roald dahl was born on 13 september 1916 in llandaff, cardiff, wales to norwegian parents. he was educated in england, llandaff cathedral school, and then worked in africa for the shell oil company. in the second world war, he was an raf fighter pilot. it was after an air-crash and "a monumental bash on the head" that he began to write. the crash was the subject of his first published story, "shot down over libya".