About Olive Dehn
Olive Marie Dehn was an English children's writer, anarchist, farmer and poet who was active from the 1930s to the 2000s. She began her writing career with a satirical poem in German, and wrote stories for the BBC Radio programme Children's Hour. Dehn moved into children's literature and into farming at her home in the Ashdown Forest. In 1960, she became a member of the Committee of 100 to take non-violent direct action against nuclear power, and successfully campaigned with her husband David Markham for the release of the Soviet dissident Vladimir Bukovsky. The Olive Dehn Papers on her life and career were deposited at the Seven Stories in Newcastle. She won £50 from a radio drama competition with There I Must Be about her experiences of the First World War, and used the winnings to purchase a Red Dexter cow. Dehn and her family became self-sufficient, raising geese, hens, pigs and sheep and grew fruit and vegetables.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.