[1] He wrote fiction for adults and children, regimental histories and scripts for radio, television and film.

[2][3] His books for children were illustrated by some of the best artists of his day including William Stobbs, Colin Spencer and George Adamson.

[2] He published his first novel as David Scott Daniell in 1940 after which he served as a captain in the Royal Engineers during World War II and was mentioned in despatches.

[2][8] His later work encompassed fiction, non-fiction (including several regimental histories) and scripts for television, film and radio.

[2][3][9] He wrote 26 non-fiction titles for Ladybird Books from 1958 until his death, seven as David Scott Daniell and 19 as Richard Bowood.