John Arthur Cunliffe (16 June 1933 – 20 September 2018) was an English children's book author and television presenter who created the characters of ''

Postman Pat ''Postman Pat'' is a British stop-motion animated television series first produced by Woodland Animations. The series follows the adventures of Pat Clifton, a postman who works for Royal Mail postal service in the fictional village of Greendal ...

'' and ''

Rosie and Jim ''Rosie and Jim'' (sometimes written as ''Rosie & Jim'') is a British children's television programme which was produced by Ragdoll Productions and aired on ITV from 3 September 1990 to 16 May 2000. The programme was then repeated periodicall ...

''.

Biography

Cunliffe was born in

Colne Colne () is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Pendle in Lancashire, England. Located northeast of Nelson, north-east of Burnley, east of Preston and west of Leeds. The town should not be confused with the unrelated Colne Val ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, the only child of Nelly and Arthur Cunliffe. His father left the family when John was a baby. His great-uncle Herbert introduced him to the literary works of

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

and

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

, and let him use the microscope he kept in his front room. Cunliffe was very tall for his age, and bullied at school because of this. He attended Colne Grammar School, and later lived in

Kendal Kendal, once Kirkby in Kendal or Kirkby Kendal, is a market town and civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England, south-east of Windermere and north of Lancaster. Historically in Westmorland, it lies within the dale of th ...

Westmorland Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland'';R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref> is a historic county in North West England spanning the southern Lake District and the northern Dales. It had an ...

, where the area's small towns and villages provided inspiration for his most famous character, Postman Pat. 'Greendale', where Cunliffe's character and series are set, are based on the valley of

Longsleddale Longsleddale () is a valley and civil parish in the South Lakeland district of the English county of Cumbria. It includes the hamlet of Sadgill. The parish has a population of 73. As the population taken at the 2011 Census was less than 100, deta ...

, near

. Cunliffe worked for many years as a librarian, and also as a teacher at Castle Park Primary School. Cunliffe was commissioned by the BBC to write ''Postman Pat'', which was produced by

Ivor Wood Ivor Sydney Wood (4 May 1932 – 13 October 2004) was a prolific Anglo-French' animator, director, producer and writer. He was known for his work on children's television series. Born in Leeds to an English father and a French mother, his famil ...

and first aired in 1981. He created Pat and Greendale as an idyllic village where everyone was nice to each other, in contrast to the bullying he suffered while growing up. Following the success of ''Postman Pat'', Cunliffe became something of a local celebrity, and had a room dedicated to him at Kendal's

Museum of Lakeland Life The Museum of Lakeland Life & Industry, formerly the Museum of Lakeland Life and sometimes abbreviated to MOLLI, is a local museum in Kendal, Cumbria, northwest England.

. In the 1990s, Cunliffe's other well-known creation, ''

'', was also written for television. He scripted and presented the first 50 episodes, then turned some of them into books. He intended to create a series closer to what he wanted overall, after being disappointed by some of the merchandising and tie-in books for ''

'', over which he had little control. His role as presenter was taken over by

Pat Hutchins Patricia Evelyn Hutchins (18 June 1942 – 8 November 2017) was an English illustrator, writer of children's books, Actor and broadcaster. She won the 1974 Kate Greenaway Medal from the Library Association for her book ''The Wind Blew''. On sc ...

in 1995, and later by

Neil Brewer Neil Brewer (born July 15, 1954) is a British musician, who is best known for being a member of the 1970s rock band Druid and for presenting the last four series of ''Rosie and Jim''. Brewer played the role of a musical narrowboat owner, who wh ...

in 1997. In 2010, he released ''Ghosts'', a children's story for the

iPad The iPad is a brand of iOS and iPadOS-based tablet computers that are developed by Apple Inc. The iPad was conceived before the related iPhone but the iPhone was developed and released first. Speculation about the development, operating s ...

. He was patron of the

Ilkley Literature Festival The Ilkley Literature Festival is a literature festival held annually in Ilkley, Yorkshire. Inaugurated in 1973 by the poet W. H. Auden and until 1988 held every two years, the festival is the oldest and largest of its type in the north of Engl ...

. Cunliffe died of cardiopulmanory failure on 20 September 2018, at the age of 85. His death was first announced in the local newspaper, the ''

Ilkley Gazette The ''Gazette & Observer'', in full the ''Ilkley, Wharfedale and Aireborough Gazette & Observer'', was a weekly newspaper published by Wharfedale Newspapers of Ilkley, West Yorkshire, England, and part of the Newsquest group. It began publicat ...

'', which said he "left his Ilkley home in a deluge of rain ..never to return".

VHS videos and DVDs

*''My Favourite Nursery Rhymes''

References

External links

John Cunliffe
at the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cunliffe, John 1933 births 2018 deaths English children's writers People from Colne People from Kendal