R. D. Wingfield
Encyclopedia
Rodney David Wingfield was an English
author
and radio
dramatist
. He is best remembered for creating the character of Detective Inspector Jack Frost
, who was later played by Sir David Jason
in A Touch of Frost
.
, east London in 1928. He was educated at the Coopers' Company School
and during the Second World War
was evacuated to Frome
, Somerset
. Wingfield was exempted from National Service due to poor eyesight
and had various office jobs in the East End
before joining the Petrofina
oil company. His first radio play, Compensating Error was accepted by the BBC
in 1968 and two more were then commissioned, at which point Wingfield resigned from his job. His radio plays are discussed at ukonline
invited him to write a book, and he wrote Frost at Christmas
. This was rejected and not published until the early 1980s in Canada
. Wingfield had originally planned to kill Frost in the first book, but he was persuaded instead to leave it as an open ending. Following this, two more Frost books were written: A Touch of Frost
and Night Frost
. In 1977 Frost appeared in a radio play called Three Days of Frost, in which Frost was played by Leslie Sands
, a friend of Wingfield's. The books were first published in the United Kingdom
in early 1989, and in 1992 Frost first appeared on television in A Touch of Frost
, played by David Jason
. Wingfield was never enthusiastic about the TV adaptation of his detective, once saying he had nothing against David Jason but "he just isn't my Frost".
Hard Frost
was published in 1995, followed by Winter Frost in 1999. Wingfield did not enjoy writing books, and much preferred writing radio scripts. In 20 years he wrote over 40 radio mystery plays, but stopped in 1988, with Hate Mail, due to the decline of radio and the success of his Frost books. As well as the many mystery plays, Wingfield also penned a comedy radio series, The Secret Life of Kenneth Williams, starring Kenneth Williams
as a secret agent
. Wingfield was a very private man, always avoiding book launches and publishing parties, and being rarely photographed.
. At about the same time he started writing the sixth, and final, Frost book, A Killing Frost
. His wife, Phyllis Patten, whom he married in 1952, died in 2004. They had a son, Phillip. The cancer killed Wingfield in 2007, and his final book, A Killing Frost, was published on 7 April 2008. All the books (except Winter Frost) are currently available in E-Book Format in various online shops (Waterstones, Amazon
(Kindle
), WH Smith etc.)
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
and radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
dramatist
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
. He is best remembered for creating the character of Detective Inspector Jack Frost
Jack Frost (detective)
Detective Chief Inspector William Edward "Jack" Frost, GC is a fictional detective created by R. D. Wingfield - characterised as sloppy, untidy, hopeless with paperwork - but unmatched at solving mysteries...
, who was later played by Sir David Jason
David Jason
Sir David John White, OBE , better known by his stage name David Jason, is an English BAFTA award-winning actor. He is best known as the main character Derek "Del Boy" Trotter on the BBC sit-com Only Fools and Horses from 1981, the voice of Mr Toad in The Wind In The Willows and as detective Jack...
in A Touch of Frost
A Touch of Frost (TV series)
A Touch of Frost is a television detective series produced by Yorkshire Television for ITV from 1992 until 2010, initially based on the Frost novels by R. D. Wingfield....
.
Early life
Rodney David Wingfield was born in HackneyMetropolitan Borough of Hackney
The Metropolitan Borough of Hackney was a Metropolitan borough of the County of London from 1900 to 1965. Its area became part of the London Borough of Hackney.-Formation and boundaries:...
, east London in 1928. He was educated at the Coopers' Company School
Coopers' Company and Coborn School
The Coopers' Company and Coborn School is a 11-18 school in Upminster, in the London Borough of Havering, and is part of Essex.-Admissions:The school is a non-selective voluntary aided state comprehensive school describe by Ofsted as "an exceptional school of real excellence". The school excels at...
and during the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
was evacuated to Frome
Frome
Frome is a town and civil parish in northeast Somerset, England. Located at the eastern end of the Mendip Hills, the town is built on uneven high ground, and centres around the River Frome. The town is approximately south of Bath, east of the county town, Taunton and west of London. In the 2001...
, Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
. Wingfield was exempted from National Service due to poor eyesight
Visual perception
Visual perception is the ability to interpret information and surroundings from the effects of visible light reaching the eye. The resulting perception is also known as eyesight, sight, or vision...
and had various office jobs in the East End
East End of London
The East End of London, also known simply as the East End, is the area of London, England, United Kingdom, east of the medieval walled City of London and north of the River Thames. Although not defined by universally accepted formal boundaries, the River Lea can be considered another boundary...
before joining the Petrofina
Petrofina
Petrofina was a Belgian oil company which merged with Total in 1999 to form TotalFina, but the name has now been changed back to Total after another merger...
oil company. His first radio play, Compensating Error was accepted by the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
in 1968 and two more were then commissioned, at which point Wingfield resigned from his job. His radio plays are discussed at ukonline
Inspector Frost
In 1972, Macmillan PublishersMacmillan Publishers
Macmillan Publishers Ltd, also known as The Macmillan Group, is a privately held international publishing company owned by Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group. It has offices in 41 countries worldwide and operates in more than thirty others.-History:...
invited him to write a book, and he wrote Frost at Christmas
Frost at Christmas
Frost at Christmas is the first of the series of novels written by R. D. Wingfield, the creator of the character Detective Inspector Jack Frost, who is more famously known in the television series ‘A Touch of Frost’, where the character is played by Sir David Jason.-Plot:As Christmas approaches...
