Thomas Michael Bond (13 January 1926 – 27 June 2017) was an English author. He is best known for a series of children's books featuring the character of

Paddington Bear Paddington Bear (though his name is just Paddington; the "Bear" simply serves to confirm his species; and also known as Paddington Brown for some sources) is a fictional character in British children's literature. He first appeared on 13 October ...

. More than 35 million books in the series have been sold worldwide, and the characters have also appeared in several animated television series, a

film series A film series or movie series is a collection of related films in succession that share the same fictional universe, or are marketed as a series. It is a type of series fiction. This article explains what film series are and gives brief examples ...

, and a

stage musical Musical theatre is a form of theatre, theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, ...

Early life

Thomas Michael Bond was born on 13 January 1926 in

Newbury, Berkshire Newbury is a market town in West Berkshire, England, in the valley of the River Kennet. It is south of Oxford, north of Winchester, southeast of Swindon and west of Reading, Berkshire, Reading. It is also where West Berkshire Council is hea ...

. He grew up in

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

, where his visits to

Reading railway station Reading railway station is a major transport hub in the town of Reading, Berkshire, Reading in Berkshire, England, it is west of . It is sited on the northern edge of the town centre, near to the main retail and commercial areas and the River ...

to watch the ''

Cornish Riviera Express The ''Cornish Riviera Express'' is a British express passenger train that has run between London Paddington and Penzance in Cornwall since 1904. Introduced by the Great Western Railway, the name ''Cornish Riviera Express'' has been applied t ...

'' pass through started a love of trains. His father was a manager for the post office. He was educated at Presentation College in Reading. His time there was unhappy. He told ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' in November 2014 that his parents had chosen the school "for the simple reason hat hismother liked the colour of the blazers ... she didn't make many mistakes in life, but that was one of them". He left education aged 14, despite his parents' wishes for him to go to university. The

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

was under way and he went to work in a solicitor's office for a year, and then as an engineer's assistant for the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

. On 10 February 1943 Bond survived an air raid in Reading. The building in which he was working collapsed under him, killing 41 people and injuring many more. Shortly afterwards he volunteered for

aircrew Aircrew are personnel who operate an aircraft while in flight. The composition of a flight's crew depends on the type of aircraft, plus the flight's duration and purpose. Commercial aviation Flight deck positions In commercial aviatio ...

service in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

as a 17-year-old, but he was discharged after being found to suffer from acute air sickness. He then served in the

Middlesex Regiment The Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge's Own) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1966. The regiment was formed, as the Duke of Cambridge's Own (Middlesex Regiment), in 1881 as part of the Childers Re ...

of the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

until 1947.

Author

Bond began writing in 1945, when he was stationed with the Army in

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

, and sold his first short story to the magazine '' London Opinion''. He was paid seven

guineas The guinea (; commonly abbreviated gn., or gns. in plural) was a coin, minted in Great Britain between 1663 and 1814, that contained approximately one-quarter of an ounce of gold. The name came from the Guinea region in West Africa, from where m ...

and thought that he "wouldn't mind being a writer". After he'd produced several plays and short stories, and had become a BBC television cameraman (he worked on ''

Blue Peter ''Blue Peter'' is a British children's television entertainment programme created by John Hunter Blair. It is the longest-running children's TV show in the world, having been broadcast since October 1958. It was broadcast primarily from BBC ...

'' for a time), his first book, ''A Bear Called Paddington'', was published by Collins in 1958. Barbara Ker Wilson had read his draft at one sitting and she then phoned Bond at the number given. She was put through to Lime Grove Studios. Bond had to tell her that he wasn't supposed to take calls at work. This was the start of Bond's series of books recounting the tales of

, a bear from "darkest Peru", whose Aunt Lucy sends him to the United Kingdom, carrying a jar of

marmalade Marmalade (from the Portuguese ''marmelada'') is a fruit preserves, fruit preserve made from the juice and peel of citrus fruits boiled with sugar and water. The well-known version is made from bitter orange. It also has been made from lemons ...

