Rob Dawber

Infobox Writer
name = Robert "Rob" Dawber


imagesize = 150px |
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birthdate = birth date|1956|01|18
birthplace = Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England
deathdate = death date|2001|02|20
deathplace =
occupation = Screenwriter
nationality = English
period =
genre =
subject =
movement =
notableworks = The Navigators (2001)
influences =
influenced =


website =

Robert "Rob" Dawber (January 18, 1956 - February 20, 2001) was a former railwayman turned writer whose script for the film The Navigators was commissioned and shot in Sheffield by director Ken Loach.

Biography

Background

Rob grew up in South Yorkshire and, having studied English at Leicester University, decided to pursue a career on the railways.

Rob had strong political beliefs, and during his time as a railwayman he "became a branch secretary for the National Union of Railwaymen, and wrote for Socialist Organiser and Off The Rails, a bulletin for rail workers. His Fat Controller column mercilessly lampooned the rail managers who squandered the opportunities of the nationalised industries" [http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4140804,00.html Guardian Unlimited, February 23, 2001] .

Following privatisation of the railways in the 1990s, Rob found himself without work as many were being made redundant. Rob made the decision to begin writing.

Having sent his script to Ken Loach, Rob then found himself in the position of his script about the breakup of the nationalised railways through privatisation being commissioned.

Illness and death

One week after this news, Rob discovered he was suffering from mesothelioma, a form of lung cancer.

Rob scoured the world for therapies and treatments, but it wasn't to be. He died on February 20, 2001 at the age of 45. He saw his film completed but didn't live to see its release.

Ken Loach said of Rob that "Working people have lost a champion". [http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4140804,00.html Guardian Unlimited, February 23, 2001]

References