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Robert Atkinson Westall
[ (7 October 1929 – 15 April 1993) was an ]English
English usually refers to:
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* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
author
An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states:
"''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...
and teacher
A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching.
''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...
known for fiction aimed at children
A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger ...
and young people
Youth is the time of life when one is young. The word, youth, can also mean the time between childhood and adulthood ( maturity), but it can also refer to one's peak, in terms of health or the period of life known as being a young adult. You ...
. Some of the latter cover complex, dark, and adult themes.[ He has been called "the dean of British war novelists".][ His first book, '']The Machine Gunners
''The Machine Gunners'' is a children's historical novel by Robert Westall, published by Macmillan in 1975. Set in northeastern England shortly after the Battle of Britain (February 1941), it features children who find a crashed German aircraft w ...
'', won the 1975 Carnegie Medal for the year's outstanding children's book by a British subject.[ It was named among the top ten Medal-winners at the 70th anniversary celebration in 2007.][ Westall also won a second Carnegie (no one has yet won three), a ]Smarties Prize
Smarties are colour-varied sugar-coated chocolate confectionery. They have been manufactured since 1937, originally by H.I. Rowntree & Company in the United Kingdom, and now by Nestlé.
Smarties are oblate spheroids with a minor axis of abo ...
, and the once-in-a-lifetime Guardian Prize
The Guardian Children's Fiction Prize or Guardian Award was a literary award that annual recognised one fiction book written for children or young adults (at least age eight) and published in the United Kingdom. It was conferred upon the author ...
.
Early life and career
Robert Westall was born 7 October 1929 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 ...
,[ ]Northumberland
Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey.
It is bordered by land on ...
. He grew up there on Tyneside during the Second World War, which he used as the setting for many of his novels, including his own life. He earned a Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...
in Fine Art at Durham University
, mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills (Psalm 87:1)
, established = (university status)
, type = Public
, academic_staff = 1,830 (2020)
, administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19)
, chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen
, vice_chan ...
and a post-graduate degree in Sculpture at the Slade School of Art
The UCL Slade School of Fine Art (informally The Slade) is the art school of University College London (UCL) and is based in London, England. It has been ranked as the UK's top art and design educational institution. The school is organised as ...
in London in 1957.[ From 1953 until 1955, Westall did national service in the ]British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
as a Lance Corporal in the Royal Corps of Signals
The Royal Corps of Signals (often simply known as the Royal Signals – abbreviated to R SIGNALS or R SIGS) is one of the combat support arms of the British Army. Signals units are among the first into action, providing the battlefield communi ...
.[
Westall then became a teacher, serving as Head of Art and Head of Careers at Sir John Deane's Grammar School in Northwich, ]Cheshire
Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...
.[ Westall acted as a branch director of ]Samaritans
Samaritans (; ; he, שומרונים, translit=Šōmrōnīm, lit=; ar, السامريون, translit=as-Sāmiriyyūn) are an ethnoreligious group who originate from the ancient Israelites. They are native to the Levant and adhere to Samarit ...
in 1966–1975,[ while writing for papers such as ''Cheshire Life'' and ''The Cheshire Chronicle'', and for '']The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' as an art critic
An art critic is a person who is specialized in analyzing, interpreting, and evaluating art. Their written critiques or reviews contribute to art criticism and they are published in newspapers, magazines, books, exhibition brochures, and catalogue ...
.[
]
Writing
Westall was inspired to be a writer by telling his son Christopher stories about his experiences in 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 ...
.[ His first book, '']The Machine Gunners
''The Machine Gunners'' is a children's historical novel by Robert Westall, published by Macmillan in 1975. Set in northeastern England shortly after the Battle of Britain (February 1941), it features children who find a crashed German aircraft w ...
'', issued by Macmillan in 1975, told a Second World War story about English children who find "a crashed German bomber in the woods complete with machine gun".[ It was ]adapted
In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process of natural selection that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the po ...
as a BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
television serial in 1983. He returned to its setting in Garmouth, a fictionalised
Tynemouth
Tynemouth () is a coastal town in the metropolitan borough of North Tyneside, North East England. It is located on the north side of the mouth of the River Tyne, hence its name. It is 8 mi (13 km) east-northeast of Newcastle upon T ...
, in other novels, including ''
The Watch House
The Watch House is a 1977 fiction book by Robert Westall
Robert Atkinson Westall (7 October 1929 – 15 April 1993) was an English author and teacher known for fiction aimed at children and young people. Some of the latter cover complex, ...
