Thomas got married to Diana Miles in the early 1970s and the two lived together until his death in May 2014. The success of The Virgin Soldiers enabled him to become a full-time writer. He penned more than 30 books and both Tropic of Ruislip and Dangerous Davies, The Last Detective, were adapted for television. His final book was a bitter-sweet romance called Soldiers and Lovers. He also wrote two autobiographies and travel books. I wear his medals, the three medals I got myself for no particular distinguished service and my OBE and, when I walk, Diana says that I clank. I try to keep a serious face, but I look so lugubrious that it looks as though I am about to die.” Most Read

Thomas attended Kingston Technical School and he then took a course in journalism at South-West Essex Technical College in Walthamstow. [3] In 1949 he was called up for National Service and embarked on a two-year tour of duty in Singapore with the Royal Army Pay Corps. While there he was briefly involved with the military action against communist rebels in the Malayan emergency. He also began to write short articles for publication in English newspapers. Find sources: "Leslie Thomas"– news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR ( March 2019) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message)It is a work that tells of life on a sleepy base where the people hardly have to worry about encroachment from the war against the communist guerillas. In 1984, Thomas published In My Wildest Dreams recounting his childhood in South Wales, his days in Doctor Barnardo's homes in London, his National Service in the Far East, and his career in journalism. His novels about 1950s British National Service such as The Virgin Soldiers spawned two film versions, in 1969 and 1977, while his Tropic of Ruislip and Dangerous Davies, The Last Detective have been adapted for television (the former as Tropic in 1979 and the latter having also spawned a film version, in 1981 and a TV series in 2003 with Peter Davison). In 2007, he wrote his last novel in “Soldiers and Lovers,” which explored the romance of characters living at the tail end of World War II.

It is another beautiful story of virgin soldiers and their life and death stories in Malaya. It is a privileged glimpse into the lives of young men under a lot of pressure and stress. The film's popularity spawned a 1977 sequel, Stand Up, Virgin Soldiers [1] with Nigel Davenport repeating his role as Sgt Driscoll.While he was growing up, his father worked in merchant ships and was away most of the time. When he would come home, he was frequently drunk and violent. Upon his return to England in 1951, Thomas resumed his work for the local newspaper group in north London where he had worked before his National Service, but within five years he was working for the Exchange Telegraph news agency, now Extel, and eventually with the London Evening News newspaper, first as a sub-editor, later as a reporter. He stayed with the Evening News until 1965, when he embarked full-time on his writing career. [ citation needed] Later on, he worked for the “Exchange Telegraph,” even as he submitted short stories to several publications. Phillipa is getting more and more rebellious, eventually setting herself up with Sgt. Driscoll as a lover, while she leads Brigg on in the romance department. Brigg finally summons up the courage and the cash to approach a prostitute, called Juicy Lucy by the troops. The encounter starts disastrously but after Lucy realizes Brigg is a virgin, she takes pity on him and begins his education in her own way. This develops into a long-term relationship, at least for Brigg, who she calls affectionately "Bigg". Brigg tries not to think about what Lucy does when he is not with her.