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Roald Dahl´s Birth
Roald Dahl is borned in Llandaff, near the Welsh capital of Cardiff, on 13th September 1916. -
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Pre-educational period
Details of Dahl's life before the educational system. -
Death of Harald and Astri Dahl
In February 1920 Roald Dahl's seven-year-old sister Astri dies from an infection followed by a burst appendix.
Weeks later, Roald's father Harald dies of pneumonia at the age of 57. -
Asta's Birth and Moving
Roald's younger sister Asta is borned and the whole family moves into a house called Cumberland Lodge in Llandaff, Wales. -
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Kindergarten: Elmtree House
From age 6 to 7 he attended a Kindergarten in Llandaff runned by two sisters, Mrs Corfield and Miss Tucker. -
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Preparatory Education: Llandaff Cathedral School
He attended to an all-boys preparatory school in Llandaff. This was from age 7 to 9. -
Goat's tobacco
When Roald's elder half-sister is about to get married, the family invites her fiancee to Norway for the holidays. As nobody liked him, Dahl get away with a prank. He picks up some goat's droppings and puts them undeneath a thin layer of tobacco inside the can. The fiancee puts the mix in his pipe and smokes it. He gets intoxicated and Dahl's little sister gives him away. -
The Great Mouse Plot
Roald and his friends find a dead mouse at school and decide to put it in one of Mrs Pranchett's candy jars as a prank. The following day, Mr Coombes and Mrs Pranthett, the shopkeeper, punishes the guilty boys with a cane at school. -
Summer Holidays in Norway
As the family did every year, they spend again their summer holidays in Norway. On their way, they always stop in Oslo for the grand annual family reunion. Then, they go as usual to all the small and virgin islands surrounding them. -
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Elementary Education: St. Peter's Weston-super-Mare
At age 9, Dahl went to his first boarding school, St. Peter's. He remained there until he turned 13 years old. -
Writing Home
Roald remembers having every Sunday one hour to write home. This is a school strategy to work on spelling & grammar. -
Fake appendicitis
On his first weeks in Repton, Dahl is feeling really homesick. He makes up symptoms to simulate having appendicitis. He even fools the Headmaster and the Matron, but he can't fool the Dr. Fortunately, he keeps the secret and gives the boy a couple of days off. -
Car Crush
For the Christmas Holidays, the family buys a car and goes on their first ride. Roald's elder half-sister is driving. After a very sharped bend, she crushes and Dahl breaks his nose. He has to have surgery and for his bravery, his mother gives him a Sovereign. -
Captain Hardcastle: the cane again
While Roald is writing an essay in Captain Hardcastle's class, he breaks his nib and can't finish it. So he tries to ask for another one. His teacher thinks that he was trying to cheat and sent him to the Headmaster's office, where he got flogged again! -
The Boil
Dahl gets the flu and is sent to the Sick Room. There is a boy called Ellis who has a big, round, plum-looking boil on the inside of his thigh. One day the Dr goes to see Ellis and removes the boil with a scalpel. Roald watches eveything. -
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Secondary Education: Repton Public School
When Dahl turned 13 he moved to Repton's boarding school. He spent his last days of education there. -
Chocolates
Once in a while a chocolate factory visited the school and left samples for each student and then they had to write comments about the 12 bars of chocolate. He remembers this as a very influential experience for the creation of his later book "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory". -
Bogseat heatter
Carleton is a Repton Boazer who is always picking on young faggs like Roald. Once he makes Roald heat his bogseat. As Dahl does it with no complains, Carleton is more considerate towards him. -
Games & Photography
In his lasts years of school, Dahl is very keen on sports. He gets to be the "Captain of Fives" and is part of the football team. He is also very keen on photography. He even wins several medals and prizes from the Royal Photography Society in London. -
Roald Dahl begins working for Shell Oil
In 1934, Roald leaves Repton and, after travelling to Newfoundland with "The Public Schools' Exploring Society", he begins working for the Shell Oil Company.
