South Shields Sanddancers Forum

must admit i had never heard of this guy who was born in sunny shields but its another name to add to our list of famous ex pats

http://www.etsetoninstitute.org/SETONBIO.HTM

Interesting Jimmy but I'm a bit confused about his age when he died, several references in the article say he was born 1860 and died 1946 aged 96. Unless I have lost my marble my calculations come out at age 86. This error is repeated several times reading through diferent sections.

he he he must have been a proper shields lad then! even getting his death wrong, done a bit more reading on him and it looks like he was the founder of the boy scouts in USA and he even has a village named after him

Seton was actually born Ernest Evan Seton Thompson at 43 Beach Road, where there is a plaque on a tree in the garden. He was one of twelve sons and the family emigrated to Canada when he was six (in 1866). Apart from his work on conservation and woodcraft, he became world- famous through his animal books, his most popular work being Wild Animals I have Known. His literary admirers include George Orwell, Gavin Maxwell and Richard Adams (author of the best-selling rabbit saga Watership Down. The fox (Tod) in Adams' Plague Dogs, incidentally, speaks pure Geordie - tappy-lappy and all!

Seton lectured at the Newcastle Lit and Phil in 1904. He died in 1946.

His daughter was the famous novelist Anya Seton (1904-90), who sets one of her books in the North East at the time of the 1715 rebellion. It features the tragic Earl of Derwentwater - and a valiant attempt at the local accent. Anya visited her Snowdon cousins in Felton, and Billy Pigg, the great piper played 'Derwentwater's Farewell' for her. She said that she was most deeply indebted to Amy Flagg, the local historian in Westoe Village, for her research.

More on NE famous folk on:

http://pages.britishlibrary.net/alan.myers


I'm sorry to hear that Baldy has only one marble left.


Jerry

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I've actually got two but even together they do not make one good un.

nice one jerry, i thought i knew a lot of the famous folk from shields, dont know how i came to miss this one

What about the sheriff of South Shields.

I think more Shields folk knew him than your Setons or Ridley Scotts.

Cisco

I'm sure you're right Cisco, but isn't it interesting to know that the weed/scruff/twit who lived next door to you is now a Hollywood director/FI legend/professor of epidemiology at Oxford/wrote the famous Chalet School stories and taught at Laygate (all Shields-born). Or if you lived in High Shincliffe, that he's now prime minister?

Python Eric Idle was born in Shields in March 1943 and I'd love to know about him as a lad.

[Edit: Apparently he was born in Harton Hospital, but left Shields when still a toddler]

Jerry

You are right Jerry, they are the ones who will go down in the history books who have contributed to our society and culture.

Cisco