Alexander Graeme Clifford (1909–1952) was a British journalist and author, best known as a

war correspondent A war correspondent is a journalist who covers stories first-hand from a war, war zone. War correspondence stands as one of journalism's most important and impactful forms. War correspondents operate in the most conflict-ridden parts of the wor ...

of the ''

Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily Middle-market newspaper, middle-market Tabloid journalism, tabloid conservative newspaper founded in 1896 and published in London. , it has the List of newspapers in the United Kingdom by circulation, h ...

'' during the Second World War.

Life

Clifford was educated at

Charterhouse School Charterhouse is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Godalming, Surrey, England. Founded by Thomas Sutton in 1611 on the site of the old Carthusian monastery in Charter ...

and

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1263 by nobleman John I de Balliol, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford and the English-speaking world. With a governing body of a master and aro ...

. He married the actress and journalist Jennie Prydie Nicholson (1919–1964) on 22 February 1945 in the Savoy Chapel, London; she was the eldest child of poet and author

Robert Graves Captain Robert von Ranke Graves (24 July 1895 – 7 December 1985) was an English poet, soldier, historical novelist and critic. His father was Alfred Perceval Graves, a celebrated Irish poet and figure in the Gaelic revival; they were b ...

and Annie Mary Prydie "Nancy" Nicholson, elder daughter of the painter William Nicholson.Nancy Nicholson did not take Graves' surname when they married, and also insisted that her daughters bear hers. Clifford was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 1950 and did not reveal the condition to anyone except his wife. He died in March 1952 in a London hospital and is buried on the headland near Portofino, Italy.

Second World War

Clifford was a war correspondent for the ''Daily Mail'' during the war. In June 1940 the

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

flying ship in which he was being transported beached near Malta to avoid sinking. Clifford was a friend of ''

Daily Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first ...

'' correspondent Alan Moorehead; they both covered the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

, and first met in the 'Bar Basque' in

Saint-Jean-de-Luz Saint-Jean-de-Luz (; ,Donibane Lohitzune
Auñamendi Encyclopedia, Auñamendi Eu ...

in 1938). Moorehead wrote a great deal about him in his three books on the

North African Campaign The North African campaign of World War II took place in North Africa from 10 June 1940 to 13 May 1943, fought between the Allies and the Axis Powers. It included campaigns in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts (Western Desert campaign, Desert Wa ...

. They spent much of the war in each other's company during the Desert War, the

Allied invasion of Italy The Allied invasion of Italy was the Allies of World War II, Allied Amphibious warfare, amphibious landing on mainland Italy that took place from 3 September 1943, during the Italian campaign (World War II), Italian campaign of World War II. T ...

and the

Invasion of Normandy Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful liberation of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 ( D-Day) with the ...

. According to one writer, "Moorehead and Clifford were complementary opposites, professional rivals as well as friends. Clifford was an intellectual European and a profound pessimist, uncertain of himself and the world. The expatriate Moorehead was driven by his curiosity, brilliance and eagerness to discover the world."Review of Moorehead's ''A Late Education''
textpublishing.com.au, accessed 30 November 2009 Moorehead's memoir ''A Late Education: Episodes in a Life'' is, amongst other things, the story of his friendship with Clifford. Richard Knott's book ''The Trio'' (2015) is an account of Clifford's work as a war correspondent and his friendship with Alan Moorehead and Christopher Buckley.

Books by Clifford

*''Crusader'', G. G. Harrap, London, 1942 *''Three against Rommel. The Campaigns of Wavell, Auchinleck and Alexander'', G. G. Harrap, London, 1943 *''The Sickle and the Stars'' (with Jennie Nicholson), P. Davies, London, 1948 *''Enter Citizens'', Evans Bros, London, 1950 *''The Conquest of North Africa 1940 to 1943'', Kessinger, 2007

Notes

References

External links

Text of ''The Conquest of North Africa 1940 to 1943''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clifford, Alexander 1909 births 1952 deaths Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford British male journalists 20th-century British non-fiction writers Daily Mail journalists People educated at Charterhouse School British war correspondents 20th-century British journalists Graves family