Remembering Roald Dahl: a key figure in Cumbrians’ childhoods

The day marks Roald Dahl’s birthday and is an annual global celebration of his marvellous stories, characters and worlds, from Matilda to Charlie and The Chocolate Factory.

Hayton C of E Primary School headteacher Sue Lingard, left, and deputy headteacher Janet McArdle (Image: Louise Porter)

Schools across the country take part to show their appreciation and fundraise for Roald Dahl’s Marvellous Children’s Charity. Many staff and pupils dress up, with proceeds helping to provide specialist nurses and support for seriously ill children.

Staff and pupils at Inglewood Junior School on Roald Dahl Story Day (Image: Newsquest)
Best known for his popular children’s literature, Dahl, who died in 1990, was also a writer of short stories, a poet, a screenwriter and a wartime fighter ace. His books have sold more than 300 million copies worldwide and he has been called “one of the greatest storytellers for children of the 20th century”.

Amira Fell as Matilda on Roald Dahl Story Day at Thursby Primary School (Image: Newsquest)
Dahl was born in Wales in 1916 to affluent Norwegian immigrant parents, and lived for most of his life in England. He served in the RAF during the Second World War, becoming a fighter pilot and, subsequently, an intelligence officer, rising to the rank of acting wing commander.

Children from St Patrick's School visited the Gaiety Cinema in Whitehaven to see the BFG (Image: Newsquest)
He became prominent as a writer in the 1940s with works for children and adults and established himself as one of the world’s best-selling authors.

Six-year-old Jude Todhunter as Roald Dahl's Fantastic Mr Fox (Image: Newsquest)
His awards for his contribution to literature include the 1983 World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement and the British Book Awards’ Children’s Author of the Year in 1990. In 2008, The Times placed Dahl 16th on its list of “The 50 Greatest British Writers Since 1945”. In 2021, Forbes ranked him the top-earning dead celebrity.

All Saints School, Cockermouth, staged a Rock Challenge Roald Dahl celebration (Image: Newsquest)

Dahl's short stories are known for their unexpected endings, and his children's books for their unsentimental, macabre, often darkly comic mood, featuring villainous adult enemies of the child characters.

Roald Dahl Story Day at Beckermet School (Image: Newsquest)
His children’s writing champions kindheartedness and features an underlying warm sentiment. Famous works include James and the Giant Peach, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, The Witches, Fantastic Mr Fox, The BFG, The Twits, George’s Marvellous Medicine and Danny, the Champion of the World.

Staff and pupils at Ennerdale and Kinniside School dressed as Roald Dahl characters (Image: Newsquest)

Dahl’s works for older audiences include the short story collections Tales of the Unexpected and The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More.