TRIBUTES have flooded in for author and illustrator Raymond Briggs, who has died at the age of 88.
In a statement through his publisher, Penguin Random House, his family said that he died on Tuesday morning of pneumonia.
The award-winning author, who lived in Sussex since 1961, was best known for his graphic novel The Snowman.
The story sees a boy create a snowman that comes to life, with the pair flying over the South Downs, the Palace Pier and the Royal Pavilion.
The 1978 book was made into an animated film four years later, becoming an annual festive broadcast on Channel 4.
The original introduction of the film featured the author walking through a field and describing his inspiration for the story.
He said: “I remember that winter because it had brought the heaviest snow I had ever seen. Snow had fallen steadily all night long and in the morning I woke in a room filled with light and silence, the whole world seemed to be held in a dream-like stillness.
“It was a magical day, and it was on that day I made The Snowman.”
'His books have touched millions'
Aled Jones, who sang a cover of Walking In The Air, which was featured in The Snowman, said he owed Raymond a “debt of gratitude”.
The Welsh singer said on his Classic FM radio show: “His books have touched millions of people all around the world, and what a debt of gratitude I owe to his greatest creation of all.”
Channel 4’s chief executive Alex Mahon said the author would “always have a special place” in the channel’s history as it marks four decades since the first broadcast of the animated version of his novel.
She said: “Briggs was a storyteller uniquely able to combine wonder and sadness, innocence and wisdom, something that made his voice uniquely British.”
A sequel, The Snowman And The Snowdog, was released in 2012, with 40 large figurines of the snowdogs being scattered across Brighton and Hove in an art project four years later.
Despite the Christmas setting of the original film, Raymond previously told The Argus in 2010 that he hated the holiday.
“I don’t like the season and I make a point of grumping about it,” he said.
Nuclear disarmament campaigner
Raymond was also a campaigner for nuclear disarmament, with his novel When The Wind Blows following the retired couple Jim and Hilda Bloggs as they are confronted with a nuclear attack on Britain by the Soviet Union.
One scene in the 1982 story features a road sign with directions to the village of Clayton, Brighton, and Westmeston, the village where he lived.
His novel, inspired by a Panorama documentary on contingency planning in the event of nuclear war, was praised in the House of Commons for its originality and timeliness.
Raymond would go on to write a pamphlet for campaign group Professions For Peace on what would happen to towns and cities in the event of nuclear war, titled Sussex after the bomb.
It detailed how the control headquarters for East Sussex would be based in a nuclear bunker under County Hall in Lewes.
He wrote: “Anyone in the building itself would be blown through the windows by a nuclear attack on Newhaven.”
He also joined other authors and publishers in delivering a book list to then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher calling for disarmament.
When The Wind Blows was also later made into an animated film, with rock star David Bowie performing the title song. Bowie would also go on to feature in an alternative introduction to the film version of The Snowman.
Disarmament group Trident Ploughshares said: "His beautifully illustrated tale of a nuclear attack brought the reality of nuclear war home to many. Time for younger generations to read it and then act."
'Wise, perceptive and encouraging tutor'
Alongside his work as an author, Raymond also taught illustration at the Brighton School of Art, now part of the University of Brighton, from 1961 to 1986. One of his students was Chris Riddell, who later became a prolific illustrator and political cartoonist for the Observer.
Speaking to charity BookTrust in 2017, Chris said: “Raymond was inspirational. As a tutor, he was wise, perceptive and encouraging, but his great gift was to inspire.
“Through his life and work, he showed a generation of students that we could make a career in illustration and stay true to ourselves.
“I will always be grateful and proud to have been taught by him.”
A spokesman for the University of Brighton said: “We are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of iconic writer and illustrator Raymond Briggs.
“As a Brighton native and illustration tutor in the School of Art in the 1960s, we share a long-standing connection.
“May his incredible works continue to bring inspiration, magic and joy.”
'He will live on in his books'
He received a lifetime achievement award by BookTrust in 2017 and also judged a drawing competition in 2019 for the Chestnut Tree House children’s hospice in Sussex, for which he was a patron.
The competition saw more than 100 youngsters draw or paint a snowman picture inspired by Raymond’s famous character.
A spokesman for Chestnut Tree House said they were “saddened” by the news of his death and would miss him greatly.
He said: “Raymond has been a friend and patron for many years and we will always be grateful for his kindness and support.”
A BookTrust spokeswoman echoed the sentiment and said: “He will live on in his stunning, iconic books.”
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