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Michael Bond was born in Berkshire on 13th January 1926. He was educated
at Presentation College, Reading. During World War II Michael Bond served
in both the Royal Air Force and the Middlesex Regiment of the British
Army. He began writing in 1945 and sold his first short story
to a magazine called London Opinion. This experience helped him decide
that he wanted to be a writer. Michael Bond never thought of writing
for children but, after producing a number of short stories and radio
plays, his agent suggested that he adapt a television play for children.
One Christmas Eve he stumbled upon a lonely little bear in a London
toy store. Michael bought the bear and took it home as a present for
his wife Brenda, naming it Paddington because they lived near the station
of the same name. Within ten days of owning Paddington the Bear, Michael
found he already had a book on his hands. His first book, A Bear
Called Paddington, was published in 1958, at the time, Michael
Bond was working as a television cameraman for the BBC. After the first
Paddington book was published, Michael Bond went on to write a whole
series and by 1967 his books were so successful that that he was able
to give up his job with the BBC in order to become a full-time writer.
The Paddington books have sold all over the world and have therefore
been translated in nearly thirty different languages. In total, he has
written nearly 150 books, including his autobiography, Bears and
Forebears published in the UK by HarperCollins.
In July 1997 Michael Bond was awarded the OBE for this services to children's
literature.
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