Ronald Leslie Bassett DSM (10 April 1924 – March 1996) was a British writer and novelist. He wrote numerous works of

historical fiction Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the Setting (narrative), setting of particular real past events, historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literatur ...

, sometimes under the pseudonym of "William Clive".Atkinson, Frank (1987) ''Dictionary of Literary Pseudonyms: A selection of popular modern writers in English'' (4th ed.) Library Association Publishing, London, He received many awards for his medical and pharmaceutical writing.

Personal life

Bassett was born in London to George William Bassett, a bank clerk, and Louisa (Vine) Bassett. He attended high school in London, and while in the military married Ivy Owens on 21 November 1944. His first wife died and he later married Sylvia Cruttwell on 6 November 1956, and they had two children.

Military

Bassett joined the

King's Royal Rifle Corps The King's Royal Rifle Corps was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army that was originally raised in British North America as the Royal American Regiment during the phase of the Seven Years' War in North America known in the United Sta ...

as a rifleman in 1938 and then transferred to the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

as a gunner. In 1940 he transferred to the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

, where he worked in the communications branch. He served as a radio operator on the heavy cruiser during the Bismarck action and during the North African landings. Bassett was a radio operator on a

landing craft Landing craft are small and medium seagoing watercraft, such as boats and barges, used to convey a landing force (infantry and vehicles) from the sea to the shore during an amphibious assault. The term excludes landing ships, which are larger. ...

during the Normandy invasion. As a

non-commissioned officer A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is an enlisted rank, enlisted leader, petty officer, or in some cases warrant officer, who does not hold a Commission (document), commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority b ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he received the

Distinguished Service Medal Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a high award of a nation, state or country. Examples include: *Distinguished Service Medal (Australia) (established 1991), awarded to personnel of the Australian Defence Force for distinguished leadership in act ...

for bravery and resourcefulness. He remained in the navy after the war, and served on an aircraft carrier in the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

zone. He retired from the navy in 1954 as

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

Later life

In 1956, Bassett went to work for Smith, Kline & French Laboratories Ltd. as a

public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. Pu ...

officer, and remained with them until 1966. After devoting himself solely to writing for three years, in 1969 he returned to the pharmaceutical corporate world going to work as a public relations officer for E. R. Squibb & Sons, a post he held until 1975 when he and his wife retired to

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

Fiction

Bassett's historical fiction includes ''The Carthaginian'' (1963), ''The Pompeians'' (1965), ''Amorous Trooper'' (1968), and ''Blood of an Englishman: A Novel of the Siege of Cawnpore'' (1975). His novel ''

Witchfinder General Matthew Hopkins ( 1620 – 12 August 1647) was an English witch-hunter whose career flourished during the English Civil War. He was mainly active in East Anglia and claimed to hold the office of Witchfinder General, although that titl ...

'' (1966) was made into the controversial 1968

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

of the same title directed by Michael Reeves and starring

Vincent Price Vincent Leonard Price Jr. (May 27, 1911 – October 25, 1993) was an American actor. He was known for his work in the horror film genre, mostly portraying villains. He appeared on stage, television, and radio, and in more than 100 films. Price ...

Awards

Among Bassett's awards are: *

British Medical Association The British Medical Association (BMA) is a registered trade union and professional body for physician, doctors in the United Kingdom. It does not regulate or certify doctors, a responsibility which lies with the General Medical Council. The BMA ...

– Silver medal :1964 for "Small Price to Pay" :1965 for "Interuterine Contraception" and "Hypertension" *British Medical Association – Gold medal :1966 for "The Right to Work" :1967 for "Seven Ages of Psychiatry"

Notes

References

* Gale Research Co. (2001) "Ronald Bassett 1924–" ''Contemporary Authors'' Gale Research Co., Detroit {{DEFAULTSORT:Bassett, Ronald Leslie 1924 births 1996 deaths 20th-century British novelists British male novelists British medical writers British historical fiction writers Writers of historical fiction set in the early modern period King's Royal Rifle Corps soldiers Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (United Kingdom) Royal Navy personnel of World War II Royal Navy officers 20th-century British male writers 20th-century British writers British Army personnel of World War II Royal Artillery soldiers Royal Navy personnel of the Korean War Military personnel from London