ONE man's obsessive mission to undercover the secret life of the Yorkshireman behind Lassie has won him a prestigious fellowship to visit the USA.

Greg Christie, an English Literature student at York St John College, has become an expert on Lassie Come-Home author Eric Knight since he began investigating his life and work ten years ago.

Now Greg, 52, of Malton, has been awarded a Travelling Fellowship by the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust to go to America for three months this summer and continue his research.

He will visit Eric's granddaughter in California and delve into a large archive of the author's papers at Yale University.

"I believe he is one of the greatest British writers of his generation and I want to bring him to public attention," said Greg. "His untimely death in 1943 during the Second World War, meant that his body of work was eclipsed by the great success of his story, Lassie Come-Home."

Greg's interest in Eric was sparked when his wife bought him a copy of the novel The Flying Yorkshireman, and he decided to find out more about the writer, whom he believes is a "more skilful" social commentator than George Orwell.

Greg successfully lobbied English Heritage to put a blue plaque on Eric's childhood home in Menston, near Leeds, and his crusade to bring Eric's work to a wider audience saw him write and co-present a half-hour documentary for BBC Radio 4.

The Man Who Wrote Lassie was broadcast last autumn and Greg's co-presenter was John Noakes.

"I've had some good feedback from the programme," said Greg.

He is due to complete his degree in May and plans to write a biography of Eric.

Updated: 10:20 Saturday, March 05, 2005