Hilary Aidan Saint George Saunders MC (14 January 1898 – 16 December 1951) was a British author, born in Clifton near

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

Early life

He was the son of G.W. St George Saunders of Brighton and was educated at

Windlesham House School Windlesham House School is an independent boarding and day school for boys and girls aged 4 to 13 on the South Downs, in Pulborough, West Sussex, England. It was founded in 1837 by Charles Robert Malden and was the first boys' preparatory schoo ...

Downside School Downside School is a co-educational Catholic independent boarding and day school in the English public school tradition for pupils aged 11 to 18. It is located between Bath, Frome, Wells and Bruton, and is attached to Downside Abbey. Original ...

and Balliol College, Oxford.

First World War

During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

he commissioned into the

Welsh Guards The Welsh Guards (WG; cy, Gwarchodlu Cymreig), part of the Guards Division, is one of the Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. It was founded in 1915 as a single-battalion regiment, during the First World War, by Royal Warrant of George V. ...

, and served with 1st battalion on the Western Front. He was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC ...

for an action on 6 November 1918 near

Bavay Bavay () is a commune in the Nord department in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France. The town was the seat of the former canton of Bavay. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Bavaisiens'' or ''Bavaisiennes'' Geography Bava ...

in northern France. His citation read:

Postwar career

Saunders went by several noms-de-plume: Francis Beeding (writing in tandem with

John Palmer John Palmer may refer to: People Politicians * John Palmer (fl. 1377–1394), English politician * Sir John Palmer, 5th Baronet (1735–1817), British politician * John Palmer (1785–1840), U.S. congressman from New York * John Palmer (1842–19 ...

), "Barum Browne" (with Geoffrey Dennis), "Cornelius Cofyn" (with John deVere Loder), "David Pilgrim" (with John Palmer), and "John Somers" (with John Palmer). A chronicler of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

and biographer of

Robert Baden-Powell Lieutenant-General Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell, ( ; (Commonly pronounced by others as ) 22 February 1857 – 8 January 1941) was a British Army officer, writer, founder and first Chief Scout of the wor ...

, Saunders was a recorder on Admiral Mountbatten's staff during World War II. Saunders was

Librarian A librarian is a person who works professionally in a library providing access to information, and sometimes social or technical programming, or instruction on information literacy to users. The role of the librarian has changed much over time ...

of the House of Commons Library from 1946–1950, when he retired because of ill health. Saunders became known during World War II for his books and pamphlets, ''The Battle of Britain'', ''Bomber Command'', ''Coastal Command'', etc., which he wrote officially and anonymously for the Government, and subsequently for ''The Red Beret'' and ''The Green Beret''. A wartime visit to America for the Ministry of Information was the subject of his ''Pioneers! O Pioneers!'' ''The Sleeping Bacchus'' is his scarce first and only novel, the story of an art robbery. Saunders was also a postwar commentator on the scouting movements during World War II, chronicled in ''The Left Handshake'', written in 1948.

Works

* ''The Hidden Kingdom'' (1927) with John Palmer as Francis Beeding * '' The House of Dr. Edwardes'' (1927) with John Palmer as Francis Beeding * ''Death Walks in Eastrepps'' (1931) with John Palmer as Francis Beeding * ''The One Sane Man'' (1934) with John Palmer as Francis Beeding * ''So Great A Man'' (1937) with John Palmer as David Pilgrim - historical novel about

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

. * ''No Common Glory'' (1941) with John Palmer as David Pilgrim - historical novelabout the adventures of one of Charles II's illegitimate sons. * ''The Grand Design'' (1943) with John Palmer as David Pilgrim -sequel to ''No Common Glory'' * ''Pioneers! O Pioneers!'' (1944) * ''Per Ardua: The Rise of British Air Power, 1911–1939'' (1945) * * ''The Green Beret: The Story of the Commandos, Combined Operations, 1940–1945'' (1949) * ''The Red Beret'' (1950) * ''The Middlesex Hospital'' (1950) * ''The Sleeping Bacchus'' (1951)

Early life

First World War

Postwar career

Works

References

Further reading