Dick Francis
| Dick Francis | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
31 October 1920 Lawrenny, Pembrokeshire, Wales |
| Died | 14 February 2010 (aged 89) Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, Caribbean |
| Occupation | Jockey Novelist |
| Language | English |
| Nationality | British |
| Ethnicity | Welsh |
| Citizenship | United Kingdom |
| Period | 1957–2010 |
| Genre | Crime fiction |
| Spouse | Mary Margaret (née Brenchley; m. 1947–2000) |
| Children | Merrick, Felix |
| Website | |
| www |
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Richard Stanley "Dick" Francis CBE FRSL (31 October 1920 – 14 February 2010) was a Britishsteeplechase jockey and crime writer, whose novels centre on horse racing in England.
After wartime service in the RAF, Francis became a full-time jump-jockey, winning over 350 races and becoming champion jockey of the British National Hunt. He came to further prominence in 1956 as jockey to Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, riding her horse Devon Loch when it fell, for unexplained reasons, while close to winning the Grand National. He then retired from the turf and became a professional journalist and novelist.
All his novels deal with crime in the horse-racing world, some of the criminals being outwardly respectable figures. The stories are narrated by one of the key players, often a jockey, but sometimes a trainer, an owner, a bookie, or someone in a different profession, peripherally linked to racing. This person is always facing great obstacles, often including physical injury, from which he must fight back with determination. More than forty of these novels became international best-sellers.
Francis was born in Coedcanlas, Pembrokeshire, Wales. Some sources report his birthplace as the inland town of Lawrenny, but at least two of his obituaries stated his birthplace as the coastal town of Tenby. His autobiography says that he was born at his maternal grandparents' farm at Coedcanlas on the estuary of the River Cleddau, roughly a mile north-west of Lawrenny. He was the son of a jockey and stable manager and he grew up in Berkshire, England. He left school at 15 without any qualifications, with the intention of becoming a jockey and became a trainer in 1938.
During World War II, Francis volunteered, hoping to join the cavalry. Instead, he served in the Royal Air Force, working as ground crew and later piloting fighter and bomber aircraft, including the Spitfire and Hurricane. He said in an interview that he spent much of his six years in the Air Force in Africa.
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Wikipedia