James Alfred Wight, who was called "Alf" for short, was born on 3 October 1916 in Sunderland, County Durham, England.[3] The family moved to Glasgow when James was a child, and he lived there happily until leaving for Sunderland, and then Thirsk in 1940. He had a "soft, lilting Scottish accent," according to actor Christopher Timothy, who portrayed James Herriot in the 1978 series.[4]
Wight attended Yoker Primary School and Hillhead High School.[5] When he was a boy in Glasgow, one of Wight's favourite pastimes was walking with his dog, an Irish Setter, in the Scottish countryside and watching it play with his friends' dogs. He later wrote: "I was intrigued by the character and behaviour of these animals... [I wanted to] spend my life working with them if possible." At age 12, he read an article in Meccano Magazine about veterinary surgeons and was captivated with the idea of a career treating sick animals. Two years later, in 1930, he decided to become a vet after the principal of Glasgow Veterinary College gave a lecture at his high school.[6]
The veterinary surgery (office) of Alf Wight (James Herriot) and his partners, Donald and Brian Sinclair at 23 Kirkgate, Thirsk, now a museumOriginal name plates for Donald Sinclair (Siegfried Farnon) and Alf Wight (James Herriot) at the World of James Herriot museumSign at 23 Kirkgate, Thirsk (2018)Wight married Joan Catherine Anderson Danbury on 5 November 1941 at St Mary's Church, Thirsk.[7]
After they returned to Thirsk, Wight "carried on TB testing [of] cows in Wensleydale and the top floor of 23 Kirkgate became Joan and Alf’s first home".[5] The couple had two children.[8]: 148, 169, 292
Veterinary practice
Wight took six years to complete the five-year programme at Glasgow Veterinary College. He failed several of his classes on the first try (surgery, pathology, physiology, histology, animal husbandry). His setback was partly because of a recurring gastrointestinal problem, which required multiple operations.[1] He graduated on 14 December 1939.[5]
The new vet's first position, which he accepted in January 1940, was at a veterinary practice in Sunderland, working for J. J. McDowall.[5] He decided that he would prefer a rural practice and accepted a position in July, based at 23 Kirkgate in Thirsk, Yorkshire, near the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors. The practice owner, Donald Sinclair, had enlisted in the Royal Air Force (RAF) and was soon to leave for training; he gave Wight all the practice's income in return for Wight's looking after it during his absence.[9] (His brother, Brian Sinclair, was not yet a vet.) After Sinclair was discharged from the RAF four months later, he asked Wight to stay permanently with the practice, offering a salaried partnership, which Wight accepted.[10]
Wight enlisted in the RAF in November 1942. He did well in his training and was one of the first in his flight to fly solo. After undergoing surgery on an anal fistula in July 1943, he was deemed unfit to fly combat aircraft and was discharged as a leading aircraftman the following November. He joined his wife at her parents' house, where she had lived since he left Thirsk. They lived there until the summer of 1945, when they moved back to 23 Kirkgate after Sinclair and his wife moved to a house of their own. In 1953, the family moved to a house on Topcliffe Road, Thirsk. Wishing for more privacy as the popularity of All Creatures Great and Small increased, in 1977 Wight and his wife moved again, to the smaller village of Thirlby, about 4 miles (6.4 km) from Thirsk. Wight lived there until his death in 1995.[8]
Wight became a full partner in the Thirsk practice in 1949 and retired from full-time practice in 1980 but continued to work part time.[5] He fully retired in 1989 (or 1990 according to some sources); by then, he had worked in his field for roughly 50 years.[1][5]
Death
In Wight's will, his share of the practice passed to his son, Jim Wight, also a vet. Alf Wight had been diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1991 and was treated in the Friarage Hospital in Northallerton.[8]: 345, 352 On 23 February 1995, he died a his home in Thirlby as a result of the cancer.[11][12] leaving an estate valued for probate at £5,425,873 (equivalent to £11,096,613 in 2021).[13][14] His remains were cremated and scattered on Sutton Bank.[5] His wife's health declined after his death, and she died on 14 July 1999.[15]
Remembering Alf Wight
In 2001, a book by Wight's son, Jim, was published. A review of The Real James Herriot: A Memoir of My Father noted, "Wight portrays his father as a modest, down-to-earth and generous man, utterly unchanged by fame, a private individual who bottled up his emotions, which led to a nervous breakdown and electroshock therapy in 1960."[16]
Wight's obituary confirmed his modesty and preference to stay away from the public eye. "It doesn't give me any kick at all," he once said. "It's not my world. I wouldn't be happy there. I wouldn't give up being a vet if I had a million pounds. I'm too fond of animals."[17] By 1995, some 50 million of the James Herriot books had been sold. Wight was well aware that clients were unimpressed with the fame that accompanied a best-selling author. "If a farmer calls me with a sick animal, he couldn't care less if I were George Bernard Shaw," Wight once said.[18]
