Sir Frank Ignatius Fox (10 August 1874 – 1960) was an Australian-born journalist, soldier, author and campaigner; he lived in Britain from 1909.

Early life and education

Frank Ignatius Fox was born in 1874 in

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

, second son of

Charles James Fox Charles James Fox (24 January 1749 – 13 September 1806), styled ''The Honourable'' from 1762, was a British British Whig Party, Whig politician and statesman whose parliamentary career spanned 38 years of the late 18th and early 19th centurie ...

, one-time Latin teacher, journalist and editor of '' The Irish Harp and Farmers' Herald'', and his wife Mary Ann (''née'' Toole). He moved to

Hobart Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...

in 1883, when his father became editor of the ''

Tasmanian Mail ''The Mercury'' is a daily newspaper, published in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, by Davies Brothers Pty Ltd (DBL), a subsidiary of News Corp Australia, itself a subsidiary of News Corp. The weekend issues of the paper are called ''Mercury on Sa ...

'', and was educated at Christ College. At an early age he wrote paragraphs for his father's paper.

Career

Fox was appointed editor of '' The Australian Workman'' in 1893, then in 1895 the ( Bathurst) ''

National Advocate ''The National Advocate'' was a daily newspaper published in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia, between 1889 and 1963. Newspaper history The newspaper was established on 28 September 1889, co-founded by Australian businessman James Ruth ...

'', before joining ''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

'', where he served as chief of their reporting staff. He joined the staff of the ''

Sydney Bulletin ''The Bulletin'' was an Australian weekly magazine based in Sydney and first published in 1880. It featured politics, business, poetry, fiction and humour, alongside cartoons and other illustrations. ''The Bulletin'' exerted significant influe ...

'' in 1901 and was acting editor for a time. As "Frank Renar", he published his first book ''Bushman and Buccaneer, a memoir of Harry Morant'', which became the seminal work for subsequent books, plays and the acclaimed film ''

Breaker Morant Harry Harbord "Breaker" Morant (born Edwin Henry Murrant, 9 December 1864 – 27 February 1902) was an English horseman, bush balladist, military officer, and war criminal who was convicted and executed for murdering nine prisoners-of-war ...

''.

While still working for the ''Bulletin'', Fox served from 1907 to 1909 as first editor and manager of '' The Lone Hand'', a monthly publication of literature and poetry. Fox published a volume of political essays, ''From the Old Dog'' (Melbourne), in 1908. He was a keen horseman; riding out regularly with his literary colleagues Andrew

Banjo Paterson Andrew Barton "Banjo" Paterson, (17 February 18645 February 1941) was an Australian bush poet, journalist and author, widely considered one of the greatest writers of Australia's colonial period. Born in rural New South Wales, Paterson worke ...

and

Norman Lindsay Norman Alfred William Lindsay (22 February 1879 – 21 November 1969) was an Australian artist, etcher, sculptor, writer, art critic, novelist, cartoonist and amateur boxing, boxer. One of the most prolific and popular Australian artists of hi ...

. In spite of the latter describing him as an "equine exhibitionist", Lindsay painted an equestrian portrait of Fox. This was considered highly unusual, as the subject matter is not in keeping with Lindsay's well-known works. Lindsay wrote ''Bohemians of the Bulletin'', which is illustrated with his doodles. Fox was appointed as an assistant editor for the ''

Morning Post ''The Morning Post'' was a conservative daily newspaper published in London from 1772 to 1937, when it was acquired by ''The Daily Telegraph''. History The paper was founded by John Bell. According to historian Robert Darnton, ''The Morning ...

'' in December 1909 and later in 1910, he was promoted as the news editor. He published ''Ramparts of Empire'' (1910) about the navy, ''Australia'' (1910), ''The British Empire'' (1911), ''Problems of the Pacific'' (1912) and many travel books. Motivated by the atrocities he witnessed to the civilian population in Belgium whilst war correspondent for the ''Morning Post'' he was commissioned in the

Royal Field Artillery The Royal Field Artillery (RFA) of the British Army provided close artillery support for the infantry. It was created as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery on 1 July 1899, serving alongside the other two arms of the regiment, the ...

on 13 December 1914, over age at 41, and served in France. He was twice wounded in the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme (; ), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and the French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place between 1 July and 18 Nove ...