. In the first book the Brown family find the bear at

Paddington Station Paddington, also known as London Paddington, is a London station group, London railway station and London Underground station complex, located on Praed Street in the Paddington area. The site has been the London terminus of services provided by ...

, and adopt him, naming the bear after the station. By 1965 Bond was able to give up his BBC job to work full time as a writer. Paddington's adventures have sold over 35 million books, have been published in nearly 20 countries, in over 40 languages, and have inspired pop bands, race horses, plays, hot air balloons, movies and adaptations for television. Bond stated in December 2007 that he did not plan to continue the adventures of Paddington Bear in further volumes, but in April 2014 it was reported that a new book, entitled ''Love From Paddington'', would be published that autumn. In ''

Paddington Paddington is an area in the City of Westminster, in central London, England. A medieval parish then a metropolitan borough of the County of London, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Paddington station, designed b ...

'', a 2014 film based on the books, Bond had a credited cameo as the Kindly Gentleman. Bond also wrote another series of children's books, telling of the adventures of a

guinea pig The guinea pig or domestic guinea pig (''Cavia porcellus''), also known as the cavy or domestic cavy ( ), is a species of rodent belonging to the genus ''Cavia'', family Caviidae. Animal fancy, Breeders tend to use the name "cavy" for the ani ...

named Olga da Polga, who was named after the Bond family's pet, as well as the animated BBC television series ''

The Herbs ''The Herbs'' is a television series for young children made for the BBC by Graham Clutterbuck's FilmFair company. It was written by Michael Bond (creator of Paddington Bear), directed by Ivor Wood using 3D stop motion model animation and ...

'' (1968). Bond also wrote culinary mystery stories for adults, featuring Monsieur Pamplemousse and his faithful

bloodhound The bloodhound is a large scent hound, originally bred for hunting deer, wild boar, rabbits, and since the Middle Ages, for tracking people. Believed to be descended from hounds once kept at the Abbey of Saint-Hubert, Belgium, in French it is ...

Pommes Frites. Bond wrote ''Reflection on the Passing of the Years'' shortly after his 90th birthday. The piece was read by Sir David Attenborough, who also turned 90 in 2016, at the national service of thanksgiving to commemorate Queen Elizabeth II's 90th birthday at

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Paul the Apostle, is an Anglican cathedral in London, England, the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London in the Church of Engl ...

in June 2016. On 20 June 2016

StudioCanal StudioCanal S.A.S. (formerly known as Le Studio Canal+, Canal Plus, Canal+ Distribution, Canal+ D.A., and Canal+ Production and also known as StudioCanal International) is a French film & television production and distribution company which is a ...

acquired the Paddington franchise outright. Bond was allowed to keep the publishing rights to his series, which he licensed in April 2017 to

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is a British–American publishing company that is considered to be one of the "Big Five (publishers), Big Five" English-language publishers, along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group USA, Hachette, Macmi ...

for the next six years.

Television writing

Bond wrote two short films for the

: ''Simon's Good Deed'', which was shown on 11 October 1955, and ''Napoleon's Day Out'', shown on 9 April 1957. He also wrote one episode of the series ''The World Our Stage'', an adaptation of the short story "The Decoration" by Guy de Maupassant, which aired on 4 January 1958. His best known television work is as the creator and writer of the

children's television Children's television series (or children's television shows) are Television show, television programs designed specifically for Child, children. They are typically characterised by easy-going content devoid of sensitive or adult themes and are ...

series ''

'' and '' The Adventures of Parsley'', again for the BBC.

Honours

Bond was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(OBE), for services to children's literature, in the 1997 Birthday Honours and

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE) in the 2015 Birthday Honours. On 6 July 2007 the

University of Reading The University of Reading is a public research university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as the University Extension College, Reading, an extension college of Christchurch College, Oxford, and became University College, ...

awarded him an Honorary

Doctor of Letters Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or '), also termed Doctor of Literature in some countries, is a terminal degree in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. In the United States, at universities such as Drew University, the degree ...

