Karen Foy finds out more about his writing life and connections with Wales
Roald Dahl entered the world on the 13th September 1916 at Villa Marie, Fairwater Road in the Llandaff area of Cardiff. Baptised in the Norwegian Church in Cardiff Bay, his Norwegian parents – Harald Dahl, a shipbroker, and his mother Sofie Hesselberg – had high hopes for their little boy and named him after the adventurous Arctic explorer Roald Amundsen. Sofie was a great storyteller, whilst Harald an ardent diarist, so it’s not surprising that Roald was destined for a creative future.
A series of tragedies was to befall the young family which resulted in the death of Roald’s sister and father, so the remaining siblings were brought up single-handedly by his mother, Sofie.
Harald’s one wish had been to have his children educated in English schools, so after attending Llandaff Cathedral School, then St Peter’s Preparatory School in Weston Super Mare, Roald started at Repton Public School in Derbyshire. But his unhappy school days were to have a great effect on his life with numerous characters in his books thought to have been influenced by the teachers he encountered.
In 1933, Roald took up his first job with the Shell Oil Company, but, by 1939, World War Two had been declared so he enlisted in the Royal Air Force with a posting to Nairobi. Diligently recording his experience of being shot down over Libya, his writing career had begun in earnest.
‘Gloriumptious Gobblefunk’
Dahl’s first book was entitled The Gremlins, which was later developed into the cult movie we know today. His writing was diverse, and he loved nothing more than to create stories with a twist in the tail, or with sinister ‘thought provoking’ undertones, of which many were later televised on the small screen as the popular series – Tales of the Unexpected. It wasn’t until he became a father that his passion for writing children’s books increased.
A bedtime story for his daughters evolved into the much loved favourite James and the Giant Peach and by 1967, the deliciously devilish tale of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – and its mysterious confectioner Willy Wonka – was published in the UK. Other titles quickly followed: The Twits, The BFG – who captured children’s nightmares and destroyed them ensuring they only had nice dreams – Danny the Champion of the World, and Matilda.
Dahl’s quirky tales, unforgettable characters and unique additions to our language, made his books the perfect partner for the line drawings of illustrator Quentin Blake who visually helped to bring each story to life. The pair worked together for thirteen years from 1977, until Dahl’s death in November 1990.
In 2012, six of Dahl’s timeless classics were featured on a set of stamps issued by the Royal Mail – each iconic image was created by Quentin Blake.
A ‘Phizz-whizzingly’ Fabulous Festival
Back in April 2000 – in recognition of his literary contributions and acknowledgement of his Welsh Roots – Dahl’s name was immortalised in Cardiff when the seaward entrance to the West Bute Dock was renamed the Roald Dahl Plass during the regeneration of the area. His connections with Wales have also been duly noted on two other landmarks with the addition of commemorative blue plaques – one on the former sweet shop in Llandaff frequented by the young Dahl, the other at a site in Tenby where he spent Easter holidays as a child.
His enduring popularity has resulted in a dedicated ‘Roald Dahl Day’ held annually on the 13th September. This year (2016) it has even more significance as the centenary of his birth, and a whole host of events are planned to recreate the Dahl magic.
Supported by the Welsh Government, National Theatre Wales, Wales Millennium Centre and Literature Wales, a celebration of Dahl’s work was arranged through the mediums of music, theatre and cinema in what will be known as Roald Dahl 100. Literature Wales – in a bilingual programme – hopes to introduce Dahl’s books and characters to more new readers, whilst primary schools across Wales are invited to take part in the ‘Land of Song’ project inspired by his books.
A ‘Splendiferous’ Salute
From humble beginnings, Roald Dahl went on to become one of the best loved children’s writers of all time. Translated into 59 languages with more than 200 million book sales globally, Dahl’s success has become legendary. Credited for encouraging children to read, and inspiring them to use their imaginations in their own stories, his work lives on in his books which are continuously being adapted for television, film and the theatre.
From ‘The Wonderful World of Henry Sugar’ to ‘Fantastic Mr Fox’, each story is whimsical, humorous, brilliantly inventive, and often with an underlying message for the reader. So why not pick up a copy of one of his books, sit back, indulge yourself and take a magical trip back to your youth!
Did You Know?
Roald Dahl loved to add fascinating words and descriptions to his tales to make each one individual. Here are 10 fascinating facts about this most unique of authors.
- Roald Dahl was 6ft 5 inches tall.
- Dahl always wrote with a pencil on yellow paper.
- He helped to invent a special surgical valve which drains fluid from the brain.
- During the war he was recruited by the spymaster, William Stephenson. Working alongside James Bond author Ian Fleming, he provided MI6 with intelligence from Washington.
- He also wrote the screenplays for the James Bond Film You Only Live Twice and the musical Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
- Along with his passion for onions, he enjoyed growing orchids.
- He could speak three languages – English, Norwegian and Swahili.
- He had a tremendous dislike of beards (known as ‘pogonophobia’) and created an extremely unappealing bearded character to reflect this in ‘The Twits’.
- His life story is featured in his autobiographies – BOY and GOING SOLO.
- Roald Dahl died on 23rd November 1990, and is buried in the churchyard of St Peter and St Paul’s Church, Great Missenden. He is said to have been buried with some of his favourite things which included a power saw, HB pencils, red wine, chocolate and his snooker cues.
Words: Karen Foy
Feature image: Dahl (age 72) signing books in Amsterdam by Rob Bogaerts | CC0 1.0
First published in Welsh Country magazine Mar-Apr 2016
