R. V. C. Bodley | |
|---|---|
 R. V. C. Bodley, c. 1914 | |
| Birth name | Ronald Victor Courtenay Bodley |
| Born | 3 March 1892 Paris, France |
| Died | 26 May 1970 (aged 78) Bramley, Surrey, England |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service | United Kingdom |
| Years of service | 1911–19 1939–43 |
| Rank | Major |
| Battles / wars | First World War Second World War |
| Awards | Military Cross Legion of Honour (France) Order of the Black Star (France) Order of the Crown (Romania) Order of Wen-Hu (China) |
| Relations | John Edward Courtenay Bodley (father) |
| Other work | Author, screenwriter |
Ronald Victor Courtenay Bodley, MC (3 March 1892 – 26 May 1970) was a British Army officer, author and journalist. Born to English parents in Paris, he lived in France until he was nine, before attending Eton College and then the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. He was commissioned in the King's Royal Rifle Corps and served with them during the First World War. After the war he spent seven years in the Sahara desert, and then travelled through Asia. Bodley wrote several books about his travels. He was considered among the most distinguished British writers on the Sahara, as well as one of the main western sources of information on the South Seas Mandate.
Bodley moved to the United States in 1935, where he worked as a screenwriter. He rejoined the British Army at the outbreak of the Second World War and was sent to Paris to work for the Ministry of Information. He later immigrated to the United States, where he continued to work as a writer and also as an advisor to the United States Office of War Information.