'' (1977) and ''
Fathom Five'' (1979), which continues the ''Machine Gunners'' story. Christopher was killed in a motorbike accident at the age of 18 in 1978.
[ He became the inspiration for ''The Devil on the Road'' (1978), commended for the Carnegie Medal,][ and for a short story in ''The Haunting of Chas McGill'' (1983).
Westall won a second Carnegie Medal for '' The Scarecrows'' (Chatto & Windus, 1981).][ No one has won three, yet he was not a full-time writer. He retired from teaching only in 1985 and tried dealing in antiques before focusing exclusively on writing.][ For '']Blitzcat
''Blitzcat'' is a 1989 novel by Robert Westall, and recipient of the Nestlé Smarties Book Prize.
Plot
''Blitzcat'' is told through the point of view of a black domestic cat, called Lord Gort, as she travels across England during the Blitz in se ...
'' (Bodley Head, 1989) he won the annual Smarties Prize
Smarties are colour-varied sugar-coated chocolate confectionery. They have been manufactured since 1937, originally by H.I. Rowntree & Company in the United Kingdom, and now by Nestlé.
Smarties are oblate spheroids with a minor axis of abo ...
in category 9–11 years, which in 1994 the American Library Association
The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members a ...
named as one of the hundred Best Books for Young Adults of the Last 25 years.[ He finally won the once-in-a-lifetime ]Guardian Children's Fiction Prize
The Guardian Children's Fiction Prize or Guardian Award was a literary award that annual recognised one fiction book written for children or young adults (at least age eight) and published in the United Kingdom. It was conferred upon the author ...
for ''The Kingdom by the Sea'' (Methuen, 1990).[ Both that and ''Gulf'' (1992) were commended runners-up for the Carnegie Medal.][ The latter tells of the ]home front
Home front is an English language term with analogues in other languages. It is commonly used to describe the full participation of the British public in World War I who suffered Zeppelin#During World War I, Zeppelin raids and endured Rationin ...
during the Persian Gulf War
The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...
.
From 1988 until his death Westall attended a writers' circle in Lymm
Lymm is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Warrington, Cheshire, England, which incorporates the hamlets of Booths Hill, Broomedge, Church Green, Deansgreen, Heatley, Heatley Heath, Little Heatley, Oughtrington, Reddish, Rushgreen and ...
where he helped to assist and mentor new writers.
Death, memorial and legacy
Westall died on 15 April 1993 in Warrington Hospital of respiratory failure from pneumonia.[ At the time of his death, he lived in lodgings with his landlady, Lindy McKinnel, at 1 Woodland Avenue in the village of Lymm. He had his own cottage a few paces away, which he visited every day to do his writing. Previously he had lived at 20 Winnington Lane, ]Northwich
{{Infobox UK place
, static_image_name = Northwich - Town Bridge.jpg
, static_image_caption = Town Bridge, the River Weaver and the spire of Holy Trinity Church
, official_name = Northwich
, country ...
and run Magpie Antiques, Church Street, Davenham
Davenham (pronounced Dave-n-ham) is a rural village and civil parish approximately south of the town of Northwich, part of the Borough of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire in England. It has a population of 5,655 ...
.
As a journalist, Westall wrote for ''Cheshire Life'', the Northwich ''Chronicle'' and the ''Warrington Guardian
The ''Warrington Guardian'' is a local newspaper that has been published in Warrington, England, since 1853, originally published weekly on Saturdays.''The Literary and Educational Yearbook for 1859'', p. 287 In 1856 it was bought by Alexander Ma ...
''. A memorial service was held on 29 September 1993, at nearby All Saints' Church, Thelwall
Thelwall is a suburban village in the Borough of Warrington, Cheshire, England, close to the Lymm junction of the M6 motorway.
History
A fortified village was established at Thelwall in 923, in the reign of King Edward the Elder, which is me ...
, Warrington. Tributes were paid by former teaching colleagues and Miriam Hodgson, editorial director (fiction) of Reed Children's Books. A blue plaque was placed on Westall's birthplace, 7 Vicarage Street, North Shields, the following year. There is also a Westall Walk across locations used by Westall in his stories.
In October 2006, ''A Trip to Tynemouth'' by the Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki
is a Japanese animator, director, producer, screenwriter, author, and manga artist. A co-founder of Studio Ghibli, he has attained international acclaim as a masterful storyteller and creator of Japanese animated feature films, and is widel ...
was published in Japan. It is based on "Blackham's Wimpy", a story first published in Westall's ''Break of Dark'' collection. The rival RAF
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 ...
crews in the story fly Vickers Wellington
The Vickers Wellington was a British twin-engined, long-range medium bomber. It was designed during the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey. Led by Vickers-Armstrongs' chief designer Rex Pierson; a key feature of the aircraft is its g ...
bombers. The nickname "Wimpy" comes from Wimpy in the Popeye cartoons.
