Hugh Walters (writer)

Hugh Walters
Born	Walter Llewelyn Hughes (1910-06-15)15 June 1910 Bradley, England, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
Died	13 January 1993(1993-01-13) (aged 82) Bilston, West Midlands, England, United Kingdom
Pen name	Hugh Walters
Education	Dudley Boys Grammar School
Alma mater	City of Wolverhampton College
Genre	Science fiction
Spouse	Doris Higgins

Hugh Walters (15 June 1910 – 13 January 1993) was a British writer of juvenile science fiction novels from Bradley in the West Midlands region of the United Kingdom.

Biography

Born Walter Llewelyn Hughes, he was educated at Dudley Grammar School and Wolverhampton College and lived most of his life in Bilston. He managed his own furniture store, Walter Hughes Ltd in Bradley and became Managing Director of Brasteds Ltd (a contraction of Bradley Bedsteads). In 1931 he married Doris Higgins; they had two children. He was a member of the British Interplanetary Society and British Astronomical Association, and became president of Bilston Rotary Club, and High Chief Ranger of the Ancient Order of Foresters. He was also a member of Bilston Tennis Club, was elected a member of Bilston Borough Council and in due course was appointed a magistrate.

Writings

In 1955 he was asked to talk at Bilston Rotary Club when the scheduled speaker cancelled. He spoke about space and astronomy, and as a result was asked to speak at nearby Coseley library during Science Fiction week. In preparation he read a large number of science fiction books, was not impressed, and thought he could do better. At the age of 47 he wrote his first book using the pseudonym Hugh Walters. He later said: "As I was also a magistrate and a local councillor, I felt [that writing science fiction] left me open to ridicule. People tend to treat science fiction as a bit of a joke, so I juggled with my name and came up with Hugh Walters."

Of his writing Walters said: "I believe a good SF story should (1) entertain, (2) educate painlessly, and (3) inspire the young people of today to be the scientists and technicians of tomorrow".

His first novels mostly dealt with the exploration of other planets in the Solar System. Written for a juvenile audience, they had a scientific foundation, anticipating such advances as ion engines. Walters began writing novels concerning alien visits after all the planets had been explored.

The main characters of his novels were two British astronauts, an American, and a Russian. Their names were Chris Godfrey, Tony Hale, Morrey Kant and Serge Smyslov, respectively. Later missions used a pair of telepathic twins, Gill and Gail Patrick, for communication.

The covers of the first 14 books had illustrations by the Faber and Faber illustrator Leslie Wood.

His books are still present on the Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society recommended reading list for children and young adults.

Bibliography

Hughes published 25 novels during a 40-year literary career.

Chris Godfrey of U.N.E.X.A. (United Nations Exploration Agency) series:

1. Blast Off at Woomera (1957) a.k.a. Blast Off at 0300
2. The Domes of Pico (1958) a.k.a. Menace from the Moon
3. Operation Columbus (1959) a.k.a. First on the Moon ()
4. Moon Base One (1960) a.k.a. Outpost on the Moon ¹ ()
5. Expedition Venus (1962) ()
6. Destination Mars (1963) ()
7. Terror by Satellite (1964) ()
8. Journey to Jupiter (1965)
9. Mission to Mercury (1965)
10. Spaceship to Saturn (1967) ()
11. The Mohole Mystery (1968) a.k.a. The Mohole Menace
12. Nearly Neptune (1968) a.k.a. Neptune One is Missing
13. First Contact? (1971) ()
14. Passage to Pluto (1973) ()
15. Tony Hale, Space Detective (1973) ()
16. Murder on Mars (1975) ()
17. The Caves of Drach (1977) ()
18. The Last Disaster (1978) ()
19. The Blue Aura (1979) ()
20. The Dark Triangle (1979) ()
21. The Glass Men (unpublished)

Boy Astronaut series:

1. Boy Astronaut (1977)
2. First Family on the Moon (1979) () (hardback), () (paperback)
3. School on the Moon (1981) ()

Other Books:

1. P-K (Psychokinesis London : Severn House, 1986.

¹ Outpost On The Moon is the US title of the USA edition, published in 1962 by Criterion Books, Inc. Its jacket included the note, "A somewhat different version of this story was published in England by Faber and Faber under the title Moon Base One."

External links

• Hugh Walters website
• Hugh Walters at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
• Black Country memories
• ISBN numbers