. In 1917–18 he was at the

War Office The War Office has referred to several British government organisations throughout history, all relating to the army. It was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, at ...

working for MI7, publishing ''The Battle of the Ridges'' and ''The British Army at War'', designed to educate the American Public about the British war effort. He then served as Staff Captain at the Quartermaster General's branch, General Headquarters, in France, and wrote a contemporary account of life there (''GHQ'',

Montreuil-sur-Mer Montreuil-sur-Mer (; or ; ), Montreuil-on-the-Sea, is a subprefecture in the Pas-de-Calais Department in northern France. Though commonly called by this name since at least the twelfth century, it was legally known as Montreuil until 31 Decemb ...

Journalist

Australia (1892–1909)

* Editor, '' The Australian Workman'', aged 18 * Editor, ''National Advocate''. Aged 21 * Acting editor, ''

'' * Founder, '' The Lone Hand''

England (from 1909)

* ''Morning Post'' ** News editor 1910 ** War correspondent – 1912 Bulgarian Army in the

Balkan War The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkan states in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan states of Greece, Serbia, Montenegro and Bulgaria declared war upon the Ottoman Empire and defeated it, in the ...

** War correspondent – Belgian Army, August–December 1914. German invasion. Reporting to Brussels re atrocities against the civilian population (Order of the Crown of Belgium – in the gift of King Albert).

Soldier 1905–1919

* Commissioned Australian Field Artillery 1905 * Commissioned RFA 1914/19 – wounded twice at

the Somme The Battle of the Somme (; ), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and the French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place between 1 July and 18 Nove ...

1916. *

(1917). * GHQ – Montreuil-sur-Mer. Staff Officer in QMG Division; then War Office as Major (

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

Military;

mentioned in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...

) (1916–1919).

Author

Australian military historian Craig Wilcox, author of the 2002 book ''Australia's Boer War'', wrote:

Campaigner

Australia

* Championed

Australian federation The Federation of Australia was the process by which the six separate British self-governing colonies of Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia (which also governed what is now the Northern Territory), and Wester ...

(as editor of the ''National Advocate'')

Britain

* Warned of danger of war in Europe (1909–1914) and urged preparation – in print and public platform * MI7 (1917) to encourage US participation in World War I * As an imperialist and a champion of Empire causes, organised: ** British Empire Cancer Campaign ** Empire Rheumatism Council ** Fellowship of

British Empire Exhibition The British Empire Exhibition was a colonial exhibition held at Wembley Park, London England from 23 April to 1 November 1924 and from 9 May to 31 October 1925. Background In 1920 the Government of the United Kingdom, British Government decide ...

(for which he was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

in 1926)

Family and personal life

He married Helena Clint (d. 1958) on 13 June 1894; they had a son and two daughters. Helena Clint was granddaughter of

Alfred Clint Alfred Clint (1807–1883) was an English marine painter. Life Clint was the fifth and youngest son by the first marriage of George Clint, A.R.A. He was born in Alfred Place, Bedford Square, London, on 22 March 1807. He acquired the technic ...

, President of the

Society of British Artists The Royal Society of British Artists (RBA) is a British art body established in 1823 as the Society of British Artists, as an alternative to the Royal Academy. History The RBA commenced with twenty-seven members, and took until 1876 to reach fi ...

, great-granddaughter of

George Clint George Clint (12 April 1770 – 10 May 1854) was an English portrait painter and engraver, especially notable for his many theatrical subjects. Life Clint was born in Brownlow Street, Drury Lane, Covent Garden, London, the son of Michael Clin ...

ARA, and great-niece of

Scipio Clint Scipio Clint (1805–1839) was an English medallist and seal- engraver. Life He was the son of George Clint, A.R.A., the portrait-painter and engraver. He gained a medal at the Society of Arts in 1824. He exhibited at the Royal Academy for the ...

