Ronald Gordon King-Smith OBE,
Hon.MEd (27 March 1922 – 4 January 2011), was a prolific English writer of
children's books, primarily using the pen name
Dick King-Smith. He is best known for
The Sheep-Pig (1983), or
Babe the Gallant Pig in the US. It was
adapted as the movie
Babe (1995) and translations have been published in fifteen languages. He was awarded an Honorary Master of Education degree by the
University of the West of England in 1999 and appointed
Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2010 New Year Honours. Dick and Myrle had three children – two daughters (Juliet and Lizzie) and one son (Giles).