David St John Thomas

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David St John Thomas (born 1929) is an English publisher and writer.

The son of writer Gilbert Thomas (1891-1978)[1] he shared his father’s enthusiasm for railways,[2] particularly in the running of their Bassett-Lowke model railway.[3]

Brought up in Devon over the World War II period, his first job was as a reporter on the Western Morning News in Plymouth where he specialised in covering transport and holiday stories.[4] He later became a freelancer, combining journalism with fruit farming and being commissioned by the Dartington Hall Trust and others to produce reports on rural transport.[5] His first book (for young people) was published in 1959[6] and in 1960 he produced the first book in the series he was to edit (and later publish), A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain, The West Country.[7]

Contents

[edit] Foundation of David and Charles

On 1 April 1960 he founded, with canal writer Charles Hadfield, the non-fiction publishing house of David & Charles of which he became Chairman. This was run from his house at Ipplepen before moving to its better-known address at Newton Abbot railway station.[8]

In later years he also published some books under his own imprint. He continued to write himself, including a series of well-illustrated books on railway topics with Patrick B. Whitehouse and others,[9] and more books on travel-related topics.[10] He has been keen to encourage new writers, and to this end launched the magazine Writers’ News in 1989.

[edit] The David St John Thomas Charitable Trust

Having sold David & Charles, to the USA publisher F+W Publications in 2000, and moved to Nairn, Scotland, he set up the David St John Thomas Charitable Trust. It makes awards to writers and also to gap year students.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Thomas, Gilbert (1932). The Master-Light – letters to David. London: Allen & Unwin. 
  2. ^ Thomas, Gilbert; Thomas, David St John (1963). Double Headed – two generations of railway enthusiasm. Dawlish: David & Charles. 
  3. ^ Thomas, Gilbert (1947). Paddington to Seagood – the story of a model railway. London: Chapman & Hall. 
  4. ^ Gill, Crispin (1981). "From gangling youth to tycoon", Good Books Come from Devon – the David & Charles twenty-first birthday book. Newton Abbot: David & Charles, 8,32. ISBN 0-7153-8139-3. 
  5. ^ e.g.Thomas, David St John (1963). The Rural Transport Problem. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. 
  6. ^ Thomas, David St John (1959). Trains Work Like This. London: Phoenix House. 
  7. ^ Thomas, David St John (1960). A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain, Vol. 1, The West Country. London: Phoenix House. 
  8. ^ Thomas, David St John (1981). "Why we’re here", Good Books Come from Devon – the David & Charles twenty-first birthday book. Newton Abbot: David & Charles, 1,12-13. ISBN 0-7153-8139-3. 
  9. ^ e.g.Thomas, David St John; Whitehouse, Patrick (ed.) (1984). The Great Western Railway – 150 glorious years. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. ISBN 0-7153-8530-5. 
  10. ^ e.g.Thomas, David St John (1990). The Cunard Book of Cruising. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. ISBN 0-7153-9074-0. 

[edit] Further reading

Thomas, David St John (2004). Journey Through Britain – landscape, people and books. London: Frances Lincoln. ISBN 0-71122-369-6. 


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