- During the Second World War, he joined the Royal Artillery. Aged eighteen, he was captured by the Japanese on the island of Java in 1942, and subsequently imprisoned in the notorious Changi jail. Changi became the setting of his first novel, "King Rat".
- Was paid the record sum of $5 million for his novel "Whirlwind", by the publishing house William Morrow & Company in 1986.
- He was injured in a motorcycle accident after his return to England following the war. His injuries caused lameness in one leg.
- Became an American citizen in 1963.
- Biological father, with Caroline Barrett, of Petra Barrett Brando, who was adopted by Marlon Brando.
- Lived in West Vancouver, Canada for a short time while he wrote a novel.
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