Michael Morpurgo is a British children’s author, born in 1943, best known for War Horse (1982). He was a teacher first and began writing stories for his class. He has written more than 150 books, started the charity Farms for City Children with his wife Clare in 1976, was Children’s Laureate from 2003 to 2005 and was knighted in 2018.
Michael Morpurgo quick facts
- Michael Morpurgo was born in St Albans, England, on 5 October 1943.
- He began writing stories for the children in his class.
- War Horse was first published in 1982.
- More than 105,000 children have stayed on Farms for City Children farms.
- He was Children’s Laureate from 2003 to 2005.
Who is Michael Morpurgo?
Michael Morpurgo is one of Britain’s best-loved children’s authors. He is most famous for War Horse, the story of a farm horse called Joey who is sent to fight in the First World War.
His official website says he has written more than 150 books, which have sold more than 35 million copies in almost 40 languages.
But writing is only part of his story. He was a teacher, he set up a charity that lets city children live on a farm, and he helped create the job of Children’s Laureate.
| Michael Morpurgo at a glance | |
|---|---|
| Born | 5 October 1943, St Albans, England |
| Jobs | teacher, author, charity founder |
| Best-known book | War Horse (1982) |
| Books | more than 150 |
| Children’s Laureate | 2003 to 2005 |
| Honours | OBE (2006), knighted (2018) |
Early life
Michael Morpurgo was born on 5 October 1943 in St Albans, Hertfordshire, in England. His official website says his father was away fighting in the Second World War, in Baghdad, when he was born.
He has an older brother, Pieter. As a small child during the war, he was evacuated, which means he was sent away from danger, to Northumberland in the north of England. Learn more about that time in our World War II facts.
After the war, his parents split up, and his mother married again. His official website says his stepfather was Jack Morpurgo, and Michael took his surname.
School days
Michael went to St Matthias primary school in London. Then, his official website says, he spent six years as a boarder at a school called The Abbey, in Ashurst Wood, Sussex.
Later, at The King’s School in Canterbury, he became school captain and played rugby.
After school, he trained to be an army officer at Sandhurst. But he did not like the strict rules and orders, and he left in the winter of 1962. He then studied at King’s College London and got a degree.
When he was 18, he met Clare in Greece. Her father was Allen Lane, the man who started Penguin Books. Michael and Clare later married, and they have three children and eight grandchildren.
From teacher to writer
Michael Morpurgo was a teacher for about ten years. BookTrust says he taught primary school children, and his official website says his last school was the village primary school in Wickhambreaux, Kent.
That is where his writing began. His official website says he started writing stories when he ran out of other people’s stories to read to his class. He found that making up his own stories helped to settle a lively class.
A famous poet helped him along the way. The poet Ted Hughes, who lived near him in Devon, became his friend and mentor.
Farms for City Children
In 1976, Michael and Clare Morpurgo started a charity called Farms for City Children. Its aim was to let children from towns and cities live and work on a real farm for a while.
The first farm was Nethercott House, in the Devon village of Iddesleigh, where the Morpurgos lived. Farms for City Children says Ted Hughes was the charity’s first president.
More farms joined later: Lower Treginnis in Pembrokeshire, Wales, in 1989, and Wick Court in Gloucestershire, which began taking visitors in 1998.
On a farm stay, children feed and look after cows, pigs, sheep, horses and chickens. They also grow vegetables, plant trees and press apple juice.
Farms for City Children says more than 105,000 children had stayed on its farms by its 50th year. In 2024 to 2025 alone, 3,553 children and young people aged 8 to 19 visited.
Michael believes farm life builds confidence. His official website quotes him saying that “on a farm, children can be proud of what they do”.
War Horse
War Horse was first published in 1982. It is a story, not a true history, but it was inspired by real memories.
His official website says the idea came after he met an old soldier from the First World War in the Duke of York pub in Iddesleigh. The old man talked about his bond with a horse during the war.
The story follows Joey, a Devon farm horse who is sold to the army at the start of the war. Joey sees the fighting from both sides, while his young owner, Albert, sets out to find him.
In 2007, the National Theatre in London turned War Horse into a play. Life-size horse puppets, made by the Handspring Puppet Company from South Africa, brought Joey to life on stage.
His official website says the play has been seen by more than 10 million people in over 100 cities. It won five Tony Awards and two Olivier Awards. In 2011, the film director Steven Spielberg made War Horse into a film.
Other books
Michael Morpurgo has written many other popular books. They include Private Peaceful, Why the Whales Came, The Butterfly Lion and Kensuke’s Kingdom.
The Butterfly Lion is about a boy called Bertie who rescues a white lion cub in Africa. The Wreck of the Zanzibar is set on the Isles of Scilly, off the coast of Cornwall, in 1907.
