Robert Holles
Encyclopedia
Robert Holles was a British author and TV and film screenwriter.
Holles was the son of a sergeant major, and enlisted in the British army as a boy soldier at 14. He served in Korea as a sergeant with the 1st battalion of the Gloucestershire Regiment, and saw action during the Battle of Imjin in 1951, one of "The Glorious Glosters" greatest battle honours.
Holles became an author often writing on military life but not limited to this alone.
Holles was prolific in the 1960s and 70s, he wrote with wry humour in such works as Religion and Davey Peach, and experimented with the horror genre in Spawn amongst his non-fiction books he wrote on his experiences with Soldiering (The Guide to Real Subversive Soldiering).
Holles lived for many years in the Essex village of Stebbing and was a keen village cricketer there which was reflected in his book The Guide to Real Village Cricket.
As well as published works he was a successful TV writer with credits for Coronation Street
and Hine as well as one-offs for the prestigious Play for Today
slot on the BBC's main TV channel (Michael Regan and The Vanishing Army), two episodes for The Man Outside (Drama series, BBC 1972) and several plays in Thames TV's Armchair Theatre
series.
Also amongst his credits was the screenplay for the 1964 award winning film Guns at Batasi
(based on his own novel The Siege of Battersea).
Holles was the son of a sergeant major, and enlisted in the British army as a boy soldier at 14. He served in Korea as a sergeant with the 1st battalion of the Gloucestershire Regiment, and saw action during the Battle of Imjin in 1951, one of "The Glorious Glosters" greatest battle honours.
Holles became an author often writing on military life but not limited to this alone.
Holles was prolific in the 1960s and 70s, he wrote with wry humour in such works as Religion and Davey Peach, and experimented with the horror genre in Spawn amongst his non-fiction books he wrote on his experiences with Soldiering (The Guide to Real Subversive Soldiering).
Holles lived for many years in the Essex village of Stebbing and was a keen village cricketer there which was reflected in his book The Guide to Real Village Cricket.
As well as published works he was a successful TV writer with credits for Coronation Street
Coronation Street
Coronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...
and Hine as well as one-offs for the prestigious Play for Today
Play for Today
Play for Today is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stage plays and novels, were transmitted...
slot on the BBC's main TV channel (Michael Regan and The Vanishing Army), two episodes for The Man Outside (Drama series, BBC 1972) and several plays in Thames TV's Armchair Theatre
Armchair Theatre
Armchair Theatre is a British television drama anthology series, which ran on the ITV network from 1956 to 1974. It was originally produced by Associated British Corporation, and later by Thames Television after 1968....
series.
Also amongst his credits was the screenplay for the 1964 award winning film Guns at Batasi
Guns at Batasi
Guns at Batasi is a 1964 drama film starring Richard Attenborough, Jack Hawkins, Flora Robson, John Leyton and Mia Farrow. It is set in an overseas colonial military outpost during the last days of the British Empire in East Africa....
(based on his own novel The Siege of Battersea).