Raymond Briggs used his skills to lustrator to articulate his own acerbic views on people, politics, and society.
His children's books often did not follow the established format. His snowman has melted and his Santa Claus was a far cry from the jovial figure we all expect.
A wise observer of the human condition, his work as adult reflected his own concerns, such as When the Wind Blows, a fable about a nuclear attack on the UK.
Many of his books have been made into films success, earning him a series of awards and the admiration of millions of fans.
Raymond Redvers Briggs was born at Wimbledon Park in London on the 18 January 1934. His father, Ernest, worked as a milkman while his mother, Ethel, had been a maid before her marriage.
He was not particularly interested in children's books, apart from Richmal Crompton's Just William stories. "It was always such a bummer at Christmas to feel that awful hard edge under the wrapping paper," he later recalled. "I wanted a toy or a gun or something a lot more."
Image source, Getty Images
At Dec During the Second World War he became an evacuee, returning to London to take up a place at Rutlish Grammar School, which he found "awful and snobbish".
Raymond Briggs used his skills to lustrator to articulate his own acerbic views on people, politics, and society.
His children's books often did not follow the established format. His snowman has melted and his Santa Claus was a far cry from the jovial figure we all expect.
A wise observer of the human condition, his work as adult reflected his own concerns, such as When the Wind Blows, a fable about a nuclear attack on the UK.
Many of his books have been made into films success, earning him a series of awards and the admiration of millions of fans.
Raymond Redvers Briggs was born at Wimbledon Park in London on the 18 January 1934. His father, Ernest, worked as a milkman while his mother, Ethel, had been a maid before her marriage.
He was not particularly interested in children's books, apart from Richmal Crompton's Just William stories. "It was always such a bummer at Christmas to feel that awful hard edge under the wrapping paper," he later recalled. "I wanted a toy or a gun or something a lot more."
Image source, Getty Images
At Dec During the Second World War he became an evacuee, returning to London to take up a place at Rutlish Grammar School, which he found "awful and snobbish".
Image source, Rex features 
Image source, Getty Images
