Toby Churchill

DEng Deng may refer to: * Deng (company), is a Danish engineering, electrical, solar power and sales company in Accra, Ghana * Deng (state), an ancient Chinese state * Deng (Chinese surname), originated from the state ** Deng Xiaoping, paramount leader ...

FRSA The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), also known as the Royal Society of Arts, is a London-based organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. The RSA acronym is used m ...

(born 29 June 1947) is a disabled British entrepreneur. He founded a company manufacturing

communication aids Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) encompasses the communication methods used to supplement or replace speech or writing for those with impairments in the production or comprehension of spoken or written language. AAC is used by t ...

for people who cannot speak.

Biography

He is the eldest son of

Oliver Churchill William Oliver Churchill, (1914–1997) was a Special Operations Executive (SOE) officer during the Second World War. Shortly after the Italians had switched allegiance to the Allies in September 1943, he was parachuted into German occupied Cor ...

and Ruth (née Briggs). He was born in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

where he has lived for all of his life. He was educated at

The Perse School (He who does things for others does them for himself) , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent day school , religion = Nondenominational Christian , president = , head_label = Head , he ...

, Cambridge, and the

University of Bath (Virgil, Georgics II) , mottoeng = Learn the culture proper to each after its kind , established = 1886 (Merchant Venturers Technical College) 1960 (Bristol College of Science and Technology) 1966 (Bath University of Technology) 1971 (univ ...

where he studied engineering with French. In 1968, aged 21, Toby contracted

encephalitis Encephalitis is inflammation of the brain. The severity can be variable with symptoms including reduction or alteration in consciousness, headache, fever, confusion, a stiff neck, and vomiting. Complications may include seizures, hallucinations, ...

from swimming in a polluted river while working in France as part of his degree course. Within 24 hours he became totally paralysed and without speech. Doctors initially diagnosed his lost speech as a sunstroke but subsequently realised it was more serious. Then

French President The president of France, officially the president of the French Republic (french: Président de la République française), is the executive head of state of France, and the commander-in-chief of the French Armed Forces. As the presidency is ...

General de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government ...

, heard that someone with the surname Churchill had been taken seriously ill and, mistakenly assuming Toby was related to Sir Winston Churchill, arranged for him to be flown back to Cambridge airport in his private jet. Toby spent six months in

Addenbrooke’s Hospital Addenbrooke's Hospital is an internationally renowned large teaching hospital and research centre in Cambridge, England, with strong affiliations to the University of Cambridge. Addenbrooke's Hospital is based on the Cambridge Biomedical Campu ...

, Cambridge in a locked-in condition and was subsequently transferred to

Stoke Mandeville Hospital Stoke Mandeville Hospital is a large National Health Service (NHS) hospital located on the parish borders of Aylesbury and Stoke Mandeville, Buckinghamshire, England. It is managed by Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust. It was establishe ...

for rehabilitation, where he spent a further nine months. Dissatisfied with the rudimentary communication aids then available for people who cannot speak, he designed the first

Lightwriter Lightwriters are a type of speech-generating device. The person who cannot speak types a message on the keyboard, and this message is displayed on two displays, one facing the user and a second outfacing display facing the communication partner or ...

communication aid for his own use and, after meeting other people with similar needs, started to manufacture them. He set up Toby Churchill Limited in 1973 to manufacture portable text-based communication aids. The company won a number of awards including a British Design Award in 1969, a Department of Trade and Industry Languages for Export Award in 1996, and the

Queen's Award for Export The Queen's Awards for Enterprise is an awards programme for British businesses and other organizations who excel at international trade, innovation, sustainable development or promoting opportunity (through social mobility). They are the highest ...

in 1995 and 1996. Soon after partially recovering from his disabilities he designed an adapted car for his own use, able to be controlled entirely by his left hand. His inventions appeared four times on ''

Tomorrow's World ''Tomorrow's World'' is a former British television series about contemporary developments in science and technology. First transmitted on 7 July 1965 on BBC1, it ran for 38 years until it was cancelled at the beginning of 2003. The ''Tomorro ...

'' during the 1970s. He also set up a wine importing business, a property rental business in France, a super car rental business, and was consulted by

Cambridge City Council Cambridge City Council is a district council in the county of Cambridgeshire, which governs the City of Cambridge. History Cambridge was granted a Royal Charter by King John in 1207, which permitted the appointment of a mayor. The first recorde ...

over the design of a public toilet. He is a

Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), also known as the Royal Society of Arts, is a London-based organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. The RSA acronym is used m ...

. He was awarded an honorary

Doctor of Engineering The Doctor of Engineering, or Engineering Doctorate, (abbreviated DEng, EngD, or Dr-Ing) is a degree awarded on the basis of advanced study and a practical project in the engineering and applied science for solving problems in the industry. In the ...

degree (DEng) from the

in 2010.

References

External links

Toby Churchill's personal website
* Lightwriter communication aids {{DEFAULTSORT:Churchill, Toby Living people 1947 births British people with disabilities British inventors People from Cambridge People educated at The Perse School