. On 10 January 2018 GWR named one of their Class 800 trains "Michael Bond / Paddington Bear".

Personal life and death

Michael Bond Passed Away Paddington Bear Statue

Bond was married twice: to Brenda Mary Johnson in 1950, from whom he separated in the 1970s before divorcing in 1981; and to Susan Marfrey Rogers in 1981. He had two children. He lived in

Little Venice Little Venice is an affluent residential district in North West London, England, around the junction of the Paddington Arm, Paddington Arm of the Grand Union Canal, the Regent's Canal, and the entrance to Paddington Basin. The junction, also k ...

, London, not far from Paddington Station, the place that inspired many of his books. Bond died at home on 27 June 2017, at the age of 91, following a brief, undisclosed illness. The film '' Paddington 2'' (2017) was dedicated to his memory. In accordance with his wishes, he is buried in Paddington Old Cemetery. The epitaph on his gravestone reads "Please look after this bear. Thank you." In 2022, on the ITV programme ''DNA Journeys'', it was discovered that Bond is a relative of the television presenter Kate Garraway.

Bibliography

Paddington Bear series

* 1958 ''A Bear Called Paddington''. London: Collins. * 1959 ''More About Paddington''. London: Collins. * 1960 ''Paddington Helps Out''. London: Collins. * 1961 ''Paddington Abroad''. London: Collins. * 1962 ''Paddington at Large''. London: Collins. * 1964 ''Paddington Marches On''. London: Collins. * 1966 ''Paddington at Work''. London: Collins. * 1968 ''Paddington Goes to Town''. London: Collins. * 1970 ''Paddington Takes the Air''. London: Collins. * 1972 ''Paddington's Garden''. London: Collins. * 1973 ''Paddington's Blue Peter Story Book'' (sometimes titled as ''Paddington Takes to TV''). London: Collins. * 1974 ''Paddington on Top''. London: Collins. * 1975 ''Paddington at the Tower''. London: Collins. * 1979 ''Paddington Takes the Test''. London: Collins. * 1980 ''Paddington on Screen''. London: Collins. * 1984 ''Paddington at the Zoo''. London: Collins. * 1986 ''Paddington at the Palace''. New York: Putnam. * 1987 ''Paddington's Busy Day''. London: Collins. * 1992 ''A Day by the Sea'' * 2001 ''Paddington in the Garden''. London: Collins. * 2003 ''Paddington and the Grand Tour''. London: Collins. * 2008 ''Paddington Rules the Waves''. New York: HarperCollins. * 2008 ''Paddington Here and Now''. New York: HarperCollins. * 2012 ''Paddington Races Ahead''. New York: HarperCollins. * 2012 ''Paddington Goes for Gold''. New York: HarperCollins. * 2014 ''Love From Paddington''. New York: HarperCollins. * 2017 ''Paddington's Finest Hour''. New York: HarperCollins. * 2018: ''Paddington at St Paul's''. New York: HarperCollins.Michael Bond's last Paddington Bear story out in 2018
/ref> * 2018: ''Paddington Turns Detective and Other Funny Stories''.

Olga da Polga series

Chapter books

* 1971 ''The Tales of Olga da Polga''. * 1973 ''Olga Meets Her Match''. * 1976 ''Olga Carries On''. * 1982 ''Olga Takes Charge''. * 1987 ''The Complete Adventures of Olga Da Polga'' (omnibus). * 1993 ''The Adventures of Olga Da Polga'' (omnibus). * 2001 ''Olga Moves House''. * 2002 ''Olga Follows Her Nose''. * 2002 ''The Best of Olga Da Polga'' (omnibus).