Selected bibliography
According to WorldCat
WorldCat is a union catalog that itemizes the collections of tens of thousands of institutions (mostly libraries), in many countries, that are current or past members of the OCLC global cooperative. It is operated by OCLC, Inc. Many of the OCL ...
, participating libraries hold editions of Westall's books in 17 foreign languages.
Novels
*''The Machine Gunners
''The Machine Gunners'' is a children's historical novel by Robert Westall, published by Macmillan in 1975. Set in northeastern England shortly after the Battle of Britain (February 1941), it features children who find a crashed German aircraft w ...
'' (1975)
*''The Wind Eye'' (1976)
*''The Watch House'' (1977)
*''The Devil on the Road'' (1978)
*'' Fathom Five'' (1979)
*'' The Scarecrows'' (1981)
*''Break of Dark'' (1982)
*''Futuretrack Five'' (1983)
*''The Haunting of Chas McGill'' (1983)
*'' The Cats of Seroster'' (1984)
*''Rachel and the Angel'' (1986)
*''The Creature in the Dark'' (1988)
*''Ghost Abbey'' (1988)
*''Ghosts and Journeys'' (1988)
*''Blitzcat
''Blitzcat'' is a 1989 novel by Robert Westall, and recipient of the Nestlé Smarties Book Prize.
Plot
''Blitzcat'' is told through the point of view of a black domestic cat, called Lord Gort, as she travels across England during the Blitz in se ...
'' (1989)
*''The Call and Other Stories'' (1989)
*''Old Man on a Horse'' (1989)
*''A Walk on the Wild Side'' (1989)
*''Echoes of War'' (1989)
*'' Urn Burial'' (1989)
*''If Cats Could Fly'' (1990)
*''The Kingdom by the Sea'' (1990)
*''The Promise'' (1990)
*''Stormsearch'' (1990)
*''The Stones of Muncaster Cathedral'' (1991)
*''Yaxley's Cat'' (1991)
*''Fearful Lovers'' (1992)
*''Gulf'' (1992)
*''Falling into Glory'' (1993)
*''A Place For Me'' (1993)
*''Size Twelve'' (1993)
*''The Wheatstone Pond'' (1993)
*''A Place to Hide'' (1994)
*''A Time of Fire'' (1994)
*''The Witness'' (1994)
*''Blitz'' (1995)
*''Christmas Spirit'' (1995)
*''The Night Mare'' (1995)
*''Blizzard'' (1996)
*''Harvest'' (1996)
*''Love Match'' (1997)
*''Voices in the Wind'' (1997)
*''David and the Kittens'' (2003)
Short fiction collections
* ''Break of Dark'' (1982)
* ''The Haunting of Chas McGill and Other Stories'' (1983)
* ''Rachel and the Angel and Other Stories'' (1986)
* ''Ghosts and Journeys'' (1988)
*''Antique Dust (1989)
* ''The Call and Other Stories'' (1989) (a.k.a. ''The Call and Other Strange Stories'', 2003)
*''The Stones of Muncaster Cathedral'' (1991) (a.k.a. ''In Camera and Other Stories'', 1992)
*''Fearful Lovers and Other Stories (1992, a.k.a. ''Fearful Lovers'' 1993)
* ''Demons and Shadows: The Ghostly Best of Robert Westall'' (1993) (a.k.a. ''The Best of Robert Westall: Volume One: Demons and Shadows'', 1999)
*''Shades of Darkness: More of the Ghostly Best Stories of Robert Westall'' (1994) (a.k.a. ''The Best of Robert Westall: Volume Two: Shades of Darkness'', 1999)
*''Christmas Spirit: Two Stories'' (1994)
*''Shadows of War'' (2019)
Nonfiction
*''Children of the Blitz'' (1985)
*''The Making of Me'' (2006) (autobiographical)
Adaptations
Radio
*''Hitch-Hiker'' (first story in ''Break of Dark''), BBC Radio 5 (1990)
*''The Machine Gunners'', BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...
(2002)
*''The Stones of Muncaster Cathedral'', BBC Radio 4 (1996)
*''The Wheatstone Pond'', BBC Radio 4 (2002)
*''Yaxley's Cat'', BBC Radio 4
Television
*''The Machine Gunners'', BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
(1983)
*''The Watch House'',