Eileen Gibb

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Eileen Gibb
Born
Eileen Mabel Gibb

(1911-08-03)3 August 1911
Died2003
NationalityBritish
OccupationAuthor
Years active1949-65
Known forSammy the Shunter, Billy the Bus
SpouseJohn Holder (m. 1942)
Parents
  • Benjamin Gibb (father)
  • Mabel Gibb (mother)

Eileen Mabel Gibb (3 August 1911 – 2003) was a British author. She is best known for writing the Sammy the Shunter series of books using the name Eileen Gibb as opposed to her married name of Holder.

Biography[edit]

Gibb was born on 3 August 1911 to parents Benjamin and Mabel in Croydon, Surrey. During the Second World War Gibb was secretary to the art historian and National Gallery director Kenneth Clark, and this introduced her to a wide variety of friends in artistic and writing circles including Henry Moore, Stanley Spencer and Philip Larkin. Gibb married John Terrance Holder in 1942 and became a member of a family with an enthusiasm for railways, her father in-law John Alexander Holder being a brewer, founder director of the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway and owner of Broome House, Broome, Worcestershire with its own miniature railway that was later to move to Keeping House, Beaulieu, Hampshire.[1][unreliable source?][2][3] Her husband, who rose to rank of Major in the Royal Engineers during the war, had served an apprenticeship as an engine driver on the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway before the war and was to serve as its manager post-war until 1948 until becoming sales manager of Ian Allan. From 1953 he was circulation manager of The Economist and later was a director at Ian Allan and The Economist. When he was appointed managing director of the Dart Valley Railway (DVR) in 1970 both Gibb and her husband were expected to spend much time away from their home in Cobham, Surrey to assist in the proceedings of the DVR.[3] Gibb's work at the DVR including unveiling the restored coach Vicky that had been used by Queen victoria.[4] Gibb had two children, her daughter commenting: "I think this exposure to so much railway stuff must have fired mum's imagination to produce her stories". Other work including contributions to the Robin children's magazine including Tubby the Odd-job Engine. Gibb ceased writing around 1969 but maintained an interest in artistic projects until her death in 2003.[1][unreliable source?][2][3]

Work[edit]

Sammy the Shunter[edit]

Sammy the Shunter is a fictional anthropomorphic steam locomotive character created by Eileen Gibb, featuring in a series of children's books published in the 1940s and 1950s. Sammy is depicted as a 2-4-2T locomotive, painted red with green wheels and a yellow dome who lives in the fictional town of Sleeping Sunbury in England. The various books tell of Sammy's adventures all over the world. They are mostly nearly 30 pages long, though Sammy the Shunter Bumper Book is closer to 60 pages. Sammy the Shunter also appears in the stories "The Holiday Train" and "Sammy on the Christmas Tree, featured in My Trains Book.

Sammy the Shunter was demonstrated in an O gauge layout at Railwayland, Scarborough and Brighton by Harold Elliot, Eliiot being known for his hilarious antics while demonstrating.[5][6]

The stories of The Railway Series (Thomas the Tank Engine) surpassed in popularity those of Sammy the Shunter, with many people attending Thomas events in the United States and the United Kingdom.[7][a]

Characters[edit]

  • Sammy is the main character throughout the books. He is a friendly 2-4-2T steam shunter painted red with green wheels, yellow buffers, blue running plates and yellow lining with his nameplate on his sides in yellow. In the first book, Sammy used to be a rusty colour and had a number 109846 before being repainted.
  • Mr. Buffin is Sammy's driver. He is a kind old man who is seen with Sammy on his adventures. It is mentioned in "Sammy Gets Streamlined" that he was meant to drive the Flying Scotsman but things had gone wrong. Mr. Buffin has a fear of wild animals.
  • Mr. Plum is the stationmaster of Sleeping Sunbury station. Mr. Plum is a strict man with a short temper who addressed Sammy by his number in the earlier books, but has a kinder side.

Billy the Bus[edit]

Gibb published Billy the bus. No 1 Billy and the robbers (1953, Ian Allan),[8] and Billy the bus. No 2 Billy goes exploring.[9]

Robin magazine[edit]

Gibb contributed to Robin children's magazine in the 1950s and 1960s with tales of Tubby the odd-job engine and other characters.[1]

Jigsaws[edit]

Series A: The first High Top series of 4 Sammy the Shunter jigsaws.

