Newbury author Richard Adams dies
Famed writer of Watership Down born in Wash Common
NEWBURY author, Richard Adams has died.
The author's daughter , Juliet Johnson, has confirmed the death of her father, aged 96, on Christmas Eve.
Born in Wash Common he penned the famous children's classic story, Watership Down, which sold over 50m copies and became an equally successful animated film, of the same title.
More recently, and locally, Mr Adams vehemently slammed proposals for a development at Sandleford Park, an area rich and alive with nature which he and many others enjoyed walking over.
This was after Sandleford Warren - the fictional target for redevelopment in his book Watership Down - was subject to plans for 2000 homes on greenbelt land at Sandleford Park, in an uncanny situation of art resembling reality.
A part of literary history, the West Berkshire site featured in the opening chapter of Mr Adams' book and was described as a serene and tranquil plot:
“But a blackbird, singing undisturbed on the outskirts of the wood, showed that there was nothing alarming there, and in the other direction, along the brook, all was plain to be seen, empty and quiet. The warren was at peace.”
Educated at Oxford, after winning a scholarship, his studies were interrupted by five years service in the Army, during the Second World War.
For more on this story pick up a copy of the Newbury Weekly News on Thursday.