Jockey and war hero was Dead Cert to write thrillers

Dick Francis mined his RAF and riding careers to author 44 crime novels. The first was published 50 years ago, says Declan Burke

DICK FRANCIS wrote 44 thrillers set in the world of horseracing. His first, Dead Cert, was published 50 years ago this month. In his career, Francis sold 60m copies. But few of the former jockey’s heroes came close to matching his own exploits, both on and off the track. Born in Pembrokeshire in Wales in 1920, Richard Stanley Francis grew up the son of a jockey, in Berkshire, England.

Francis left school without qualifications at the age of 15, determined to become a jockey. He became a trainer in 1938, and volunteered for the cavalry when war broke out in 1939. Francis spent the war in the RAF, mostly billeted in Africa, flying Spitfires and Hurricanes and, later, bombing missions. By comparison, his post-war career as a jockey must have seemed tame. Francis wasn’t just another jockey, however. He rode 350 winners and became champion jockey in 1954, serving as the Queen Mother’s jockey from 1953 to 1957.