Sydney George Hulme Beaman

• Birth Name — Sydney George Hulme Beaman • Born — 28 February 1887 • Birthplace — Tottenham, London, England • Died — 4 February 1932 • Occupation — * Author • illustrator • actor • Period — Interwar Britain • Children — 2 • Relatives — Emeric Hulme Beaman Ardern Hulme Beaman Frank Beaman • Genre — Children's literature • Notable Works — Toytown • Name — S.G. Hulme Beaman

Beaman was born in Tottenham, London, on 28 February 1887, the eldest of three children. As a child he was particularly interested in mechanical objects. According to his lifelong friend Hendrik Baker, his attention to detail in his work came from his father.

Beaman attended the Heatherley School of Fine Art, and during that period founded the theatre group known as the Dickens Fellowship, which led to him being invited to perform at smoking concerts. He met his wife, Maud Mary Poltock, during these performances. After his stint there he turned to making wooden toys, taking advantage of the fact that Germany was no longer the dominant force in the industry. He began to weave stories around them, which led to the birth of Toytown in 1928. May Jenkin, or "Aunt Elizabeth", arranged for his Toytown stories to be adapted into radio plays for Children's Hour, and when they became successful she wrote to Hulme Beaman demanding more. Beaman used to work out his ideas for the show in a miniature theatre at his home, using his original models. Prior to his creating the Toytown series, Hulme Beaman was already well known for having created the strip cartoon Philip and Phido in 1923. This was about a boy and his dog, and featured early versions of characters later to be in Toytown. He was often in the studio while his work was being broadcast, and occasionally took part in the programme. This continued until the last Tuesday before his death. Later in his career he was inspired by the early Walt Disney cartoons to create marionette and animated renditions of his Toytown play The Arkville Dragon. He died on 4 February 1932 of pneumonia: however, his plays were remounted for radio until 1964, and his friend Hendrik Baker would adapt his original plays for stage, vinyl and television over the next six decades.

The following works and productions are recorded by name or by count. Recorded as human. Institutional cataloguing adds that sydney George Hulme Beaman is recorded with the occupation writer. Institutional cataloguing adds that sydney George Hulme Beaman is recorded with the occupation illustrator. Institutional cataloguing adds that sydney George Hulme Beaman is recorded with the occupation author. Recorded with the gender male. It is also recorded that sydney George Hulme Beaman was born on 1 January 1887. Beaman died on 4 February 1932.

• Year — Title — Publisher — Reprints • 1922 — Bunny's New House and The Fire Engine — Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd. (in The Youngest Omnibus) — 1934, 1946, 1952 • 1924 — Aladdin — John Lane, The Bodley Head — N/A • 1925 — The Road to Toytown — Oxford University Press — 1938 (in Stories from Toytown), 1979 (in The Book of Toytown and Larry the Lamb), 1985 (in Toytown and Larry the Lamb) • Trouble in Toyland — N/A • Jerry and Joe • The Wooden Knight • 1926 — The Seven Voyages of Sinbad the Sailor — John Lane, The Bodley Head — N/A • 1927 — Teddy's New Job — Frederick Warne & Co. — 1928 (in Out of the Ark), 1930, 1934 (both in The Toytown Book) • Wally the Kangaroo • Grunty the Pig • Jimmy the Baby Elephant • Ham and the Egg • Jenny the Giraffe • Pig-Pig and the Three Bears — Oxford University Press — N/A • 1928 — Tales of Toytown — 1930 (as Ernest the Policeman), 1939, 1946 • 1929 — John Trusty — Collins — 1938, 1951 • 1930 — Wireless in Toytown — 1939 • The Toytown Mystery • 1938 — Stories from Toytown — Oxford University Press (published posthumously) — 1942, 1985 (as Toytown and Larry the Lamb)

• Year — Title — Author • 1926 — These Old Shades — Georgette Heyer • 1930 — Three Daughters — Olive Heseltine (as Jane Dashwood) • The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde — Robert Louis Stevenson (originally published 1886) • 1931 — The Smith Family — H. C. Cradock