birth_place pseudonym citizenship nationality notableworks birth_date period genre article_title education name occupation alma_mater
bristol dirk robson british british '' '' , '' the eldorado network '' , '' a goshawk darker history of bristol '' '' a load of old squadron bristle : krek waiter 's peak bristle '' , '' '' run with the ball '' , '' piece of cake 12 april 1932 1971 -- present fiction derek robinson -lrb- novelist -rrb-
 university derek robinson screenwriter , author , rugby union referee , broadcaster downing college , university of cambridge
derek robinson -lrb- novelist -rrb-

derek robinson -lrb- born 1932 -rrb- is a british author best known for his military aviation novels full of black humour .
he has also written several books on some of the more sordid events in the history of bristol , his home town , as well as guides to rugby .
he was nominated for the booker prize in 1971 for his first novel , `` goshawk squadron '' .
after attending cotham grammar school , robinson served in the royal air force as a fighter plotter , during his national service .
he has a history degree from cambridge university , where he attended downing college , has worked in advertising in the uk and the us and as a broadcaster on radio and television .
he was a qualified rugby referee for over thirty years and is a life member of bristol society of rugby referees .
he was married in 1964 .
unlike many who have researched the battle of britain and nazi germany 's plans for invasion of the united kingdom in 1940 , derek robinson changed his mind after researching historical records for his novel `` piece of cake '' -lrb- 1983 -rrb- .
he is absolutely clear that it was the supremacy of the royal navy in the uk 's coastal waters that caused adolf hitler to postpone invasion plans and not the battle of britain , as commonly claimed by the royal air force -lrb- interview , bbc radio 4 broadcasting house - sunday 8 september 2013 : `` raf veteran disputes the ` myth ' that fighter pilots saved britain from invasion in 1940 '' -rrb- .
