Dick King-Smith

Early life, military service

King-Smith was born on 27 March 1922 in Bitton, Gloucestershire and grew up in the West Country. His father was Captain Ronald King-Smith DSO MC, who ran several paper mills. King-Smith 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.

In 1941, at the age of 19, King-Smith enlisted as a recruit in the Grenadier Guards, and was subsequently commissioned into the Grandier Guards in December 1942. As a young platoon commander in September 1943, he took part in the Salerno Landings in Italy. On arrival in Salerno, his platoon fought their way up Italy, along with many others, which took months. On 12 July 1944, King-Smith was seriously injured by a British hand grenade thrown by a German soldier. He was only saved from certain death because he was sheltering behind a tree, which took the brunt of the explosion. He suffered extensive sharp wounds, and later, when he was back in England, a cerebral embolism, either of which could have killed him. He relinquished his commission in June 1946, "on account of disability", and returned to farming.