Two untitled series of four plywood c 30 piece jigsaws 5 3/4" x 7 3/4" featuring Sammy were produced in the 1950s by High Spot. The jigsaws were not individually titled. They are scarce but do come up from time to time on eBay. They can be differentiated as follows:

Series A

The images on the box lid tops are all centered with a "SERIES OF FOUR" label below and no text on the lid sides. The jigsaws are all portrait orientation with themes as follows:

  • At the Rodeo
  • At the Horse Race
  • At the Zoo
  • At the Fireworks Display

Series B

The images on the box lid tops are to the lower left and follow an American cowboy theme. The " series of four" label and "ALL INTERLOCKING" are printed on sides of the box lids. There are two portrait and two landscape images:

  • In America 1
  • In America 2
  • In America 3
  • In America 4
Series B: The second High Top Series of 4 Sammy the Shunter jigsaws.

Bibliography[edit]

  • Gibb, Eileen (1949). Sammy Gets Streamlined. London: Ian Allan. OCLC 560539886.
  • Gibb, Eileen (December 1949). Sammy Gets Streamlined. London: Ian Allan. OCLC 663900963.
  • Gibb, Eileen (September 1950). Sammy Goes to the Circus. London: Ian Allan. OCLC 30180291.
  • Gibb, Eileen (1951). Sammy Goes to Sea. London: Ian Allan. OCLC 810754930.
  • Gibb, Eileen (November 1951). Sammy Goes to America. London: Ian Allan.
  • Gibb, Eileen (August 1952). Sammy Goes to Fairyland. London: Ian Allan.
  • Gibb, Eileen (November 1952). Sammy Meets Father Christmas. London: Ian Allan. OCLC 30191217.
  • Gibb, Eileen (February 1953). Billy and the Robbers. Hampton Court: Ian Allan. [10]
  • Gibb, Eileen (May 1953). Billy Goes Exploring. Hampton Court: Ian Allan..[10]
  • Gibb, Eileen (July 1953). Sammy Goes to School. London: Ian Allan. OCLC 30169720.[11]
  • Various (1953). My Trains Book. London: Ian Allan. OCLC 316114446.
  • Gibb, Eileen (February 1954). Sammy Sees the Doctor. London: Ian Allan. OCLC 810754935.[11]
  • Gibb, Eileen (June 1954). Sammy and the Old Engines. London: Ian Allan. OCLC 30168960.
  • Gibb, Eileen (October 1954). Sammy the Shunter Bumper Book. London: Ian Allan. OCLC 560539851.
  • Gibb, Eileen (June 1955). Sammy Joins the Scouts. London: Ian Allan. OCLC 663899396.
  • Gibb, Eileen (1957). Sammy Goes to the Pole. London: Ian Allan. OCLC 663899440.
  • Gibb, Eileen (1959). Tubby the Odd-Job Engine. London: Hulton Press. OCLC 753005221.
  • Gibb, Eileen (1965). Sammy Saves a Railway Line. London: Ian Allan. OCLC 30269535.

References[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ The first Sammy books were in 1949 however the first Thomas books were earlier in 1946.

Footnotes[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Holland (2014).
  2. ^ a b Sunday Mercury (2012).
  3. ^ a b c Herald Express (1970), p. 4.
  4. ^ Herald Express (1972), p. 7.
  5. ^ Railway Modeller (1961), pp. 246–247.
  6. ^ Emerson (2016), Ch. 10: Empire Building.
  7. ^ Garnett (2005), p. 250.
  8. ^ Catalogue record. Worldcat. OCLC 560539829. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  9. ^ "Billy The Bus; No. 2 Billy Goes Exploring By Eileen Gibb". www.worldofbooks.com. World of Books. Retrieved 7 September 2020.[permanent dead link]
  10. ^ a b Billy the Bus series of books
  11. ^ a b Sammy Rhymes series of books

Sources[edit]

  • Emerson, John (2016). Modelling Railways in 0 Gauge. Crowood Press. ISBN 9781785002557. OCLC 953598864.
  • Garnett, A. F. (5 September 2005). Steel Wheels: The Evolution of the Railways and How They Stimulated and Excited Engineers, Architects, Artists, Writers, Musicians and Travellers. Waldenbury: Cannwood. ISBN 9780955025709. OCLC 569433118.
  • Holland, Steve (28 June 2014). "Eileen Gibb". Bear Alley. Archived from the original on 22 August 2020. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
  • Sunday Mercury (23 October 2012) [2009]. "Train buff's house just the ticket for retired guests". Birmingham Mail. Archived from the original on 22 August 2020. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
  • RM (October 1961). "Introducing "Sammy the Shunter"". Railway Modeller.
  • Staff (17 November 1970). "Dart Valley Railway has new chief". Herald Express. Torbay. p. 4.
  • Staff (22 March 1972). "Dart Valley Plan to run Victorian train with 'Royal' restored coach". Herald Express. Torbay. p. 7.
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