Jim Vickers-Willis (16 July 191830 December 2008) was a popular Australian journalist and square dance caller in the 1950s. He was also an author of a best selling book and a campaigner for social change.

Biography

The son of John Vickers-Willis by his second wife Mildred Amelia, the daughter of journalist Horace Whitcomb, James Vickers-Willis was born in

Mill Hill Mill Hill is a suburb in the London Borough of Barnet, England. It is situated around northwest of Charing Cross. Mill Hill was in the historic county of Middlesex until 1965, when it became part of Greater London. Its population counted 18, ...

, England, and migrated to Australia with his parents at the age of seven. He was educated in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

Brighton Grammar School , motto_translation = Let us keep pursuing better things , city = Brighton , state = Victoria , zipcode = 3186 , country = Australia , coordinates ...

and Haileybury after the family moved to Australia in 1925. He had an elder sister and a younger brother, as well as two older half-brothers from his father's first marriage. He worked as a cadet journalist for the , and during World War II served as an RAAF instructor and

Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Griff ...

pilot. Embarking on a new career, he became the most popular square dance caller of the day, and at one stage one of Australia's highest paid entertainers. At the age of 36 he contracted polio. This ended his career as a square dance caller and this signalled the end of the

square dance A square dance is a dance for four couples, or eight dancers in total, arranged in a square, with one couple on each side, facing the middle of the square. Square dances contain elements from numerous traditional dances and were first documente ...

boom. The doctors gave him around 5 to 10 years to live but he defied medical opinion and lived for another 50 plus years. In addition to being a square dance caller he was also an avid

nudist Naturism is a lifestyle of practising non-sexual social nudity in private and in public; the word also refers to the cultural movement which advocates and defends that lifestyle. Both may alternatively be called nudism. Though the two terms ar ...

. Vickers-Willis and his wife Beth (née Parkinson) were regulars at the River Valley Nudist Holiday Resort near

Echuca Echuca ( ) is a town on the banks of the Murray River and Campaspe River in Victoria, Australia. The border town of Moama is adjacent on the northern side of the Murray River in New South Wales. Echuca is the administrative centre and largest s ...

. He was an

Australian Senate The Senate is the upper house of the Bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives (Australia), House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Chapter ...

candidate in 1967.

Later years

Along with his wife Beth, he was featured in a broadcast of ''Retirement Home'' on the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

, having been interviewed by ABC reporter Alex Tarney. He died aged 90.

Organisations and memberships

* Quality Of Life Association (President)

Political

Vickers-Willis was a member of the

Australian Reform Movement The Liberal Reform Group, later known as the Australian Reform Movement, was a minor Australian political party and predecessor to the Australia Party, which in turn was a predecessor to the Australian Democrats. It was founded by Gordon Barton, ...

. When he ran as a Senate candidate for Victoria in the

1967 Australian Senate election Elections were held on 25 November 1967 to elect half of the 60 seats in the Australian Senate. There was no accompanying election to the House of Representatives as the two election cycles had been out of synchronisation since 1963. The results ...

, his election platform was "Vote Us Out Of Vietnam".

Publications

* The Magic Of Life * Are You (really) Fun To Live With? * The Australian Standard Square Dance * The War DiaryJames Vickers-Willis Websit
The Magic of Life!

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vickers-Willis, James 1918 births 2008 deaths People educated at Brighton Grammar School 20th-century Australian journalists Royal Australian Air Force personnel of World War II Australian World War II pilots British emigrants to Australia Military personnel from London Liberal Reform Group politicians Australian activists Square dance