Anthony Buckeridge

A generation ago, Anthony Buckeridge was the equivalent of J K Rowling. His schoolboy hero, Jennings, was as much the talk of ten-year-olds as Harry Potter is today.

Anthony Buckeridge had formerly worked in the Fire Service during World War II, before becoming a teacher and headmaster, then full-time writer.  'Jennings' featured in stories he used to tell his pupils.