Rev. W. Awdry

Wilbert Vere Awdry (15 June 1911 – 21 March 1997), often credited as Rev. W. Awdry, was an English Anglican clergyman, railway enthusiast, and children's author best known for creating The Railway Series and the character Thomas the Tank Engine. He began telling the railway stories to his son in 1942 and published the first books in the series from 1945 onward. Awdry's attention to railway detail and storytelling made his books enduring classics and inspired television adaptations and wide merchandising.