Dick King-Smith
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Dick King-Smith OBE |
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|---|---|
| Born | Ronald Gordon King-Smith 27 March 1922 Bitton, Gloucestershire, England, UK |
| Died | 4 January 2011 (aged 88) Bath, Somerset, England, UK |
| Pen name | Dick King-Smith |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Nationality | British |
| Ethnicity | English |
| Period | 1978–2007 |
| Genre | Children's novels, picture books |
| Notable works | The Sheep-Pig (Babe) |
| Notable awards |
Guardian Prize 1984 |
| Spouse |
Myrle (m. 1943–2000) (her death) Zona Bedding (m. 2001–11) (his death) |
| Children | 3 |
| Website | |
| www.dickkingsmith.com | |
Ronald Gordon King-Smith OBE, Hon.MEd (27 March 1922 – 4 January 2011), was a prolific English writer of children's books, primarily using the pen name Dick King-Smith. He is best known for The Sheep-Pig (1983), or Babe the Gallant Pig in the US. It was adapted as the movie Babe (1995) and translations have been published in fifteen languages. He was awarded an Honorary Master of Education degree by the University of the West of England in 1999 and appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2010 New Year Honours. Dick and Myrle had three children – two daughters (Juliet and Lizzie) and one son (Giles).
Dick King-Smith’s first book, The Fox Busters, was published in 1978.
Dick King-Smith grew up in the West Country, where his family ran several paper mills, and was educated at Beaudesert Park School and Marlborough College. He was a soldier in World War II, serving with the Grenadier Guards in Italy and a farmer for 20 years before he became a teacher at Farmborough Primary School and author. King-Smith's first book was The Fox Busters, published in 1978 while he was living and teaching in Farmborough. He was one of Britain's most prolific authors and wrote over a hundred books. In later life he lived in Queen Charlton, a small farming village near Bristol, contributing to the maintenance and conservation of the local area as the vice-president of the Avon Wildlife Trust. He married his first wife, Myrle, in 1943. They had three children Juliet, Giles and Liz. Myrle died in 2000, and King-Smith subsequently married Zona Bedding, a family friend.
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