Rather like Inspector Morse, Wainwright was extremely reluctant to reveal his first name, thinking it (I'm quoting from memory) "all very well for a little boy, but not suitable for a grown man". Throughout his Pictorial Guides to the Lake District – the books with which he made his name and built up his fanatical following – he was known simply as 'A. Wainwright'. His legion of fans, of whom I am one, never refer to him by any name other than 'Wainwright'.
© Haydn Thompson 2020