| The
Charles
Tunnicliffe Society Established 2005 "To promote greater awareness of the life and work of Charles Frederick Tunnicliffe OBE, RA 1901-1979" ....... Honorary President: Robert Gillmor - Past President SWLA |
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| Alison Uttley & Charles
Tunnicliffe x Alice Jane Taylor was born in 1884 at Cromford, Derbyshire, and in 1906 gained an honours degree in Physics from Manchester University, moving to London in 1908 to teach at a school in Fulham. She married in 1915 and later, when her son went to boarding school, she wrote countryside stories to send to him – much to her delight and surprise one of these stories was published in 1929 by Faber & Faber, and so began her writing career. After the death of her husband in 1930 she decided to earn a living by writing more countryside stories for children; in 1931 she also wrote a novel for adults entitled ‘The Country Child’ – based on her own childhood in Derbyshire. This was followed by more books for children, then ‘Ambush of Younger Days’ in 1937 and ‘The Farm on the Hill’ in 1941. During the 1930’s Charles Tunnicliffe had successfully illustrated several books for Putnam & Co. Ltd., and his work had became widely known. It is thought that in the early 1940’s Faber & Faber suggested to Alice that she should collaborate with Charles on a new book, and in 1943 Faber & Faber published the first of her country books illustrated by Charles Tunnicliffe entitled ‘’Country Hoard’. Following this success Faber decided in 1945 to reissue an illustrated version of ‘The Country Child’. Thus began a long association between Alison Uttley and Charles Tunnicliffe working together for 30 years on the publication of eighteen books and essays, such as ‘Carts and Candlesticks’, ‘Plowmen’s Clocks’ and ‘Country Things’. Faber and Faber also reissued illustrated versions of ‘The Farm on the Hill’ and ‘Ambush of Young Days’ with equal success. Although they had a very good working relationship they never actually met, despite the fact that Charles & Winifred Tunnicliffe once made an appointment to visit her at home in Buckinghamshire – when they arrived she was not at home!
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