Theodore Stanhope Sprigg | |
---|---|
Born | |
Died | June 8, 1977 | (aged 73)
Nationality | British |
Occupation | Publisher |
Years active | 1924 |
Known for | Founding of the magazine publishing house Airways Publications |
Spouse |
Vida M.H. Devant (
m. 1929) |
Parents |
|
Family | Christopher St John Sprigg (brother) |
Military career | |
Allegiance |
United Kingdom
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Branch | Royal Air Force |
Rank | Wing Commander |
Unit | Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve |
Wars | World War II |
Wing Commander Theodore Stanhope Sprigg (12 May 1903 - 8 June 1977) [1] was a British magazine editor. [2] [3] His father, Stanhope W. Sprigg, had been the first editor of The Windsor Magazine. [4] Sprigg and his brother started a publishing company, Airways Publications, in 1924, and published Airways, a magazine about air travel. Over the next few years they added other titles, including Aircraft Engineering, Flying, and Who's Who in British Aviation. He earned a pilot's license in 1931. [2]
In 1934 he proposed to publisher Newnes four fiction titles: Air Stories, Fantasy, War Stories, and Western Adventures. [2] The first to appear was Air Stories, in May 1935; [2] War Stories was begun in October 1935, but only lasted five issues. [5] It was replaced by Western Adventures in February 1936, which also failed after only five issues. [6] Fantasy was delayed for several years, perhaps because Scoops, the first attempt at a British science fiction magazine, had proved to be a failure in 1934. It was finally launched in 1938, and produced three issues over the next year. [7] Air Stories was the most successful of the four, lasting five years on a regular monthly schedule. [2] However, Sprigg was in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, [2] and when World War II began he was called up and both Air Stories and Fantasy ceased publication. [2]
Sprigg left the RAFVR in 1954 with rank of wing commander. [8]