John Charles Heywood Hadfield, (June 16, 1907 - October 10, 1999) was a British author and publisher, best known for his novel Love on a Branch Line

Love on a Branch Line (novel)

Love on a Branch Line is a 1959 comic novel by John Hadfield. It involved Jasper Pye, a diffident member of the British Civil Service being sent to Arcady Hall in Norfolk to close down a government department there. He finds it to be a rural idyll, and encounters a number of problems with closing...

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Born in Birmingham, he moved to Suffolk just prior to the closure of the Mid-Suffolk Light Railway

Mid-Suffolk Light Railway

The Mid-Suffolk Light Railway is a heritage railway in Suffolk, which in its heyday it was a branch line which ran for just from Haughley to Laxfield, Suffolk. The line became part of the London and North Eastern Railway in 1924 and the last trains ran on 26 July 1952...

 branch line from Haughley

Haughley

Haughley is a village in the English county of Suffolk.-External links:*...

 to Laxfield

Laxfield

Laxfield is a small ancient village in northern Suffolk, England. It is located at a distinct bend in today's B1117 road.-History:Laxfield arose in Saxon times as it is known that an early church was there and the village itself appears in the Domesday Book...

 and it was this that is said to have inspired the novel Love on a Branch Line .

After leaving school, Hadfield worked as an editor at the publishing firm of J. M. Dent

J. M. Dent

Joseph Malaby Dent was a British book publisher who produced the Everyman's Library series.Dent was born in Darlington in what is now the Britaania public house. After a short and unsuccessful stint as an apprentice printer he took up bookbinding...

 in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

. During World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 as Book Officer for the British Council

British Council

The British Council is a United Kingdom-based organisation specialising in international educational and cultural opportunities. It is registered as a charity both in England and Wales, and in Scotland...

 he formed a unit translating books into Arabic. On returning to civilian life, he founded Cupid Press which specialised in limited edition anthologies of poetry .