. Former Conservative Member of Parliament

Charles Goodson-Wickes Charles Malcolm Goodson-Wickes, DL (born 7 November 1945) is a company director, business consultant and consulting physician. From 1987 to 1997 he was the British Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosoph ...

is Frank Fox's great-grandson and literary executor.

Bibliography

* 1902 – ''Bushman and Buccaneer: a memoir of Harry Morant'', Frank Renar, H. T. Dunn, Australia * 1908 – ''From the Old Dog'', Lothian, Melbourne, Australia * 1909 – ''The Australian Crisis'', written under the pseudonym C. H. Kirmess * 1910 – ''Australia'', illustrations by Percy Spence, Black * 1910 – ''Ramparts of Empire; a view of the Navy from an Imperial Standpoint'', Black * 1911 �
''Australia: Peeps at many lands''
Black * 1911 – ''The British Empire: peeps at many lands'' (new 1915; 2nd 1929) * 1911 – ''Oceania: Peeps at many lands'', Black, new edition 1915 * 1912 �
''Problems of the Pacific''
Williams and Norgate * 1912 – ''The Tyranny of Trade Unions'', Eveleigh Nash * 1913 – ''Naturalist in Cannibal Land'', AS Meek (ed. F. Fox), Fisher, Unwin * 1913 – ''Our English Land Muddle; an Australian view'', Nelson * 1914 �
''England''
Black * 1914 �
''Switzerland''
Black * 1915 �
''The Balkan Peninsula''
Black * 1915 – ''The Agony of Belgium'' (being Phase 1 of the Great War)'', Hutchinson (republished in 2014 as ''The Agony of Belgium: The Invasion of Belgium, August–December 1914'' by

, his great grandson and literary executor). Reviewed July 2016 in ''The Guards Magazine''. * 1915 �
''Bulgaria''
Black * 1915 – ''Italy'', Black * 1918 – ''The Battle of the Ridges: Arras to Messines'' (March–June 1917), Pearson * 1918 – ''The British Army at War'', Unwin * 1920 – ''GHQ'' (Montreuil-sur-mer), ''GSO'', P. Allan. French edition republished in 2015. English edition republished in 2016 by

. Reviewed July 2016 in ''The Guards Magazine'', and in December 2016 in ''The

RUSI Journal The ''RUSI Journal'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal covering international security and defence strategy. It was established in 1857 as the ''Royal United Services Institution Journal'', obtaining its current title in 1972. The journal is pu ...

''. * 1922 – '' The King's Pilgrimage'', Hodder & Stoughton (Fox accompanying

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. George w ...

and Field Marshal Earl Haig to the opening of Belgian and French military cemeteries in 1922) – republished 2017 * 1923 – ''The History of the Royal Gloucestershire Hussars Yeomanry 1898–1922 (The Great Cavalry Campaign in Palestine)'', P. Allan * 1923 – ''Beneath an Ardent Sun'', Hodder & Stoughton * 1923 – ''The English 1909–1922: a gossip'', Murray * 1924 – ''The British Empire Exhibition, Wembley, Official Guide'', in collaboration with Grant Cook * 1926 – ''Finland Today'', Black; new edition 1928 * 1927 – ''Italy Today'', H Jenkins * 1928 – ''The Mastery of the Pacific: can the British Empire and the United States agree?'' Seams, New York, 1928 * 1928 – ''The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers in the World War'', Constable * 1930 – ''Parliamentary Government: a failure?'', S. Paul * 1937 – ''The Royal House of Windsor 1837–1937'' (edited), Royal Warrant Holders Association * 1951 – ''The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers in the Second World War, 1939–45''

References

External links

* * *
C. H. Kirmess
(pseudonym) at ''

The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction ''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'' (''SFE'') is an English language reference work on science fiction, first published in 1979. It has won the Hugo Award, Hugo, Locus Award, Locus and BSFA Award, British SF Awards. Two print editions appea ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Fox, Frank 1874 births 1960 deaths Alumni of Christ's College, Cambridge Writers from Adelaide Australian journalists Australian soldiers Australian Officers of the Order of the British Empire Australian Knights Bachelor Australian emigrants to the United Kingdom