Ronald Welch Pseudonym of Ronald Oliver Felton (1909 - 1982) His pseudonym comes from his wartime regiment, The Welch. He was for many years Headmaster of Oxehampton Grammar School in Devon. Page updated 12th April, 2015 Thanks to Jo Robins and Sue Tredrea for this page. Reissue of the 12 Carey novels Readers write Just ONE page on the Collecting Books and Magazines web site based in Australia.Our FACEBOOK page.

See NOTES section at the end of the page for additional information. Bibliographical information has been assembled from several sources and may not be complete. Bibliography 1950 The Black Car Mystery 1951 The Clock Stood Still 1951 The Gauntlet 1954 Knight Crusader CARNEGIE MEDAL 1954 Sker House Writing as Ronald Felton 1955 Ferdinand Magellan 1956 Captain of Dragoons 1957 The Long Bow 1958 Mohawk Valley 1961 For the King (See NOTES below.) 1963 Nicholas Carey 1966 Bowman of Crécy 1967 The Hawk 1970 Sun of York 1971 The Galleon 1972 Tank Commander 1974 Zulu Warrior 1976 Ensign Carey

Carey Family Books - Link books have a Carey in them but not as main focus.

NOTES
5th November, 2002
Mike writes: Just an addition to your Ronald Welch bibliography - a short story of his called "The King's Hunt" which appears in "Thrilling Stories of the Past for Boys" edited by Eric Duthie and published in 1970. "The King's Hunt" is set at the 17th century/English Civil War battle of Edgehill and Neil Carey appears in it, so it aligns with "For the King".  Thanks, Mike.
2nd May, 2005
Kathy writes: In 'Miscellany Five', edited by Edward Blishen, published OUP 1968, there is a short Ronald Welch story 'The Joust' which has as one of its characters Philip d'Aubigny the Crusader. / The hero, Owen, comes to the favourable attention of Sir Philip and becomes his squire. Thanks, Kathy.
6th October, 2006
From: thormac@vision.net.au
Tom writes: Author Ronald Welch, aka Ronald Oliver Felton (1909-82) was headmaster of my mixed grammar school at Okehampton, Devon in the 1950's. Few attending OGS knew that 'Felix' had written even one historical novel - fewer still that he'd published several and continued to do so into the mid-1970's. / Our ignorance of his writing was mainly due to the fact that 'Felix' rarely referred to his books, despite the fact that the thousands he had taught over several decades represented a large potential readership. / Only now, 50+ years later (and a retired history teacher myself) have I discovered that 'Felix' wrote more than a dozen historical novels for young people - all set in diverse periods and widely scattered locations. / 'Felix' read history at Oxford in the 1930's and was a Tank Corps officer in World War Two. Because of that background he was in appearance, accent, dress, &c, a typical upper class Englishman. Yet he was a Welsh patriot, not least because of his firm grasp of the often tragic history of the 'Land of his Fathers' - which was the land of his birth in 1909. / 'Felix' taught only 'A' Level history - in my day "Europe 1780-1920". But to the majority, who in my day left school at 16, 'The Boss' was a remote figure who (a) presided at morning assemblies (b) fulfilled the 1944 Butler Education Act's requirements on religious instruction or "R.I." / I recall that Felix seemed to find his own R.I. lessons just as tedious as we did. The Butler Act's compulsory R.I. clause, I suspect, has been backfiring ever since - achieving more since 1944 'to promote secularism via boredom' than the efforts of all British atheists & communists combined. / "Ronald Welch" was a big man, maybe 6' 4" and 220 lbs. He was 43 when I met him but seemed much older - maybe because of the massive domed head and thinning, grey, swept-back hair. As my 6th Form history teacher he came across as a very different man from the impassive presenter of Middle Eastern fairy tales of my earlier years at OGS. Lessons on George the 3rd and 4th, Chatham, Charles James Fox, William Pitt, Napoleon (& Josephine!), Wellington, Goya, Brougham, Peel, Canning, Queen Victoria, Melbourne, Cardigan, Napoleon III, Disraeli, Gladstone, Kaiser Franz-Josef, Archduke Franz-Ferdinand, Parnell, Chamberlain, the last 3 German Kaisers, Balfour, Lloyd-George and many others, were always enlivened with personal anecdotes. / E.g. I recall Felix expounding on Bismarck - in his student days lying in winter on a giant stove as a way of concentrating on his studies; how he took the measure of Russia as a diplomat in Sankt Peterburg; how he reacted to the news of the death in 1888 of Kaiser Frederick III (of throat cancer after an English surgeon failed to cure him) by saying with a shrug: "the young fool will soon destroy the Empire;" and how in his last years, he warned his successors that "Germany and Europe must grasp that in the coming century the Americans will play a major role in all our affairs." / Felix added that if only the Anglophile Frederick III had died at 80 -in 1911 - rather than at 57, the entire 20th century would been unimaginably different. "No World War One. No Russian Revolution! But what instead?" Thanks for your comments, Tom.

5th May, 2009
RHarding12 writes:
I've just been clearing out our old family home and I came across my childhood dictionary that I had written in many years ago of all the books I had read and in the list I came across a few books written by Ronald Welch. I had forgotten the names of the books and was always frustrated trying to think of the names and the author.
Because we were a service family we changed schools a great deal and I fell behind with my reading. It was only the old dictionary that jogged my memory and I can remember now going to the library and reading some of the books by Mr Welch. His work rekindled my love of books that I still have today and I just wanted to say that I wish I could have told Mr Welsh just how he sparked my love of books as well as history.
If any of his family comes across this site then please accept this thank you for him on my behalf.
Thanks for your comments.

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