Leslie Thomas (1931 – 2014) was born in Newport, Monmouthshire. He was orphaned at the age of 12, when his mariner father was lost at sea and his mother died only a few months later from cancer. He was subsequently brought up in a Dr Barnardo’s home; the story of this upbringing was the subject of his first, autobiographical, book, This Time Next Week. In 1949 he was called up for National Service and embarked on a two-year tour of duty in Singapore with the Royal Army Pay Corps. While there he was briefly involved with the military action against communist rebels in the Malayan emergency. He also began to write short articles for publication in English newspapers. His novels about 1950s British National Service such as The Virgin Soldiers spawned two film versions, in 1969 and 1977, while his Tropic of Ruislip and Dangerous Davies, The Last Detective have been adapted for television.
Biographical
- This Time Next Week (1964)
- In My Wildest Dreams (1984)
Novels
- The Virgin Soldiers (1966)
- Orange Wednesday (1967)
- The Love Beach (1968)
- Come to the War (1969)
- His Lordship (1970)
- Onward Virgin Soldiers (1971)
- Arthur McCann and All His Women (1972)
- The Man with the Power (1973)
- Tropic of Ruislip (1974)
- Stand Up Virgin Soldiers (1975)
- Bare Nell (1977)
- Ormerod’s Landing (1978)
- That Old Gang of Mine (1979)
- The Magic Army (1981)
- The Dearest and the Best (1984)
- The Adventures of Goodnight and Loving (1986)
- Orders for New York (1989)
- Evening News Short Stories (1990)
- The Loves and Journeys of Revolving Jones (1991)
- Arrivals and Departures (1992)
- Running Away (1994)
- Kensington Heights (1996)
- Chloe’s Song (1997)
- Other Times (1999)
- Waiting for the Day (2003)
- Dover Beach (2005)
- Soldiers and Lovers (2007)
- Dangerous Davies, the Last Detective (1976)
- Dangerous in Love (1987)
- Dangerous by Moonlight (1995)
- Dangerous Davies and the Lonely Heart (1998)
Travel
- Hidden Places of Britain (1981)
- A World of Islands (1983)
- Some Lovely Islands (1984)
Miscellaneous
- Midnight Clear: A Christmas Story (1978)
- Almost Heaven: Tales from a Cathedral (2010)