. This was rejected and not published until the early 1980s in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Wingfield had originally planned to kill Frost in the first book, but he was persuaded instead to leave it as an open ending. Following this, two more Frost books were written: A Touch of Frost
A Touch of Frost (novel)
A Touch of Frost is a crime novel by, R.D. Wingfield. The series inspired a popular television series of the same name, starring David Jason as the titular character, Detective Inspector Jack Frost; a disheveled, unorthodox and caustic police officer.-Plot summary:The murder of a local drug...
and Night Frost
Night Frost
Night Frost is a novel by R. D. Wingfield in the popular series featuring Detective Inspector Jack Frost, coarse, crude, slapdash – and holder of the George Cross. The novel was filmed for the ITV detective series A Touch of Frost....
. In 1977 Frost appeared in a radio play called Three Days of Frost, in which Frost was played by Leslie Sands
Leslie Sands
Leslie Sands was a British actor and writer of TV and film. Born in Bradford, Yorkshire, Sands usually specialized in dour types in authority, often policemen....
, a friend of Wingfield's. The books were first published in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in early 1989, and in 1992 Frost first appeared on television in A Touch of Frost
A Touch of Frost (TV series)
A Touch of Frost is a television detective series produced by Yorkshire Television for ITV from 1992 until 2010, initially based on the Frost novels by R. D. Wingfield....
, played by David Jason
David Jason
Sir David John White, OBE , better known by his stage name David Jason, is an English BAFTA award-winning actor. He is best known as the main character Derek "Del Boy" Trotter on the BBC sit-com Only Fools and Horses from 1981, the voice of Mr Toad in The Wind In The Willows and as detective Jack...
. Wingfield was never enthusiastic about the TV adaptation of his detective, once saying he had nothing against David Jason but "he just isn't my Frost".
Hard Frost
Hard frost
A hard frost, also called a radiational freeze or frost, occurs when the winds are calm and the sky is clear, allowing an inversion to form because of rapid radiational cooling at the Earth's surface. When this happens the ground gets below freezing, often killing plants.-See also:* Frost * Frost...
was published in 1995, followed by Winter Frost in 1999. Wingfield did not enjoy writing books, and much preferred writing radio scripts. In 20 years he wrote over 40 radio mystery plays, but stopped in 1988, with Hate Mail, due to the decline of radio and the success of his Frost books. As well as the many mystery plays, Wingfield also penned a comedy radio series, The Secret Life of Kenneth Williams, starring Kenneth Williams
Kenneth Williams
Kenneth Charles Williams was an English comic actor and comedian. He was one of the main ensemble in 26 of the Carry On films, and appeared in numerous British television shows, and radio comedies with Tony Hancock and Kenneth Horne.-Life and career:Kenneth Charles Williams was born on 22 February...
as a secret agent
Espionage
Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...
. Wingfield was a very private man, always avoiding book launches and publishing parties, and being rarely photographed.
Other
In 1982 Leslie Sands played Sergeant Fowler in Wingfield's radio thriller Outbreak of Fear, a murder mystery set in the West Country.Later years
In 2002, R. D. Wingfield was diagnosed with prostate cancerProstate cancer
Prostate cancer is a form of cancer that develops in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system. Most prostate cancers are slow growing; however, there are cases of aggressive prostate cancers. The cancer cells may metastasize from the prostate to other parts of the body, particularly...
. At about the same time he started writing the sixth, and final, Frost book, A Killing Frost
A Killing Frost (novel)
A Killing Frost is the sixth and final novel in the series created by R.D. Wingfield. It sees the slovenly, disorganised Detective Inspector Frost once again put under pressure to solve multiple complex cases in a short period of time, whilst attempting to avoid being sacked by his superior officers...
. His wife, Phyllis Patten, whom he married in 1952, died in 2004. They had a son, Phillip. The cancer killed Wingfield in 2007, and his final book, A Killing Frost, was published on 7 April 2008. All the books (except Winter Frost) are currently available in E-Book Format in various online shops (Waterstones, Amazon
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
(Kindle
Amazon Kindle
The Amazon Kindle is an e-book reader developed by Amazon.com subsidiary Lab126 which uses wireless connectivity to enable users to shop for, download, browse, and read e-books, newspapers, magazines, blogs, and other digital media...
), WH Smith etc.)
Inspector Frost Novels
- Frost at Christmas (1984)
- A Touch of Frost (1987)
- Night Frost (1992)
- Hard Frost (1995)
- Winter Frost (1999)
- A Killing Frost (2008)