The Yorkshire author and former Classics teacher working with World of James Herriot

"It was in a place where nobody ever really gets to go because it’s above the Herriot centre,” Morgan says. “It was just amazing to go into this place where Alf Wight had actually lived. Peter and I just sat around and did voice recordings surrounded by large amounts of cardboard boxes because it’s a store room up there.”

The pair were making the recordings for one of a series of interactive touch-screen visitor boards which Leeds-born Morgan has produced for the centre.

He first began to experiment with computer software in 1984. It was a decision that shaped his life to come - a master’s degree in educational computing followed three years later and that paved the way to both the development of his own Classics teaching course and the publication of a series of puzzle books.

A number of the puzzle books were Yorkshire-inspired and Morgan created one for The World of James Herriot based specifically on the series of books Wight had written about his experiences as a young North Yorkshire vet. There have been several television and film adaptations of Wight's cherished books, including the 1975 film All Creatures Great and Small and the Channel 5 series of the same name, which launched in 2020.

“The Herriot books are so fantastic and so well-written,” Morgan says. “I set to work writing a puzzle book targeting the original books so I read all the Herriot books again twice. When you read them again, you think blimey this bloke can write. The [museum] started selling the puzzle book in the shop and we formed a working relationship from there.”

Since 2019, Morgan has worked with the centre to produce visitor screens using his software skills. Programmes he has created include a quiz about animals linked to the James Herriot series, an animals jigsaw aimed at children, and quizzes on All Creatures Great and Small and The Yorkshire Vet. The latter documentary series has featured the North Yorkshire comings-and-goings of former Herriot trainee Peter Wright and vet Julian Norton.

“Most of the games are quick, because they have to be,” Morgan says. “You can’t have people standing around in a visitor environment and somebody taking ten minutes and blocking the whole place up.”

He adds: “The World of James Herriot is a jewel in the crown of Yorkshire’s cultural sites and I’m massively proud to work with them.”

Morgan hopes to work on more projects with other Yorkshire museums in the coming year.

Ian Ashton, managing director of The World of James Herriot says: “I’m always looking for new ideas. A lot of children like to play with screens and these are educational games as well as being fun. I’m delighted that we are able to work with somebody who can create these products related to the world of James Herriot.”