What is Leslie Thomas?
[[File:Leslie Thomas, John Kirkham, Henry Buckton 50796451733) (Thomas cropped).jpg|thumb|right|Leslie Thomas in 1995]] '''Leslie Thomas''', {{Small|[[Order of the British Empire|OBE]]}} (22 March 1931 &ndash; 6 May 2014) was a [[Welsh people|Welsh]] [[journalist]] and [[author]]. His best known works where his [[comic novel]]s ''[[The Virgin Soldiers]]'' (1966) and ''[[Dangerous Davies, the Last Detective]]'' (1976). ''The Virgin Soldiers'' was made into a [[The Virgin Soldiers (movie)|movie]] in 1969 and a [[Stand Up, Virgin Soldiers|sequel]] in 1977, while ''Dangerous Davies, the Last Detective'' was made into an [[ITV]] [[The Last Detective|television series]] starring [[Peter Davison]]. The series ran for 17 episodes from 2003 to 2007. Thomas was born in [[Newport]], [[Monmouthshire]]. He was became an [[orphan]] at the age of 12, when his [[mariner]] father was lost at sea and his mother died only a few months later from [[cancer]]. Thomas after a long illness on 6 May 2014 near [[Salisbury]], [[Wiltshire]], aged 83. His wife, Diana, and their four children outlived him.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-27308147|title=Virgin Soldiers author Leslie Thomas dies aged 83|publisher=[[BBC]]|date=7 May 2014|accessdate=9 June 2014}}</ref> ==References== {{Reflist}} ==Other websites== * {{Official|http://www.lesliethomas.co.uk/}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Leslie}} [[Category:1931 births]] [[Category:2014 deaths]] [[Category:British Army people]] [[Category:Welsh journalists]] [[Category:Disease-related deaths in England]] [[Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire]] [[Category:People from Newport]] [[Category:Welsh novelists]] {{Bio-stub}}