89:. In July 1940, Sinclair began war service in the Royal Air Force, and hired Alf Wight to run the practice. However, in order to join up, Sinclair had claimed to be younger than he actually was. It was quickly discovered that his reflexes were not fast enough for him to continue with pilot training. He could have been redeployed within the service, but the fact that he was a veterinary surgeon meant that he was considered to be more useful to the war effort by resuming his peacetime profession. The severe national food shortage meant that proper veterinary treatment of farm animals received a high priority and so, within four months of joining the RAF, Sinclair received a compulsory discharge and returned to Thirsk.
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In an interview in 2017, Jim Wight said that "One of the misconceptions was that
Sinclair ... was a tyrant and my father was a wimp. Because my father worked harder than Sinclair did, that is absolutely true ... But ... he supported Donald in many ways but he also earned more than Donald. He said to
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After Wight's first book was published, Sinclair was offended by his portrayal and said, "Alfred, this book is a real test of our friendship". (He never called Wight "Alf", mirrored in the books by
Siegfried always referring to Herriot as "James" rather than "Jim".) One of the things he was unhappy
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flaws, such as forgetting appointments or leaving instruments behind after calls, only for the reader to find that
Siegfried is guilty of the same things. Siegfried also is forgetful, frequently telling people things and then forgetting them within the same day, refusing to believe that when told.
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The fictional
Siegfried Farnon is outspoken, opinionated, bossy, quick to lose his temper, and also quick to calm down. He is good-hearted and an animal lover, fond of riding, and infuriated by any suspicion of cruelty to animals. A theme in Herriot's stories was Siegfried's criticism of James's
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about was the name
Siegfried, a German name with Wagnerian echoes which, in the 1930s, would have stirred thoughts of Nazis. "Sinclair was so peeved by Wight’s portrayal that at one point he threatened to sue him". Things calmed down and the pair continued to work together until they retired.
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series, visited
Sinclair before playing him, and developed the character based upon his observations. Hardy reminisced that Sinclair hated the way that Hardy played him, and that, Hardy claimed, Sinclair was wholly unaware of his own eccentricities. They subsequently became friends, Sinclair
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Articles about Alf Wight shed more light on the start of the relationship between the two vets. When
Sinclair was about to leave for RAF training, he gave Wight all the income of the practice, in return for looking after it during his absence. His brother,
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Donald, 'Look, I’m doing all the work. Everything that I do goes into my pocket and everything you do goes into yours.' That’s fair enough, isn’t it?"
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forgiving Hardy. Hardy has said: "I always wished I'd known him before ... It would have helped me to perfect a much more interesting character."
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in 1933. He was made famous as the inspiration for the eccentric character
Siegfried Farnon, in the semi-autobiographical books of
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160:(Tristan in the books) had died in 1988, and his friend and partner, Alf Wight, only four months previously, in 1995.
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Original name plates for Donald
Sinclair (Siegfried Farnon) and Alf Wight (James Herriot) on display at the
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The building which was the veterinary surgery of Alf Wight and Brian and Donald Sinclair, 23 Kirkgate,
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315:"Donald Sinclair, 84, Inspiration For Herriot's Veterinary Tales"
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249:"All Creatures Great and Small: Who was the real James Herriot"
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In 1939, Sinclair bought a veterinary practice at 23 Kirkgate,
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Official James Herriot website (worldofjamesherriot.com)
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Inspiration for fictional character Siegfried Farnon
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163:Sinclair was survived by his daughter and son.
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662:Royal Air Force personnel of World War II
132:Alf Wight's son, Jim, wrote in his book,
45:Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies
183:James Herriot: The Life of a Country Vet
657:Military personnel from North Yorkshire
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652:Alumni of the University of Edinburgh
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429:"Make way sheep, we're Herriot fans"
343:van Maren, Jonathon (13 June 2017).
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220:. Random House Publishing Group.
180:Lord, Graham (22 November 2012).
642:Drug-related suicides in England
427:Bell, Gavin (10 January 2004).
214:Wight, James (27 April 2011).
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563:All Creatures Great and Small
535:All Creatures Great and Small
508:All Creatures Great and Small
488:All Creatures Great and Small
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516:It Shouldn't Happen to a Vet
398:. Ballantine Books. p.
647:Barbiturates-related deaths
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581:The World of James Herriot
312:Pace, Eric (8 July 1995).
253:Irish Times/New York Times
75:The World of James Herriot
237:– via Google Books.
203:– via Google Books.
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276:. 23:00-23:58: ATV. 2003
61:Royal Air Force service
41:Donald Vaughan Sinclair
667:Royal Air Force airmen
134:The Real James Herriot
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617:British veterinarians
392:Wight, James (2001).
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366:Vineyard, Jennifer.
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637:People from Thirsk
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73:. It is now
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632:1995 deaths
622:1911 births
372:Irish Times
351:20 December
611:Categories
542:characters
167:References
29:museum in
527:TV series
280:17 August
87:Yorkshire
586:Darrowby
547:episodes
325:13 March
290:cite web
574:Related
377:3 March
258:3 March
233:3 March
199:3 March
558:(2011)
519:(1976)
511:(1975)
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154:Thirsk
83:Thirsk
71:Thirsk
31:Thirsk
500:Films
158:Brian
144:Death
404:ISBN
379:2021
353:2023
327:2021
296:link
282:2020
260:2021
235:2021
222:ISBN
201:2021
188:ISBN
491:by
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
