Scott Dobson (26 December 1918 – 22 January 1986) was an English art teacher, art critic and writer.
His works were influential in
North East England.
Life
He was born Edward Scott Dobson on 26 December 1918 in
Blyth, Northumberland
Blyth () is a town and civil parish in southeast Northumberland, England. It lies on the coast, to the south of the River Blyth and is approximately northeast of Newcastle upon Tyne. It has a population of about 37,000, as of 2011.
The port o ...
, the only child of a local government officer and a teacher. Very soon after his birth, the family moved to
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...
where Scott attended Rutherford School. He excelled in art and won junior competitions. He studied art at
King Edward VII College in Newcastle, at
Freckleton
Freckleton is a village and civil parish on the Fylde coast in Lancashire, England, to the south of Kirkham and east of the seaside resort of Lytham St. Annes. In 2001 the parish had a population of 6,045, reducing to 6,019 at the 2011 Census. ...
and at
Leeds College of Art
Leeds Arts University is a specialist arts further and higher education institution, based in the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, with a main campus opposite the University of Leeds.
History
It was founded in 1846 as the Leeds Scho ...
.
After joining the
Territorial Army, Dobson served in the army in France and India 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 opposi ...
. After being demobilised he trained as a teacher, teaching art at a number of schools including
Manchester Grammar School
The Manchester Grammar School (MGS) in Manchester, England, is the largest independent school (UK), independent day school for boys in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1515 as a Grammar school#free tuition, free grammar school next to Manchester C ...
and St Aloysius in Newcastle upon Tyne. His painting followed a number of different paths including abstract art. He was also involved with two art galleries in Newcastle in the 1960s - the Westgate Gallery and then the Side Gallery - the latter with the photographer Jim Perry, who died in March 2012.
In the 1960s and 1970s, after moving out of teaching, he published his first
Geordie dialect book, ''Larn Yersel Geordie'', which became the definitive work on the dialect. This was followed up by several more books in the series. They were definitely not "politically correct" but yet full of wit and humour.
His materials were also much used (together with songs from
Eric Boswell) on the BBC's ''Geordierama'', a radio programme and later an annual stage show as part of the Newcastle Festival, which presented songs and sketches mainly in dialect and featured
Mike Neville, George House and guests including
Bobby "The Little Waster" Thompson and Dick Irwin.
Dobson semi-retired to the
Maltese island of
Gozo, where he died on 22 January 1986 and is buried in the cemetery. His headstone is inscribed "Gan Canny".
Selected works
These include:
* ''Larn Yersel Geordie'' (1969)
* ''Hist'ry o' the Geordies'' (1970)
* ''Advanced Geordie Palaver'' (1970)
* ''Hadrian and the Geordie Waall''
* ''Stotty Cake Row'' (1971)
* ''Supergeordie'' (1971)
* ''Aald Geordie's Almanack'' (1972)
* ''Geordie at the Match'' (with Len Shackleton)
* ''A light hearted guide to Geordieland'' (Newcastle, 1973)
* ''New Geordie Dictionary (Newcastle, 1974)
* ''The Geordie Joke Book'' (with Dick Irwin) (1970)
* ''The Blackpool Book'' (Newcastle, 1971)
See also
*
Geordie dialect words
Geordie () is a nickname for a person from the Tyneside area of North East England, and the dialect used by its inhabitants, also known in linguistics as Tyneside English or Newcastle English. There are different definitions of what constitut ...
References
External links
Wor Geordie songwriters
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dobson, Scott
20th-century English writers
English male comedians
People from Newcastle upon Tyne (district)
1918 births
1986 deaths
Geordie songwriters
20th-century English musicians
20th-century English comedians
Comedians from Tyne and Wear