Clarence Reginald Dalby (28 January 1904 – 3 April 1983), born in

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

, England, was the third illustrator of ''

The Railway Series ''The Railway Series'' is a series of British books about a railway known as the North Western Railway, located on the fictional Sodor (fictional island), Island of Sodor. There are 42 books in the series, the first published in May 1945 by Wi ...

'' by

W.V. Awdry Wilbert Vere Awdry (15 June 1911 – 21 March 1997), often credited as Rev. W. Awdry, was an English Anglican minister, railway enthusiast, and children's author. He is best remembered as the creator of Thomas the Tank Engine and several othe ...

and a

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 ...

intelligence officer during the Second World War.

History

Dalby was born in Leicester in 1904. He disliked his first forename, Clarence, and never personally used it. In 1917, Dalby won a scholarship to Leicester College of Art and began his career as a freelance artist for various commercial firms. On 14 October 1943, during 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 ...

, Dalby received an emergency commission in the

Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve The Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR) was established in 1936 to support the preparedness of the U.K. Royal Air Force (RAF) in the event of another war. The Air Ministry intended it to form a supplement to the Royal Auxiliary Air Force ( ...

, as an acting pilot officer (probationary) in the Administrative Branch. Regraded to

pilot officer Pilot officer (Plt Off or P/O) is a junior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Pilot officer is the lowest ran ...

(probationary), on 9 December 1943, Dalby served as an intelligence officer in

MI9 MI9, the British Directorate of Military Intelligence Section 9, was a secret department of the War Office between 1939 and 1945. During World War II it had two principal tasks: assisting in the escape of Allied prisoners of war (POWs) held b ...

, his duties primarily concerned with developing "escape and evasion" tactics. He was confirmed in his rank on 9 June 1944 and simultaneously promoted to

flying officer Flying officer (Fg Offr or F/O) is a junior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Flying officer is immediately ...

(war-substantive). A temporary flight lieutenant at the end of the war, Dalby was offered a position on Lord Mountbatten's staff in South-East Asia Command; he turned down the offer as he wanted to return to his artistic career. He relinquished his volunteer commission on 10 February 1954, retaining his rank of flight lieutenant. As it was difficult to find employment as a freelance artist in post-war England, Dalby briefly worked at a blood transfusion institute in Sheffield. In 1948, he was approached by Edmund Ward, who had recently accepted the Revd. W. Awdry's stories for publication. Dalby illustrated ''The Railway Series'' books from the original title, ''The Three Railway Engines'' (which he re-illustrated, replacing the original art work by William Middleton), up until '' Percy the Small Engine''.

Although Dalby's illustrations didn't entirely satisfy the author, and errors in detail caused all kinds of problems, his pictures—with their bold lines, lively energy and bright, gem-like colours—quickly caught the imagination of young readers and he undoubtedly set the style for the series.

(Brian Sibley, ''Thomas the Tank Engine: The Complete Collection'') In the end, the fractious relationship between Dalby and Awdry resulted in Dalby's resignation as illustrator of the series in 1956, following an argument over the portrayal of Percy the Small Engine in the book of the same name. Awdry had written to Dalby, "I beg, pray and exhort you not to make Percy look like a green caterpillar with red stripes!" He was replaced by John T. Kenney as illustrator. Dalby, a Leicester man, was also the creator of the original trademark

polar bear The polar bear (''Ursus maritimus'') is a large bear native to the Arctic and nearby areas. It is closely related to the brown bear, and the two species can Hybrid (biology), interbreed. The polar bear is the largest extant species of bear ...

on Fox's Glacier Mints. Fox's was a firm based in Leicester, which was also home to the ''Railway Series'' publishers Edmund Ward. Dalby died in 1983, aged 79, following a short illness.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dalby, Clarence Reginald The Railway Series illustrators 1904 births 1983 deaths Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II Royal Air Force officers