Patrick Ryan (1916–1989) was an English author whose best-known work, the satirical

war novel A war novel or military fiction is a novel about war. It is a novel in which the primary action takes place on a battlefield, or in a civilian setting (or home front), where the characters are preoccupied with the preparations for, suffering th ...

''How I Won The War'', was made into a 1967 film of the same name directed by

Richard Lester Richard Lester Liebman (born January 19, 1932) is an American retired film director, who spent the majority of his professional life in the United Kingdom. He is known for the fast-paced, flamboyant directing he brought to his comedy films, mo ...

Biography

Patrick Ryan was born in Newport, on the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight (Help:IPA/English, /waɪt/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''WYTE'') is an island off the south coast of England which, together with its surrounding uninhabited islets and Skerry, skerries, is also a ceremonial county. T ...

in 1916 to a family of Irish origin. He was educated at

The Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School Haberdashers' Boys' School (formerly Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School) is a 4–18 boys Independent school (United Kingdom) in Elstree, Hertfordshire, England. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. The school was ...

. On the outbreak of war in 1939 he enlisted in the

Royal Warwickshire Regiment The Royal Warwickshire Regiment, previously titled the 6th Regiment of Foot, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in continuous existence for 283 years. The regiment saw service in many conflicts and wars, including the Second Boer War ...

, was commissioned as an officer, and then transferred to The Fourth Regiment of the

Reconnaissance Corps The Reconnaissance Corps, or simply Recce Corps, was a service branch of the British Army, formed during the World War II, Second World War, whose units provided reconnaissance for infantry Division (military), divisions. It was formed from infan ...

of the

Royal Armoured Corps The Royal Armoured Corps is the armoured arm of the British Army, that together with the Household Cavalry provides its armour capability, with vehicles such as the Challenger 2 and the Warrior tracked armoured vehicle. It includes most of the Ar ...

. He served in North Africa, Italy, and

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. He moved to

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

in the 1950s as Assistant Head Postmaster, and his "apprenticeship" in adapting to

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

life is related in his humorous memoir ''How I Became A Yorkshireman'', published in the late 1960s. He later became Head Postmaster at

Harrogate Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and civil parish in the North Yorkshire District, district and North Yorkshire, county of North Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist de ...

and was a regular contributor for '' Punch'' and ''

The New Scientist ''New Scientist'' is a popular science magazine covering all aspects of science and technology. Based in London, it publishes weekly English-language editions in the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia. An editorially separate organ ...

'' in the 1960s and 1970s, as well as writing several television plays and some episodes of "The Army Game" and "Bootsie and Snudge" both popular army based television comedy sitcoms at that time. He also wrote pieces for ''The Smithsonian'' and the New York ''Saturday Evening Post''. In 1968 he returned to the South of England, becoming Head Postmaster of Kingston-upon-Thames until his retirement from the Post Office. He was married with one daughter.

Published works

*''How I Won the War'' (1963) *''Hubert Calendar Counts his Blessings'' (1965) *''How I Became a Yorkshireman'' (1967) *''Clancy, My Friend, My Friend'' (1969)

References

External links

*
The Patrick Ryan Papers at University of Texas
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ryan, Patrick 1916 births 1989 deaths English people of Irish descent English male journalists People educated at Haberdashers' Boys' School 20th-century English novelists English male novelists 20th-century English male writers 20th-century English journalists British Army personnel of World War II Reconnaissance Corps officers Royal Warwickshire Fusiliers soldiers Royal Warwickshire Fusiliers officers Royal Armoured Corps officers Military personnel from the Isle of Wight