“Willie Wonka” Author Spied on the U.S.

By | November 16, 2018

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British novelist Roald Dahl (1916 - 1990) taken on 10th December 1971. (Photo by Ronald Dumont/Daily Express/Getty Images)

Roald Dahl, who went on to pen such children’s classics as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and James and the Giant Peach, was once a member of a British spy ring based in the United States during World War II. As part of the British Security Coordination or BSC, Dahl engaged in covert missions to try to convince the isolationist United States to join the war against Germany. To accomplish his goal, Dahl even seduced some of his contacts in order to gather information. Dahl’s books may portray childlike innocence but his own life was one of intrigue and seduction. 

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Dahl was A Fighter Pilot for the Royal Air Force

In 1939, Dahl, a native of Wales, enlisted in the Royal Air Force and was trained to be a fighter pilot. He successfully flew several combat missions, but after he sustained injuries when he crash-landed in North Africa, his flying days were over. But Dahl still felt compelled to help the war effort.