BookTrust says he often writes about war and peace, about nature, and about the bond between people and animals.
Awards and honours
His books have won many prizes. His official website lists the Whitbread Award, the Smarties Prize, the Blue Peter Book Award and the Children’s Book Award. He has also been shortlisted four times for the Carnegie Medal.
In December 2006, he was made an OBE for services to literature. Then, in the 2018 New Year Honours, he was knighted for services to literature and charity, becoming Sir Michael Morpurgo.
He was modest about it. His official website says he joked that he would like to hand the honour to Joey, the horse in War Horse.
Children’s Laureate
A Children’s Laureate is a well-known writer or illustrator chosen to champion children’s books for two years. BookTrust says Michael Morpurgo and Ted Hughes came up with the idea for the role.
Michael became Children’s Laureate himself, from 2003 to 2005. During that time, he spoke up for reading for pleasure. One of his sayings from those years is that “literature comes before literacy”.
He means that children should first fall in love with stories, and that this helps them to become good readers. Today, BookTrust says, he is President of BookTrust, a charity that helps children to read.
Words of wisdom
Michael Morpurgo often talks about how stories help us understand each other. Many of his books show children facing hard times, such as war, and finding courage and kindness.
He also believes that time outdoors, with animals and nature, matters. That is why he and Clare spent so many years helping city children to discover farm life.
If you want to write stories like him, one lesson from his life is to start by telling stories out loud, just as he did for his class.
War Horse on stage
The stage version of War Horse became a huge hit. Michael Morpurgo’s official website says it broke the West End record for weekly ticket sales in London.
The life-size horse puppets were the stars of the show. Puppeteers worked them from inside and beside, so that Joey seemed to breathe, move his ears and gallop across the stage.
Many people who saw the play went on to read the book, and many readers went to see the play. It showed how one story can reach people in different ways.
Friends of the farms
Farms for City Children has had some famous friends. The charity says the illustrator Quentin Blake, who drew the pictures for many of Roald Dahl’s books, designed its “Goose Girl” logo in 1995.
Princess Anne is the charity’s patron, and the poet Ted Hughes was its first president.
A farm stay usually lasts about a week. Children come with their school class, and everyone works together, from feeding the animals early in the morning to helping in the vegetable garden.
Stories from the countryside
Many of Michael Morpurgo’s stories grew out of the Devon countryside near his home. War Horse begins on a Devon farm, and the old soldier who inspired it lived in the same village.
Living and working on a farm helped him understand animals and the people who care for them. That bond between people and animals appears again and again in his books.
Three things people get wrong
War Horse is not a true story. It is fiction, inspired by a real soldier’s memories.
Michael Morpurgo did not start out as a writer. He was a teacher first.
He did not invent the Children’s Laureate after holding it. He helped create the role before he held it.
Did you know? When he was knighted, Michael Morpurgo joked that he would like to give the honour to Joey, the horse in War Horse.
Try it
Make up a short story out loud, like Michael Morpurgo did for his class. Then write it down and add a picture.
Knowledge check
What is the name of the horse in War Horse?
Show answer
Joey.
What charity did Michael and Clare Morpurgo start?
Show answer
Farms for City Children.
Frequently asked questions
Who is Michael Morpurgo?
Michael Morpurgo is a British children’s author, born in 1943. He has written more than 150 books, including War Horse, and was Children’s Laureate.
What is War Horse about?
War Horse follows Joey, a Devon farm horse sold to the army in the First World War. His young owner, Albert, sets out to find him.
Is War Horse a true story?
No. War Horse is fiction, but it was inspired by an old First World War soldier who talked to Michael Morpurgo about his horse.
How did Michael Morpurgo start writing?
He was a primary school teacher. When he ran out of stories to read to his class, he began making up his own.
What is Farms for City Children?
It is a charity Michael and Clare Morpurgo started in 1976, so city children can live and work on a real farm.
Is Michael Morpurgo a knight?
Yes. He was knighted in the 2018 New Year Honours for services to literature and charity, becoming Sir Michael Morpurgo.
Sources
- Michael Morpurgo official site: about — birth, family, schools, teaching and number of books
- Michael Morpurgo official site: author profile — sales, languages, honours and the War Horse stage figures
- Michael Morpurgo official site: magazine profile by Sophie Elmhirst — Sandhurst, meeting Clare, how storytelling began and the War Horse inspiration; other pages on the official site were also used
- BookTrust: Sir Michael Morpurgo — teaching years, themes, the Children’s Laureate and BookTrust
- Farms for City Children: 50th anniversary — founding, the farms, Ted Hughes and the number of children
- Michael Morpurgo official site: War Horse — the story, the stage play and the puppets