Picture books

* 1975 ''Olga Counts Her Blessings''. * 1975 ''Olga Makes a Friend''. * 1975 ''Olga Makes a Wish''. * 1975 ''Olga Makes Her Mark''. * 1975 ''Olga Takes a Bite''. * 1975 ''Olga's New Home''. * 1975 ''Olga's Second House''. * 1975 ''Olga's Special Day''. * 1983 ''The First Big Olga da Polga Book'' (omnibus). * 1983 ''The Second Big Olga da Polga Book'' (omnibus).

Monsieur Pamplemousse series

* 1983 ''Monsieur Pamplemousse''. * 1985 ''Monsieur Pamplemousse and the Secret Mission''. * 1986 ''Monsieur Pamplemousse on the Spot''. * 1987 ''Monsieur Pamplemousse Takes the Cure''. * 1989 ''Monsieur Pamplemousse Aloft''. * 1990 ''Monsieur Pamplemousse Investigates''. * 1991 ''Monsieur Pamplemousse Rests His Case''. * 1992 ''Monsieur Pamplemousse Stands Firm''. * 1992 ''Monsieur Pamplemousse on Location''. * 1993 ''Monsieur Pamplemousse Takes the Train''. * 1998 ''Monsieur Pamplemousse Omnibus Volume One''. * 1999 ''Monsieur Pamplemousse Omnibus Volume Two''. * 1999 ''Monsieur Pamplemousse Afloat''. * 1999 ''Monsieur Pamplemousse Omnibus Volume Three''. * 2000 ''Monsieur Pamplemousse on Probation''. * 2002 ''Monsieur Pamplemousse on Vacation''. * 2003 ''Monsieur Pamplemousse Hits the Headlines''. * 2006 ''Monsieur Pamplemousse and the Militant Midwives''. * 2007 ''Monsieur Pamplemousse and the French Solution''. * 2011 ''Monsieur Pamplemousse and the Carbon Footprint''. * 2015 ''Monsieur Pamplemousse and the Tangled Web''.

Other books

* 1966 ''Here Comes Thursday''. * 1968 ''Thursday Rides Again''. * 1969 ''Thursday Ahoy!'' * 1971 ''Thursday in Paris''. * 1971 ''Michael Bond's Book of Bears'' (editor). * 1972 ''The Day the Animals Went on Strike''. * 1975 ''Windmill''. * 1975 ''How to Make Flying Things'' (nonfiction). * 1975 ''Mr. Cram's Magic Bubbles'' (picture book). * 1980 ''Picnic on the River''. * 1980 ''J. D. Polson and the Liberty Head Dime''. * 1981 ''J. D. Polson and the Dillogate Affair''. * 1983 ''The Caravan Puppets''. * 1986 ''Oliver the Greedy Elephant'' (picture book with Paul Parnes). * 1987 ''The Pleasures of Paris'' (guidebook). * 1988 ''A Mouse Called Thursday'' (omnibus). * 1992 ''Something Nasty in the Kitchen'' (picture book). * 1996 ''Bears and Forebears: A Life So Far'' (autobiography).

Television

* 1955 ''Simon's Good Deed'' (short film) * 1957 ''Napoleon's Day Out'' (short film) * 1958 ''The World Our Stage'' (one episode, "The Decoration") * 1968 ''

'' (13 episodes) * 1970–71 '' The Adventures of Parsley'' (32 episodes)

References

External links

Paddington Bear – The Official Website

The Herbs

Interview British Entertainment History Project
Michael Bond PapersSpecial Collections
at The University of Southern Mississippi
de Grummond Children's Literature Collection)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bond, Michael 1926 births 2017 deaths 20th-century English male writers 20th-century English novelists 21st-century English male writers 21st-century English novelists Burials at Paddington Old Cemetery Caedmon Records artists Commanders of the Order of the British Empire English autobiographers English children's writers English male novelists Middlesex Regiment soldiers Military personnel from Berkshire Paddington Bear People educated at Elvian School People from Newbury, Berkshire Royal Air Force airmen Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Writers from Reading, Berkshire People from Maida Vale