Biography
William Sansom (1912–1976) was a British novelist, short-story writer and travel writer. He served as a full-time London firefighter during the Blitz, an experience that inspired much of his early work, including the collection Fireman Flower (1944). He appeared uncredited in Humphrey Jennings's documentary film Fires Were Started (1943) as the fireman playing the piano.
After the war Sansom became a full-time writer. He received literary prizes from the Society of Authors in 1946 and 1947 and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1951. His novels include The Body (1949) and Goodbye (1966), the latter adapted for Play for Today in 1975. He married actress Ruth Grundy in 1954.
