Ronald Gordon King-Smith OBE (27 March 1922 – 4 January 2011), known by his pen name Dick King-Smith, was an English writer of children's books. He is best known for The Sheep-Pig (1983), which 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.

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. 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.

Personal life

King-Smith met his wife, Myrle, on Christmas Day 1936. They were both 14. They were married at St. Mary's Church, Bitton, on 6 February 1943. They had three children: Juliet, Giles and Liz. He presented a feature on animals on TV-AM's children's programme Rub-a-Dub-Tub (1983).

Death

King-Smith died on 4 January 2011 at his home near Bath, Somerset at the age of 88. He was survived by his 3 children, 14 grandchildren, 4 great-grandchildren, and 1 great-great-grandchild.

Awards

King-Smith and The Sheep-Pig won the 1984 Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, a once-in-a-lifetime book award judged by a panel of British children writers.

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  • Dick King-Smith Bibliography at Bookseller World
  • Dick King-Smith at Fantastic Fiction, with photo portrait and book covers