Dick Francis

Dick Francis (October 31, 1920) is a British jockey and author.

Related Topics:
October 31 - 1920 - Jockey - Author

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He was born Richard Stanley Francis in Lawrenny, south Wales. The son of a jockey, he had a successful career himself as a jockey, winning over 350 races.

Related Topics:
Lawrenny - Wales - Jockey

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During World War II, he served in the Royal Air Force piloting fighter and bomber aircraft including the Spitfire.

Related Topics:
World War II - Royal Air Force - Spitfire

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He left the RAF in 1946 to become a celebrity in the world of British National Hunt racing.

Related Topics:
British - National Hunt racing

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From 1953 to 1957 he was jockey to Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. He was forced to retire from racing as the result of a serious fall in 1957. His most famous moment as a jockey came while riding the Queen Mother's horse, Devon Loch, in the 1956 Grand National: the horse inexplicably fell when close to winning the race.

Related Topics:
1953 - 1957 - Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother - Devon Loch - 1956 - Grand National

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His first book was his autobiography, The Sport of Queens (1957), which led to him becoming the racing correspondent for the London Sunday Express, a position he held for 16 years. In 1962, he published his first thriller, Dead Cert, which was set in the world of racing. Subsequently, he regularly produced a novel a year for the next 38 years, missing only 1998 (during which year he published a short-story collection). Although all his books were set against a background of horseracing, his heroes held a variety of jobs, from artist (To the Hilt) to private investigator (Odds Against).

Related Topics:
Autobiography - The Sport of Queens - 1957 - 1962

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He was made an Officer of the most noble Order of the British Empire in 1984.

Related Topics:
Order of the British Empire - 1984

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The 1999 unauthorised biography, Dick Francis: A Racing Life, suggested that his books had in fact been written by Mary, Dick Francis' wife. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/482502.stm Whether this is true or not, by all accounts Mary did much of the research and editing of Francis' later novels and stories, and often worked collaboratively with her husband on each book's actual composition. Dick Francis himself wrote no new works after Mary's death in the year 2000.

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