Biography: Roald Dahl

WALT: write biographies

I wonder what Roald Dahl’s life was like? He was born in Landaff, Cardiff in Wales on the 23rd of September 1916. His dad was Norwegian. His name was Harold Dahl. Interestingly Dahl had six sisters called Alfhild , Else, Louis, Asta, Ellen and Astri. When Dahl was three his seven year old sister Astri died from appendicitis. Weeks later his dad died of pneumonia at the age of 57.

Dahl’s mother decided to remain in Wales because her husband (Roald’s father) had wished to have his children educated at an English school. Which were then considered to be the best in the world best schools.

Dahl first went to Cathedral School in Landaff. At the age of eight he and four friends (one named Thwaites) were caned by the Head Master after putting a dead mouse in a jar of gobstoppers at the local sweet shop which was owned by a mean and disgusting old lady called Mrs Pratchett. This was known as the  “Great Mouse Plot” of 1924. After that he went to boarding school in England called Saint Peters in Westen-Super-Mare.

In November 1939 Dahl joined the Royal Air Force and he was accepted for flight training with sixteen other men. He was one of only three who survived the war.

Roald is best known as a children’s writer. His first children’s book was ‘The Gremlins’. It was released in 1943. ‘James and the Giant Peach’ was another famous book he wrote, it was also a film. Lots of children love his books because Roald Dahl has a child's imagination and he plays around with words. For example scrumdidlyumptios that means delicious and lovely, and chatbug that means someone who talks a lot.

Dahl married American actress Patricia Neal on 2nd July 1953. Their marriage lasted for 30 years and they had five children Olivia, Tessa, Theo, Ophelia and Lucy. On 5th December 1960, four month old Theo Dahl was severely injured when his baby carriage was struck by a taxi cab in New York City. For a long time he suffered from hydrocephalus.

Roald Dahl died on 23rd November 1990 at the age of 74 in Oxfordshire, England.


By Sofia, Year 6