Sir Patrick Leigh Fermor

Description

Sir Patrick 'Paddy' Michael Leigh Fermor DSO (born 11 February 1915, London) is a British author, scholar and soldier, who played a prominent role behind the lines in the Battle of Crete during World War II. He is famous for his travel writing and is widely regarded as "Britain's greatest living travel writer". <p>Leigh Fermor's father, Sir Lewis, was a distinguished geologist. Shortly after Patrick was born, his mother left to join his father in India, leaving him behind with another family. As a child, Leigh Fermor had problems with academic structure and limitations. As a result, he was sent to a school for difficult children. He was thrown out of his school, The King's School, Canterbury, for holding hands with a local greengrocer's daughter. He carried on educating himself, reading texts on Greek, Latin, Shakespeare and History with the plan for him to get into the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.<p>He soon decided, however, at just 18, to walk the length of Europe, from the Hook of...