Una Hamilton Wright, who died on 16^th June, 2009, was the proud torch-bearer of her Uncle Charlie’s literary legacy. He was Charles Hamilton best known as ‘Frank Richards’, the creator of Billy Bunter, the most prolific author of all time.

Her classical education helped her achieve her life’s ambition of publishing an authoritative biography of her uncle. Forty years in the writing, she had problems finding a publisher. Her agent, having held the manuscript for two years, returned it with a curt rejection: ‘I don’t deal with biographies’!

Unlike The Autobiography of Frank Richards (‘the most unrevealing autobiography of all time’ according to Benny Green), this book ‘lifted the lid’ on the man. Her original title had been The Far Side of the Moon. When she started writing it, man had, for the first time, seen the far side of the moon. As Frank Richards’ readers know Billy Bunter was ‘a somewhat stout youth with a moon shaped face wearing thick spectacles’; hence her original title. As this was the title of another biography, Una changed hers to The Far Side of Billy Bunter; thus, not only avoiding duplication, but also placing the subject matter firmly in the title. When this magnum opus was published in 2006, she was ‘over the moon’.

Una Mary Hamilton Beatrice Harrison was born on the 23^rd February 1923 to Percival and ‘Dolly’ Harrison. Immediately, Charles Hamilton took over many aspects of Una’s upbringing – so much so that the toddler Una believed she had two fathers. In response to an avuncular enquiry, ‘What does your daddy do?’, she replied, ‘My daddy he plays on the pipano and my uncle he plays on the tripewriter.’

It was Uncle Charlie who oversaw the daily walks on Hampstead Heath with nanny Edith Hood ostensibly in command. Miss Hood became housekeeper to Hamilton for many years. Interestingly, despite her close ties with the Hamilton family for 60 years, she is not mentioned in the biography of her Uncle Charlie.

Una’s father, Percy Harrison (one time Musical Director of the Theatre Royal, Manchester), was Charles Hamilton’s best friend for over fifty years. Her mother, known as Dolly, but christened Una, looked to Hamilton for advice on all matters. With his large earnings, he was always more than ready to support the Harrison family.

With his tuition and a glowing reference for the teenage Una, Hamilton was instrumental in helping her gain a place at Cheltenham Ladies College. Sadly, her Latin did not match the standard suggested by Uncle Charlie! From CLC, she went to London University to read English – but was evacuated during the war to St Peter’s Hall, Oxford, to complete her degree.

Her childhood home in the Thanet area of Kent was chosen by Hamilton for the sake of Una’s health. During the Second World War, parcels would arrive weekly containing luxuries for Una (oranges, eggs, etc.). On her engagement, in 1955, plenty of advice on married life was forthcoming. All from the bachelor Hamilton.

During her life, she had to bear much unjust criticism:

Many people complained that she did little to promulgate her Uncle’s work. This is untrue. Her sterling efforts in writing articles for hobby journals, and lecturing to these groups were not matched by her agent who was always discouraging and dismissive of Hamilton’s worth. She was Vice-President of The Friars’ Club – a literary circle specialising in Charles Hamilton’s works.

She was seen by some as a dog-in-the-manger because her lawyers had forced the destruction of an unauthorised biography of Charles Hamilton. Despite legal advice, the author did not see the need to cite references nor seek permission to quote from his subject’s works and letters – permission that would have been readily forthcoming had he but asked.

The well-known writer Mary Cadogan has recently unearthed the possibility the Hamilton family may be distantly related to Enid Blyton who claimed the Dukes of Hamilton could be ancestors. Hamilton’s mother claimed to have traced their family tree to the same roots. Could this explain the prolific outputs of these two eminent children’s writers?

Una’s husband, Brian, died only a few months ago. She is survived by her two daughters, Penny and Felicity.