Thomas Henry (illustrator)

The oldest of three brothers, he became an apprentice to T. Bailey Forman (Nottingham newspaper proprietors and printers) at the young age of fourteen.

He married Gertrude Ellen Mensing from Cotgrave in 1906 and settled down in Plumtree, Nottinghamshire, a neighbouring village on the outskirts of Nottingham.

He illustrated the first three collections of Jane stories at the publishing house of Newnes, which folded into IPC Media (now a branch of Time Warner).

He created a series of postcards for the purpose of fundraising for the National Institute for the Blind, depicting visually handicapped people in poignant situations.

He created other sets of postcards, including one of William and his friends, and another depicting a fictitious pair of children – Jane and Herbert.

Surprisingly Thomas Henry met Richmal Crompton face-to-face only once, at a book festival luncheon in Nottingham.

However, Thomas Henry created all the cartoons with the approval of Richmal Crompton, and would consult her if the publisher's storyline was atypical of the character of William Brown.

However, William's original attire of waistcoat and starched collar was subsequently changed by Henry to a more modern style.

At the time of his death Thomas Henry had only completed some of the drawings for the thirty-fourth book William and the Witch.