in Leicester in 1904. He disliked his first forename, Clarence, and never personally used it. In 1917, Dalby won a scholarship to

Leicester College of Art De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) is a public university in the city of Leicester, England. It was established in accordance with the Further and Higher Education Act in 1992 as a degree awarding body. The name De Montfort University was tak ...

and began his career as a freelance artist for various commercial firms. On 14 October 1943, during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Dalby received an emergency commission in the

Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve The Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR) was established in 1936 to support the preparedness of the U.K. Royal Air Force in the event of another war. The Air Ministry intended it to form a supplement to the Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAuxAF ...

, as an

acting pilot officer Acting pilot officer (A/Plt Off) is the lowest commissioned grade in the Royal Air Force. Acting pilot officer is not an actual military rank, therefore acting pilot officers are regraded to pilot officer instead of receiving a promotion. Unl ...

(probationary) in the Administrative Branch. Regraded to

pilot officer Pilot officer (Plt Off officially in the RAF; in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly P/O in all services, and still often used in the RAF) is the lowest commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countri ...

(probationary), on 9 December 1943, Dalby served as an intelligence officer in

MI9 MI9, the British Directorate of Military Intelligence Section 9, was a highly secret department of the War Office between 1939 and 1945. During World War II it had two principal tasks: (1) assisting in the escape of Allied prisoners of war (P ...

, his duties primarily concerned with developing "escape and evasion" tactics. He was confirmed in his rank on 9 June 1944 and simultaneously promoted to flying officer (war-substantive). A temporary

flight lieutenant Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in air forces that use the Royal Air Force (RAF) system of ranks, especially in Commonwealth countries. It has a NATO rank code of OF-2. Flight lieutenant is abbreviated as Flt Lt in the India ...

at the end of the war, Dalby was offered a position on Lord Mountbatten's staff in

South-East Asia Command South East Asia Command (SEAC) was the body set up to be in overall charge of Allied operations in the South-East Asian Theatre during the Second World War. History Organisation The initial supreme commander of the theatre was General Sir A ...

; he turned down the offer as he wanted to return to his artistic career. He relinquished his volunteer commission on 10 February 1954, retaining his rank of flight lieutenant. As it was difficult to find employment as a freelance artist in post-war England, Dalby briefly worked at a blood transfusion institute in Sheffield. In 1948, he was approached by Edmund Ward, who had recently accepted the Revd. W. Awdry's stories for publication. Dalby illustrated ''The Railway Series'' books from the original title, ''The Three Railway Engines'' (which he re-illustrated, replacing the original art work by William Middleton), up until ''

Percy the Small Engine This article is about the characters that have appeared in the books of ''The Railway Series'' by the Rev. Wilbert Awdry and Christopher Awdry. Unless otherwise stated on this page, the technical notes come from actual notes laid out by Wilbert ...

''.

Although Dalby's illustrations didn't entirely satisfy the author, and errors in detail caused all kinds of problems, his pictures—with their bold lines, lively energy and bright, gem-like colours—quickly caught the imagination of young readers and he undoubtedly set the style for the series.

(Brian Sibley, ''Thomas the Tank Engine: The Complete Collection'') In the end, the fractious relationship between Dalby and Awdry resulted in Dalby's resignation as illustrator of the series in 1956, following an argument over the portrayal of

in the book of the same name. Awdry had written to Dalby, "I beg, pray and exhort you not to make Percy look like a green caterpillar with red stripes!" He was replaced by John T. Kenney as illustrator. Dalby, a Leicester man, was also the creator of the original trademark

polar bear The polar bear (''Ursus maritimus'') is a hypercarnivorous bear whose native range lies largely within the Arctic Circle, encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the largest extant bear specie ...

Fox's Glacier Mints Fox's Glacier Mints are a brand of boiled mint sold in the UK since 1918. History Background Walter Richard Fox, the founder of Fox's Confectionery, originally manufactured sweets as part of the Joyce and Fox partnership, but this was dissolved ...

. Fox's was a firm based in Leicester, which was also home to the ''Railway Series'' publishers Edmund Ward. Dalby died in 1983, aged 79, following a short illness.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dalby, Clarence Reginald The Railway Series illustrators 1904 births 1983 deaths Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II Royal Air Force officers