Portal:South East England/Selected biography/16

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Frederick Forsyth, CBE (born August 25, 1938) is an English author and occasional political commentator. He is best known for thrillers such as The Day of the Jackal,The Odessa File, The Dogs of War, The Fist of God, Icon, The Veteran, Avenger and recently The Afghan.

Born in Ashford, Kent, Forsyth was educated at Tonbridge School. He later attended University of Granada in Spain. At the age of 19, he became one of the youngest pilots ever in the Royal Air Force, where he served until 1958.

He became a reporter, and spent three and a half years working at a small newspaper before joining Reuters in 1961. In 1965, he joined the BBC and was assistant diplomatic correspondent. From July to September 1967, he covered the Biafran War between Biafra and Nigeria.