 He adapted numerous novels about war into film and television scripts including "How I Won the War" (1967) from a novel by Patrick Ryan; "The Long Day's Dying" (1968) from a novel by Alan White; "A Breed of Heroes" (1994) from a novel by Alan Judd about a young British officer in Belfast; and three episodes of "Sharpe".Many of his works have a semi-autobiographical element, employing his personal and professional life as a writer, working in theatre and movies.