Wartime Wednesday: Roald Dahl
Before he wrote Charlie
and the Chocolate Factory or James
and the Giant Peach, Roald Dahl served in the Royal Air Force as a fighter
pilot during WWII. He rose to the rank of acting Wing Commander. Born to
Norwegian parents in Wales on September 13, 1916. In 1920, he lost his sister
to appendicitis and his father to pneumonia within weeks of each other. He went
to several schools while growing up, and had several bad experiences over the
years.
Despite his unhappiness at school, he was an excellent
athlete, primarily playing squash and football. In addition to his interest in
literature, he was an avid amateur photographer, rarely seen without a camera
around his neck. After he finished his schooling, he traveled to Newfoundland
where he hiked extensively. In 1934, he joined the Shell Petroleum Company
where he was first stationed in Kenya and then Tanganyika (now Tanzania).
In November 1939, Dahl joined the Royal Air Force. He
received his pilot training and flew sorties until he was badly injured in a
crash a year later. He fully recovered and was released for flying duties in
February 1941. However, by May he began to experience debilitating headaches
which caused him to black out. He was invalided out and sent home to Britain.
After nearly a year of treatment, he recovered and made his
way to America where he served in several capacities including intelligence officer
for William Stephenson. It was during this time, he met novelist C.S. Forester
and began to write. Dahl’s first published story was “A Piece of Cake” issued
in 1942. His first children’s book, The
Gremlins, was published in 1943.
Considered one of the greatest children’s storytellers in
the 20th Century, Dahl received numerous awards for his writing.
Known for inventing new words in his books, he might be pleased to discover
that The Oxford Roald Dahl Dictionary has been issued to celebrate the centenary of his birth.
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