In the books, Siegfried is bad-tempered, outspoken, and opinionated, but according to Wight’s son Jim, the real Sinclair was even more outlandish than his fictional counterpart. His partner hated the way his alter-ego, Siegfried, was portrayed, so much so that he even threatened to sue him. Working alongside him was fellow veterinarian Donald Sinclair, who would later inspire Wight’s hot-headed and eccentric main character, Siegfried Farnon.īut after the publication of the first James Herriot book in 1970, his relationship with Sinclair became strained. Upon his return, he rejoined his beloved practice in Thirsk, and by 1949, he became a full partner. Yet his time in the forces was short-lived, and in July of the following year, he was discharged on the grounds of ill health. He quickly settled into country life, and soon after he arrived, he met his sweetheart, Joan Catherine Anderson Danbury.Ī year later, the couple was married, and Wight was promoted to a salaried partner at the veterinary clinic.īut meanwhile, WWII was raging, and in November 1942, Alf Wight joined the Royal Air Force as a combat pilot.
He was born in 1916 in Sunderland, England, but spent much of his childhood in Glasgow after his family relocated.Īs a boy, Alf was fascinated by animals, and by the time he was twelve years old, he knew beyond all doubt that he wanted to be a vet.Īnd so, at the age of 23, he graduated from Glasgow Veterinary College before taking on his first job at a veterinary practice in his birthplace of Sunderland.īut just a few months later, he was offered a similar position in the market town of Thirsk, Yorkshire, and the charms of rural England proved too much for him to resist. Though most people know him by his famous pseudonym, James Herriot’s real name was James Alfred Wight, or simply ‘Alf’ to his friends.
0 kommentar(er)
