Harold Avery

Harold Avery (1867–1943) was an English author of children's literature.

Avery's books often contained illustrations such as this one, from his book Frank's First Term, published in 1896.

Charles Harold Avery was born on 13 April 1867 in Headless Cross/Feckenham near Redditch, Worcestershire, England. He was the son of William Avery (1832–1899), a needle manufacturer from Headless Cross/Redditch. His father was the owner of the W. Avery & Son company, which made needles, pins and needle cases during the second half of the nineteenth century. His mother was Marie Proctor Dingley (1832–1895), originally of Sherbourne, Dorset. Charles had one sibling, an older brother named Benjamin Ricardo Avery (1862–1947). His grandparents were John Avery (1807–1865) a needle maker and needle manufacturer from Headless Cross and his wife Catherine (née Johnson) Avery (1806–1888); and William Dingley (1801 – after 1851), a mercer and draper from Sherbourne, Dorset and his wife Grace (née Pease) Dingley (1801 – after 1851). On the Avery side of the family he had two uncles, both needle manufacturers: Charles Avery (1834–1911) and Joseph Avery (1839–1915); an aunt Catherine (née Avery) Hancox (1842–1875); and four cousins: Mary Hancox, Helen Hancox, Charles Owen Hancox and John James Hancox. Charles attended school at Compton Place Road New College in Eastbourne, Sussex and when his studies were completed, went to work for his father in Headless Cross as a needle manufacturer assistant.

Charles married Winifred Allen (1869–1938), the daughter of a Wesleyan minister in Launceston, Cornwall on 26 April 1898. How they met is unknown, however, his parents were active members of the Wesleyan church and his mother had visited West Looe in Cornwall in 1891. On his marriage certificate, Charles is listed as an author who was living at Bridgegrove Villas in St. Stephens by Launceston at the time of his marriage. In 1899 when his father died, Charles inherited half of his father's estate which passed to the two brothers in equal shares on 29 September 1899. Charles and Benjamin where listed as gentlemen in the sale documents when the property was sold to another needle manufacturer J. English & Son in September 1900. Charles' residence on these documents was listed as Belmont Villa in Boscastle, Cornwall. By 1901 the couple had moved to or was visiting South Hammersmith in London where they were boarders in a house they shared with his brother Benjamin. By 1907 Charles and Winifred were living at Wyndcliffe on Hornyold Road in Malvern, Worcestershire. Their only child, a son they named William Harold Avery, was born there on 10 October 1907. In 1911 Charles was living with his brother in Eastbourne, Sussex while Winifred and their three-year-old child, William, were living with or visiting her sisters and brother in Launceston.

Winifred died in Stratford-Upon-Avon on 19 December 1938. On her death certificate, she is listed as the wife of the author Charles Harold Avery. Their son, William, who was living with her at the time of her death, is listed as the informant. According to his brother's, Benjamin Ricardo Avery, will where Charles was listed as a witness, Charles was living in Evesham with his brother Benjamin and his son William on 3 June 1943. Charles died on 25 September 1943 in Evesham, Worcestershire of a cerebral hemorrhage. On his death certificate, he is listed as a 76-year-old author. His son, William, was the informant on his death certificate as well as his brother Benjamin's death certificate when he died in Evesham, Worcestershire on 4 February 1947. William was also listed as the executor of Benjamin's will proved on 21 March 1947 in Birmingham. The son, William, died on 11 December 1971 in the Torbay hospital of cerebral vascular accident (stroke). His death certificate indicates he was a retired bank manager who resided at Windycliffe, 6 Spring Hill Road in the town of Totnes, Devon.

The following biography (next three paragraphs) prepared by his publisher appears to be fiction.

His biography (1951, Introduction to No Surrender!, Thomas Nelson and Sons) states that in 1879, Avery's family left England for Australia. During transit, his passenger ship was allegedly hijacked by Malay pirates while traversing the Strait of Malacca. The ship was forced to run aground, and although Avery survived, his parents did not. Avery spent three years living with the Lanuns, a native people from Malaysia. In 1882 he was rescued by a Dutch naval ship and reunited with his paternal aunt, Hanna Avery, his only living relative. Avery returned to his studies and attended Eton College in Berkshire. He later moved with his aunt to Edinburgh, Scotland where he took a job in the city's water department. Avery began writing in his early twenties, and in 1894 his book The Orderly Officer was published. The Edinburgh-based publisher Thomas Nelson and Sons published The Triple Alliance in 1897 and remained Avery's main publisher for the next 30 years.

Avery wrote mainly school stories. These books were popular among boys and girls in the later half of the 19th and earlier part of the 20th centuries and described life in public and private schools in England. For his books, he drew mainly on his experiences at Eton. Avery also wrote several adventure books and stories, often featuring pirates and again drawing on his childhood experiences in Malaysia. He was extremely prolific, writing over 50 books within a 45-year period.

Avery lived a very reclusive life, never marrying and living with his increasingly elderly aunt. He rarely left Edinburgh and never traveled outside of Britain as an adult, although he always expressed a wish to travel. In early 1941, in the midst of WWII, Avery retired and finally left Europe, supposedly to travel round the world. The last Avery was heard from was in a postcard to his Aunt, written in 1943 from Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. In 1951, after his death, Avery's publisher (Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd.) released a special re-issue of No Surrender! (originally published in 1933), featuring the only known biography of Avery in the introduction.