{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2015}} {{Use British English|date=October 2015}} {{short description|English writer (1923–2005)}} '''Tom Hadaway''' (18 March 1923 – 3 March 2005)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2ba0ae5ce9|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190326151122/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2ba0ae5ce9|url-status=dead|archive-date=26 March 2019|title = Tom Hadaway}}</ref> was a writer for stage and television, born in North Shields in North East England.<ref name = tribute>{{cite web| title = Tributes paid to popular writer| publisher = BBC | date = 2005-03-03 | url = https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/tyne/4315771.stm | access-date = 2008-03-02}}</ref>
== Early life == Hadaway was born on Howdon Road, North Shields on 18 March 1923.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/tim-healy-unveil-plaque-honour-14411214|title=Tim Healy to unveil plaque in honour of top playwright Tom Hadaway|last=Sharma|first=Sonia|date=2018-03-17|work=nechronicle|access-date=2018-04-04}}</ref> After leaving school, aged 14,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://northumbrianlanguagesociety.co.uk/northumbrian-language-society/presidents/tom-hadaway/|title = Tom Hadaway}}</ref> he worked on the North Shields Fish Quay where the characters of fellow workers made a strong impression on him.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2005/mar/11/guardianobituaries.artsobituaries1|title=Obituary: Tom Hadaway|last=Plater|first=Alan|date=2005-03-11|website=the Guardian|language=en|access-date=2018-04-04}}</ref> Their characteristics and experiences would later be recalled in his writing.
== Career == Encouraged by the writer C. P. Taylor, who lived in nearby Newcastle and had heard his natural flair for storytelling on the radio, Hadaway began writing plays based on his experiences and observations of the region.<ref name=":1" /> Taylor would become a friend and mentor, advising him to write about the places and characters he knew.
Later in his career he worked on television scripts, most notably ''God Bless Thee Jackie Maddison'' (1974) as well as episodes of the drama ''When the Boat Comes In'' (1976).<ref name="tribute" />
He worked with Amber Films and was a key writer for Newcastle's Live Theatre Company featuring local actors including Tim Healy and Robson Green.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2005/mar/11/guardianobituaries.artsobituaries1 |title=Obituary: Tom Hadaway |website=TheGuardian.com |date=11 March 2005 |accessdate=2016-12-17 |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304073932/http://www.theguardian.com/news/2005/mar/11/guardianobituaries.artsobituaries1 |archivedate=4 March 2016 |df=dmy }}</ref>
In 2002 he received an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from the University of Sunderland.<ref>{{cite web| title = New Intermediate Care Unit opens – named for North Tyneside author Tom Hadaway| publisher = North Tyneside PCT | date = 2006-11-03 | url = http://www.northtynesidepct.nhs.uk/story.asp?p_id=217 | accessdate = 2008-03-02}} {{Dead link|date=October 2010|bot=H3llBot}}</ref>
His ''Prison Plays'' were published in 2004, edited by Val McLane.<ref>{{cite web| title = Popular writer's plays published| publisher = BBC | date = 2004-12-02 | url = https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/4061055.stm | access-date = 2008-03-02}}</ref>
In March 2018, on what would have been his 95th birthday, a blue plaque was unveiled at Hadaway's birthplace by Tim Healy.<ref name=":0" />
== References == {{reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hadaway, Tom}} Category:1923 births Category:2005 deaths Category:People from North Shields Category:Writers from Tyne and Wear Category:English male dramatists and playwrights Category:20th-century English dramatists and playwrights Category:20th-century English male writers
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