Morris and Awdry

The Reverend Awdry and Desert Island Discs and the Johnny Morris Recording

The Rev appeared on Desert Island Discs in 1964 in ‘The Swinging Sixties’, choosing Robinson Crusoe as his book (‘apart from the Bible and Shakespeare’). Three of his chosen records involved railways and one was a reading by Johnny Morris of ‘Edward and Gordon’.

Here is a brief descriptor of the voices ascribed to the engines by that very accomplished versatile mimic children’s entertainer:

Thomas: ‘young, bright and full of cheeky enthusiasm’

Percy: ‘rather perky and public school’

James: ‘a lilting Welsh accent’

Henry: ‘evidently comes from the faded upper class’

Toby: ‘a soft, slow, west-country voice’

The coach, Henrietta: ‘a pathetic, despairing tone’

Gordon: ‘sounds like a pompous, northern alderman in a play by J.B. Priestly’

The trucks: bump into each other ‘with a rapid succession of startled “Oh!” sounds, each hitting an individual note on what might be described as a musical scale of surprise’

The Rev: “He was a steam buff and so was I. He was highly technical and reserved.”

Willie Rushton from That Was the Week That Was and Private Eye finished the recordings a few years later. He recounted how there was nervousness about the Rev being there at the recordings but “he turned out to be a sweetie”.

(Jottings made from a reading of The Thomas the Tank Engine Man Brian Sibley

The Story of the Reverend W. Awdry and his Really Useful Engines 1995)