What do you suppose is Topham Hatt I's background? For instance, do you see him as a Sudrian or mainlander originally? What kind of family do you think he comes from? Class, religion, etc.
No pressure, just curious to know your ideas.
Errrrr..... This is the first time I've thought about it. I suppose he's from Wiltshire, (being a Swindon man, and all that.) We're told he landed on Sodor with A.W. Dry & Co. in '01, became the T.K.& E. engineer in '09, and subsequently the W.& S. from 1912. I think he's certainly lower-portion-of-middle-class in background - perhaps the child of a once-prosperous industrialist who went bust! (Possibly an industrialist with connections to the GWR?) For his religion... I'm not sure - you likely have more than me - presumably CofE? His philosophy, at any rate, is free-wheeling, shrewd-dealing liberalism.
