Council leader has collie-wobbles over Lassie author plaque (From Wharfedale Observer)

Knight to be remembered in home village of Menston

7:20am Saturday 29th January 2011 in News By Jim Jack

A plaque to commemorate Menston’s unique but little-known claim to literary fame is all set to go up at the village library this year.

Biographer Greg Christie has been campaigning since 2009 to get a permanent memorial in place to celebrate Menston being the birthplace of Lassie author Eric Knight.

Knight, whose books about the heroic Collie have been translated into more than 100 languages and spawned 27 movies and TV shows, was born in Menston in 1897.

But few people in Yorkshire are now aware of the link, and that’s something Mr Christie – whose discovery of the fact in the 1990s inspired him to begin work on his biography of the writer, which is due out next year – is determined to change.

At first he feared planning regulations might thwart his dream of getting a blue plaque in Knight’s memory put up in the village, but now Bradford Council has confirmed it is happy for the scheme to proceed.

The council’s libraries manager, Jane Heap, said: “We are looking to go ahead with the plaque so that it can be in place during 2011, which we understand is a significant anniversary for Eric Knight’s work.”

A delighted Mr Christie said: “This is great news. Eric’s homes in the States – which I helped identify for their Heritage Trail – mark his presence there, so it is only fitting that Menston should be recognised as the birthplace of the man who created literature’s most enduring heroine.

“I hope the plaque will also help boost tourism and place Menston deservedly on the literary map. Americans flock to see the Bronte house, not knowing that the dog they grew up with from 600 TV episodes had her beginnings but a few miles down the road.”

He also confirmed 2011’s importance in terms of Knight’s history. He said: “This year’s significant because it was 75 years ago, in 1936, that Eric produced his first draft of the Lassie story. His journal notes, ‘I started the juvenile story based on Toots (Knight’s own Collie). I read what I’ve written to her each evening, the bits she likes I keep in and the bits she doesn’t I take out’.”

Menston Parish Council supported the plaque idea in principle and chairman Peter Finlay said he was glad to hear it was proceeding – though he has some reservations.

He said: "I’m also always mindful that if you get too big an influx of tourists it can create havoc for residents.

“So I think we’ll have to wait and see what impact it has on the village.”

Mr Christie is confident he will raise the necessary funds for the plaque quickly from Knight enthusiasts around the world, some of whom – including three of the author’s grandchildren in the US – have already contacted this newspaper to voice their support for the project. Knight moved to the States when he was only 15.