The Custard Boys

{{Short description|1960 novel by John Rae}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}

{{Infobox novel

| image = TheCustardBoys.jpg

| publisher = Rupert Hart-Davis

| caption = First edition cover

| author = John Rae

| pub_date = 1960

}}

The Custard Boys is a 1960 novel by British author John Rae,{{Cite web |date=1961-06-15 |title=The Custard Boys |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/a/john-rae-3/the-custard-boys/ |access-date=2024-10-18 |website=Kirkus Reviews}} focusing on the lives of children in a small village in World War II Norfolk{{Cite web |title=068. RAE (John) The Custard Boys, London, Rupert Hart-Davis, 1960 |url=http://ianmarr.co.uk/68-rae-john-the-custard-boys-london-rupert-hart-davis-1960/ |website=Ian Marr}} dealing with an influx of war refugees. It is sometimes compared{{by whom|date=November 2018}} to Lord of the Flies, and was adapted to make the film Reach for Glory in 1962 (which was passed with an 'X' certificate at the time by the British Board of Film Censors), and again for a second film carrying the original name in 1979, directed by Colin Finbow.