9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 was born on the 3rd January, 1892. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 He and his brother Hilary, experienced 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 a difficult childhood; when Tolkien was 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 just four, they lost their father, Arthur, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 to rheumatic fever. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 As a widow with low income, his mother 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Mabel, home school the brothers and played 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 a vital role in their early education and 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 development. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Tolkien was a smart young boy, with a 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 fascination and thirst for languages. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Tolkien sat the entrance exam for King 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Edward's School, Birmingham and passed. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 From the Autumn of 1900, for a fee of 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 12 pounds a year, Tolkien would be 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 educated in an environment that would help 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 fulfil his academic potential. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 [John Garth] Going to King Edward's was vitally 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 important to Tolkien; he was an 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 exceptionally talented boy. King Edward's 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 offered him a vast amount of scope and also 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 the company of other boys who were 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 similarly talented. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Which was probably quite hard for Tolkien 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 to find. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 [Simon Stacey] Not only did he play rugby but 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 he was a leading light in the debating society 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and the literary society; he was the life and 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 soul really and he missed the school a 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 great deal, I think, when he finally had 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 to leave. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 [VO] At the age of just 11, Tolkien and his 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 brother Hilary, lose their mother, Mabel, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 to diabetes. Grief stricken, he plunges 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 himself into school life more energetically 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 than before. Academically he excels, but 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 in 1905, meets his intellectual rival, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Christopher Wiseman. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 [John Garth] Tolkien met his greatest friend 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 at King Edward's, Christopher Wiseman on 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 the rugby pitch. A musician, a mathematician; 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 quite different from Tolkien. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 They developed such a strong bond on the rugby 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 field that they called themselves; 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 "The Great Twin Brethren", which was a phrase 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 from "Lays of Ancient Rome" by Lord 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Macauley. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 [Simon Stacey] They also were friendly rivals 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 in the school, both being very academic 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 boys. Wiseman had a formidable intellect 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and he was interested in a lot of the things 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 that Tolkien was getting interested in; 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 languages, I think he was looking at 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Egyptian and was looking at hieroglyphics. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 [John Garth] Tolkien and Wiseman must have 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 helped define each other through their 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 teenage years because they would argue; 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 they would argue strongly about all their 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 beliefs in life. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 [Simon Stacey] Wiseman was a very talented 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 musician; Tolkien was supposed to be tone 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 deaf but that didn't stop them getting on! 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 [VO] Tolkien also befriends, son of the 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 headmaster, Rob Gilson. Tolkien, Wiseman 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and Gilson, form a strong bond which will 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 last throughout their school years and beyond.