Thomas Firbank

Edit links
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For the British politician, see Thomas Firbank (politician).

Thomas Joseph Firbank (13 June 1910 – 1 December 2000) was a Canadian/Welsh author, farmer, soldier and engineer.

Early life and education

He was born in

Berwyn Mountains of North Wales. He was educated at Stowe School
.

Writing career

His first book, an autobiography entitled I Bought a Mountain (

Welsh 3000s in less than 9 hours.[2] Firbank's first wife, Esme Cummins
, a Surrey-born actress whom he met in 1933, features prominently.

Second World War

The book ends with pastoral calm interrupted by the ominous drumbeats of the Second World War which drew Thomas Firbank away from his beloved farm to enlist in the

ISBN 978-1871083965, pub. 1951) describes his war-time experiences with the 1st Airborne Division
.

His marriage ended during the Second World War, both parties finding new partners. In difficult postwar circumstances, he generously gave Esme his farm in 1947, enabling her to remain there with her new partner. In 1967 she became an important founder member of the Snowdonia Society. After her death the farm was donated to the National Trust.[3]

Later life

Log Hut (pub. George G. Harrap, 1954) details his experiences in a bungalow on the north east edge of Dartmoor.

A Country of Memorable Honour (

ISBN 978-1871083217, pub. 1953) describes a walking tour through Wales with fascinating characters at every turn. This tour was a farewell to the old country before moving to Japan
to open up the Far East for a British engineering firm.

A novel entitled Bride to the Mountain (pub. Harrap 1940, reprinted C. Chivers Dec. 1965, then again by Portway Reprints under

ISBN 0-85594-175-8) was written shortly after the success of I Bought A Mountain and draws heavily on the same experiences. It also appears to be largely based on an actual 1927 case when a strong but insane climber called Giveen caused the deaths of two others.[4]

In 1954 he inherited his aunt Heather Firbank's huge collection of clothes, which were then donated to the Victoria and Albert Museum.[5]

He returned to Snowdonia in 1993, and lived at Elen's Castle Hotel in Dolwyddelan for some time and wrote further articles on conservation. He died in December 2000 in Llanrwst, Conwy, North Wales[1]

References

  1. ^ a b "Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Firbank". The Daily Telegraph. 30 January 2001. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  2. ^ "History of the Welsh 3000s".
  3. ^ "Hill farm handed to heritage body". BBC. 29 January 2005. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  4. ^ Smythe, F. S. (1941). Over Welsh Hills. London, Adam and Charles Black. pp. 86–90.
  5. ^ "The Tragic Life (and INCREDIBLE wardrobe) of Heather Firbank | Fashion Conservatory". research.fashionconservatory.com. Retrieved 17 April 2024.

See also

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Thomas_Firbank&oldid=1219436812"