R.C. Sherriff (1896-1975) served as a captain in the East Surrey regiment during the First World War and subsequently tried his hand at writing. Following rejection by many theatre managements, Journey's End was given a single performance by the Incorporated Stage Society, in which Lawrence Olivier took the lead role. The play's enormous success enabled Sherriff to become a full-time writer. He is remembered for his plays, the screenplays for the films The Invisible Man (1933), Goodbye Mr Chips (1933) and The Dam Busters (1955), and the novel The Hopkins Manuscript (1939).
