This a story from a hundred years ago about a child framed by his father as the hero of one of the most famous children's characters in recent history. His parents wanted a girl and initially treated him as one. This, together with distant parents and an overwhelming Nanny, left him terminally shy and lacking in self—confidence. Initially unable to escape from him his fictional self, he became an object of continued interest from a non—understanding public. His saving came in the form of being sent away to Stowe School, going to Cambridge and becoming an expert on mines in Second World War. After a difficult period immediately post—war in London, he married and eventually ran a bookshop in Dartmouth for twenty—one years. His life was dominated by a love of the countryside, learned at his parents' country home, Cotchford Farm in Hartfield, East Sussex and afterwards in the South—West. How he achieved this, against the odds, is the subject of this biography.