Publishing legend David St John Thomas dies, aged 84

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ONE of the founders of the former Newton Abbot book publisher David & Charles has died.

David St John Thomas, 84, was involved in more branches of writing, broadcasting and publishing than most of his generation. He will especially be remembered for his publishing company David & Charles, which pioneered many editorial, production and marketing methods and served a host of specialist interests.

The largest division, Reader's Union, with its many specialist hobby clubs, was the largest privately-owned book club operation in the English-speaking world, and in later years his own magazine Writers News enjoyed a large circulation and good reputation.

The son of a literary journalist and author, Gilbert Thomas, Mr St John Thomas was born in Romford, Essex, in 1929, and grew up with books and a model railway always around him.

While attending Teignmouth Grammar School he became passionate about railways and their impact on society, unofficially working branch line signal boxes and driving locomotives in his mid-teens, and collecting experiences which were to turn his later books into bestsellers.

He rejected his first job offer, in the Exeter excursion department of the Great Western Railway. He was a conscientious objector during the Second World War. After the war he joined the Western Morning News as a junior reporter, having started writing features and book reviews while still at grammar school.

He saved to start his own business and in the end started two — a fruit farm and David & Charles.

He started the publishing firm with Charles Hadfield, the canal historian who withdrew from the firm four years later though remaining a loyal author for a further 25 years.

The businessman first ran the company from a hut on the fruit farm and then it moved on to the edge of Brunel Industrial Estate next to Newton Abbot railway station.

Expanding rapidly, the firm addressed a range of markets.

Publishing over 300 books a year led David & Charles quickly to change established publishing methodologies.

All these innovations went along with the rapid expansion of the firm and its expanding number of staff and offices.

However, expansion had its perils, especially with rapid inflation, and twice David & Charles was on the verge of going under.

Mr St John Thomas' son Gareth St John Thomas announced in 1990 they had decided to sell.

David moved to Scotland and started work on Writers News.

Mr St John Thomas was patron of the South Devon Railway and vice president of the Railway and Canal Historical Society.

His success in publishing was eventually matched with happiness with his third marriage to childhood sweetheart Sheila Anne Twemlow in 1997.

They lived beside the Moray Firth, Scotland, happily for the last 25 years of his life.

In all, Mr St John Thomas, himself had 50 books published including two large travel volumes. His latest book Farewell to Trains was only published last year.

Despite being so well known as a railway enthusiast, he always said his main interests were music and gardening. He loved travelling by train and cruise ship. In fact, he died peacefully in his sleep on board the Queen Victoria on August 19.

He is survived by his wife, daughter Alyss Clare, son Gareth, grandsons Nathan and Joshua, and daughter-in-law Benny.