History of the Charity

There was so much more to Roald Dahl than his stories.

Roald Dahl’s incredible life was also affected by serious illness, tragedy and loss. It was his personal experiences of illness – of his own and his close family – which spurred Roald Dahl to help seriously ill children and their families.

Roald Dahl believed in taking practical steps to improve the lives of those around him. His creativity and determination even helped to develop pioneering new medical treatments such as the Wade-Dahl-Till valve. This device was used to help thousands of children with hydrocephalus. Roald Dahl also generously gave his time and money to help seriously ill children and their families, including many he never met.

Roald Dahl’s Marvellous Children’s Charity continues this part of Roald Dahl’s legacy.

The charity was set up in memory of Roald Dahl (originally as the Roald Dahl Foundation) by his widow Felicity, shortly after his death in 1990.

The charity rebranded from the Roald Dahl Foundation to Roald Dahl's Marvellous Children's Charity on 1 November 2010.

Up until 2013, the Charity focussed upon supporting children with specific brain and blood conditions. The charity also helped to improve children’s literacy until 2009.

Over 2012 and 2013 the Charity undertook a strategic review of its aims and activities, so that the charity now focuses on all serious illnesses, not just brain and blood disorders.

Marvellous milestones

• Roald Dahl's Marvellous Children's Charity created the first ever Paediatric Epilepsy Nurse Specialist post in the UK in 1991. This Roald Dahl nurse is based at Alder Hey Children's Hospital, in Liverpool, England.
• The Charity has created 72 Roald Dahl children's nurses and healthcare professional posts around the UK.
• We help in excess of 21,000 seriously ill children and their families around the UK at any one time.