Toby Churchill

Biography

He is the eldest son of Oliver Churchill and Ruth (née Briggs). He was born in Cambridge where he has lived for all of his life. He was educated at The Perse School, Cambridge, and the University of Bath where he studied Engineering with French.

In 1968, aged 21, Toby became disabled and lost his speech after contracting encephalitis while swimming in a polluted river. Dissatisfied with the rudimentary communication aids then available for people who cannot speak, he designed the first Lightwriter for his own use and, after meeting other people with similar needs, started to manufacture them. He set up Toby Churchill Limited in 1973 to manufacture portable text-based communication aids.

The company won a number of awards including a British Design Award in 1969, a Department of Trade and Industry Languages for Export Award in 1996, and the Queen's Award for Export in 1995 and 1996.

Soon after partially recovering from his disabilities he designed an adapted car for his own use, able to be controlled entirely by his left hand.

His inventions appeared four times on Tomorrow's World during the 1970s.

He also set up a wine importing business, a property rental business in France, a super car rental business, and was consulted by Cambridge City Council over the design of a public toilet.

He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Engineering degree (DEng) from the University of Bath in 2010.