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John Ronald Reuel Tolkien,

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was born on the 3rd January, 1892.

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He and his brother Hilary, experienced

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a difficult childhood; when Tolkien was

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just four, they lost their father, Arthur,

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to rheumatic fever.

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As a widow with low income, his mother

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Mabel, home school the brothers and played

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a vital role in their early education and

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development.

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Tolkien was a smart young boy, with a

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fascination and thirst for languages.

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Tolkien sat the entrance exam for King

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Edward's School, Birmingham and passed.

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From the Autumn of 1900, for a fee of

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12 pounds a year, Tolkien would be

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educated in an environment that would help

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fulfil his academic potential.

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[John Garth] Going to King Edward's was vitally

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important to Tolkien; he was an

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exceptionally talented boy. King Edward's

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offered him a vast amount of scope and also

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the company of other boys who were

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similarly talented.

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Which was probably quite hard for Tolkien

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to find.

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[Simon Stacey] Not only did he play rugby but

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he was a leading light in the debating society

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and the literary society; he was the life and

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soul really and he missed the school a

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great deal, I think, when he finally had

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to leave.

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[VO] At the age of just 11, Tolkien and his

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brother Hilary, lose their mother, Mabel,

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to diabetes. Grief stricken, he plunges

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himself into school life more energetically

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than before. Academically he excels, but

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in 1905, meets his intellectual rival,

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Christopher Wiseman.

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[John Garth] Tolkien met his greatest friend

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at King Edward's, Christopher Wiseman on

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the rugby pitch. A musician, a mathematician;

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quite different from Tolkien.

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They developed such a strong bond on the rugby

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field that they called themselves;

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"The Great Twin Brethren", which was a phrase

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from "Lays of Ancient Rome" by Lord

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Macauley.

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[Simon Stacey] They also were friendly rivals

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in the school, both being very academic

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boys. Wiseman had a formidable intellect

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and he was interested in a lot of the things

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that Tolkien was getting interested in;

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languages, I think he was looking at

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Egyptian and was looking at hieroglyphics.

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[John Garth] Tolkien and Wiseman must have

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helped define each other through their

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teenage years because they would argue;

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they would argue strongly about all their

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beliefs in life.

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[Simon Stacey] Wiseman was a very talented

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musician; Tolkien was supposed to be tone

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deaf but that didn't stop them getting on!

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[VO] Tolkien also befriends, son of the

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headmaster, Rob Gilson. Tolkien, Wiseman

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and Gilson, form a strong bond which will

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last throughout their school years and beyond.