John Ronald Reuel Tolkien,
was born on the 3rd January, 1892.
He and his brother Hilary, experienced
a difficult childhood; when Tolkien was
just four, they lost their father, Arthur,
to rheumatic fever.
As a widow with low income, his mother
Mabel, home school the brothers and played
a vital role in their early education and
development.
Tolkien was a smart young boy, with a
fascination and thirst for languages.
Tolkien sat the entrance exam for King
Edward's School, Birmingham and passed.
From the Autumn of 1900, for a fee of
12 pounds a year, Tolkien would be
educated in an environment that would help
fulfil his academic potential.
[John Garth] Going to King Edward's was vitally
important to Tolkien; he was an
exceptionally talented boy. King Edward's
offered him a vast amount of scope and also
the company of other boys who were
similarly talented.
Which was probably quite hard for Tolkien
to find.
[Simon Stacey] Not only did he play rugby but
he was a leading light in the debating society
and the literary society; he was the life and
soul really and he missed the school a
great deal, I think, when he finally had
to leave.
[VO] At the age of just 11, Tolkien and his
brother Hilary, lose their mother, Mabel,
to diabetes. Grief stricken, he plunges
himself into school life more energetically
than before. Academically he excels, but
in 1905, meets his intellectual rival,
Christopher Wiseman.
[John Garth] Tolkien met his greatest friend
at King Edward's, Christopher Wiseman on
the rugby pitch. A musician, a mathematician;
quite different from Tolkien.
They developed such a strong bond on the rugby
field that they called themselves;
"The Great Twin Brethren", which was a phrase
from "Lays of Ancient Rome" by Lord
Macauley.
[Simon Stacey] They also were friendly rivals
in the school, both being very academic
boys. Wiseman had a formidable intellect
and he was interested in a lot of the things
that Tolkien was getting interested in;
languages, I think he was looking at
Egyptian and was looking at hieroglyphics.
[John Garth] Tolkien and Wiseman must have
helped define each other through their
teenage years because they would argue;
they would argue strongly about all their
beliefs in life.
[Simon Stacey] Wiseman was a very talented
musician; Tolkien was supposed to be tone
deaf but that didn't stop them getting on!
[VO] Tolkien also befriends, son of the
headmaster, Rob Gilson. Tolkien, Wiseman
and Gilson, form a strong bond which will
last throughout their school years and beyond.