T. Stanhope Sprigg
Wing Commander Theodore Stanhope Sprigg (1903-1977) was a British magazine editor.[1][2] His father, Stanhope W. Sprigg, had been the first editor of The Windsor Magazine.[3] Sprigg and his brother started a publishing company, Airways Publications, in 1924, and published Airways, a magazine about air travel. Over the next few years they added other titles, including Aircraft Engineering, Flying, and Who's Who in British Aviation. He earned a pilot's license in 1931.[1]
In 1934 he proposed to publisher Newnes four fiction titles: , Fantasy, War Stories, and Western Adventures.[1] The first to appear was Air Stories, in May 1935;[1] War Stories was begun in October 1935, but only lasted five issues.[4] It was replaced by Western Adventures in February 1936, which also failed after only five issues.[5] Fantasy was delayed for several years, perhaps because Scoops, the first attempt at a British science fiction magazine, had proved to be a failure in 1934. It was finally launched in 1938, and produced three issues over the next year.[6] Air Stories was the most successful of the four, lasting five years on a regular monthly schedule.[1] However, Sprigg was in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve,[1] and when World War II began he was called up and both Air Stories and Fantasy ceased publication.[1]
Sprigg left the RAFVR in 1954 with rank of wing commander.[7]
Works[]
- Marvels Of The Air 1936 Newnes
- Civil Aviation As A Career1939, Newnes
- Bombers of the RAF
- The Royal Air Force 1941, Collins
- Battleships with Wings 1942 Collins - covering RAF Coastal Command
- Wings of the Army 1945 . Collins,
- War Story Of The Fighter Command
- The Aeroplane Directory of British Aviation (1966) Temple Press. with W.L. Marsh, C.P. Bracken, W.C.M. Whittle
References[]
Sources[]
- Ashley, Mike (2006). The Age of the Storytellers. London: British Library & Oak Knoll Press. ISBN 0-7123-0698-6.
- British magazine editors
- Science fiction editors