Tom Hadaway (18 March 1923 – 3 March 2005) was a writer for stage and television, born in

North Shields North Shields () is a town in the Borough of North Tyneside in Tyne and Wear, England. It is north-east of Newcastle upon Tyne and borders nearby Wallsend and Tynemouth. Since 1974, it has been in the North Tyneside borough of Tyne and Wea ...

North East England North East England is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. The region has three current administrative levels below the region level in the region; combined authority, unitary authorit ...

Early life

Hadaway was born on Howdon Road, North Shields on 18 March 1923. After leaving school, aged 14, he worked on the

North Shields Fish Quay North Shields Fish Quay is a fishing port located close to the mouth of the River Tyne, in North Shields, Tyne and Wear, North East England, east of the city of Newcastle upon Tyne. The quay began life in 1225 as a simple village of ''shi ...

where the characters of fellow workers made a strong impression on him. Their characteristics and experiences would later be recalled in his writing.

Career

Encouraged by the writer C. P. Taylor, who lived in nearby Newcastle and had heard his natural flair for storytelling on the radio, Hadaway began writing plays based on his experiences and observations of the region. Taylor would become a friend and mentor, advising him to write about the places and characters he knew. Later in his career he worked on television scripts, most notably '' God Bless Thee Jackie Maddison'' (1974) as well as episodes of the drama ''

When the Boat Comes In ''When the Boat Comes In'' is a British television period drama produced by the BBC between 1976 and 1981. The series stars James Bolam as Jack Ford, a First World War veteran who returns to his poverty-stricken (fictional) town of Gallowshiel ...

'' (1976). He worked with

Amber Films Amber Film & Photography Collective (often shortened to Amber Films or Amber) is a film and photography collective based in Newcastle upon Tyne with an aim to capture working-class life in North East England. Often combining professional and non- ...

and was a key writer for Newcastle's

Live Theatre Company Live Theatre, formerly Live Theatre Company, is a new writing theatre and company based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. As well as producing and presenting new plays many of which go on to tour nationally and internationally, it seeks out an ...

featuring local actors including Tim Healy and

Robson Green Robson Golightly Green (born 18 December 1964) is an English actor, angler, singer-songwriter and presenter. His first major TV role was as hospital porter Jimmy Powell in BBC drama series ''Casualty'' in 1989. He then went on to portray Fusili ...

. In 2002 he received an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from the

University of Sunderland , mottoeng = Sweetly absorbing knowledge , established = 1901 - Sunderland Technical College1969 - Sunderland Polytechnic1992 - University of Sunderland (gained university status) , staff = , chancellor = Emeli ...

. His ''Prison Plays'' were published in 2004, edited by

Val McLane Val McLane (born Valerie Bradford25 February 1943 in Newcastle upon Tyne, Northumberland) is an English actress, scriptwriter, director and teacher. Her younger brother is actor and musician Jimmy Nail. McLane founded the Live Theatre Company ...

. In March 2018, on what would have been his 95th birthday, a

blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. The term i ...

was unveiled at Hadaway's birthplace by Tim Healy.

References

1923 births 2005 deaths People from North Shields Writers from Tyne and Wear English male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century English dramatists and playwrights 20th-century English male writers {{England-writer-stub