Stig of the Dump Author, Clive King Dies, Aged 94

Clive King, who brought us the children’s classic Stig of the Dump has died aged 94 earlier this week.

Born David Clive King in Richmond, Surrey on 24th April 1924, King grew up in Ash in Kent and was educated at the King’s School, Rochester before eventually graduating with a BA in English. From 1943 to 1946 King served as a Sub-Lieutenant in the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve, which took him to many places around the world including Japan where he saw the then recent devastation of Hiroshima.

Clive King started writing as a child and had his first published work Hamid of Aleppo in 1958, but it was 1973 when he became a full time writer, writing twenty novels between 1972 and 2008, but despite all his success he was mostly known for Stig of the Dump, which was twice adapted for television and is still used in British schools.

Stig of the Dump has never been out of print and has sold more than two million copies since it was first published back in 1963.

In addition to a selection of novels and children’s novels, Clive King also wrote plays and two nonfiction books.

Clive King is survived by his widow Penny and three children.

Stig of the Dump US
Stig of the Dump UK