Richard Joseph Hughes (5 March 19064 January 1984) was an Australian journalist who spent much of his life in the Far East as correspondent for ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'', ''

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'' and the ''

Far Eastern Economic Review The ''Far Eastern Economic Review'' (FEER or The ''Review'') was an Asian business magazine published from 1946 to 2009. The English-language news magazine was based in Hong Kong and published weekly until it converted to a monthly publication ...

''. He was the inspiration for the fictional character Dikko Henderson in

Ian Fleming Ian Lancaster Fleming (28 May 1908 – 12 August 1964) was a British writer, best known for his postwar ''James Bond'' series of spy novels. Fleming came from a wealthy family connected to the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co., and his ...

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novel '' You Only Live Twice'', and for "Old Craw" in John le Carré's '' The Honourable Schoolboy''.

Early life

Hughes was born on 5 March 1906 at Prahran,

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, Australia. He was the eldest child of Richard Hughes, a salesman, and his wife Katie, née McGlade.Prudence Torney-Parlicki
Hughes, Richard Joseph (1906–1984)
''

Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...

''. Retrieved 30 January 2021.

Career

His working life began at the

Victorian Railways The Victorian Railways (VR), trading from 1974 as VicRail, was the state-owned operator of most rail transport in the Australian state of Victoria from 1859 to 1983. The first railways in Victoria were private companies, but when these companie ...

and he acquired his first journalistic experiences as a writer for the house magazine ''The Victorian Railways Magazine'' which is where he acquired the poetic style of writing for which he later became famous. He later worked within the

Frank Packer Sir Douglas Frank Hewson Packer (3 December 19061 May 1974), was an Australian media proprietor who controlled Australian Consolidated Press and the Nine Network. He was a patriarch of the Packer family. Early life Frank Packer was born in ...

organisation. Hughes was a war correspondent in 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 ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and the Korean and

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

wars. In 1940 he was based in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

and warned that

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

was likely to enter the war against the Allies.Richard Hughes: The Australian Media Hall of Fame
melbournepressclub.com. Retrieved 30 January 2021. In 1942, Hughes and several colleagues at the '' Sunday Telegraph'' were banned from the Canberra Press Gallery for several months after publishing an article which mocked members of the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

and Senate clerk Robert Broinowski. After the Second World War he worked first from Japan and then from

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

where, in addition to his journalistic work, he was generally considered to be a British spy and by some to be a double agent. In 1956 he achieved a major international scoop when he located and interviewed the British spies and former diplomats Guy Burgess and Donald Maclean in Moscow, who in 1951 had defected to the Soviet Union. Variously described as "flamboyant" and "larger than life",Peter Gregson
"Le Carré, Richard Hughes, and the 'Old Firm'"
thebaron.info. Retrieved 30 January 2021. Hughes spent forty years reporting from the Far East. He was seen as the "doyen of the Far East foreign press corps" and a stalwart of the Hong Kong Foreign Correspondents' Club. Hughes authored several books, including ''Hong Kong, Borrowed Place, Borrowed Time'' (1968), which opens with his oft-quoted description of the Hong Kong of that period as "a rambunctious, free-booting colony, naked and unashamed, devoid of self pity, regrets or fear of the future".

Personal life

Hughes was married three times: firstly, to May Lillian Bennett in 1930, the marriage ending tragically with her suicide in 1933; secondly, to Adele, ''née'' Redapple, in 1945, which ended with her death in 1950; and thirdly, in 1973 to Oiying (Ann) Lee. He died in Hong Kong in January 1984 of kidney and liver diseases. His son from his first marriage, Richard (Dick) Hughes, was a journalist, jazz pianist and broadcaster.Malcolm Brown
"Dick Hughes, journalist, jazz pianist and broadcaster"
''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuous ...

'', 23 April 2018. Retrieved 30 January 2021. One of his granddaughters, Christa Hughes, is a singer, circus performer and comedian.

Books by Richard Hughes

* ''The Chinese Communes: A Background Book'' (London: The Bodley Head, 1960) *
Hong Kong, Borrowed Place, Borrowed Time: Hong Kong and Its Many Faces
' (London: Andre Deutsch, 1968; 2nd revised edition, Andre Deutsch, 1976) *
Foreign Devil: Thirty Years of Reporting from the Far East
' (London: Andre Deutsch, 1972; reprinted: Century Publishing, 1986)

References

External links

Hughes, Richard Joseph (1906–1984)
at ''

''
Richard Hughes: The Australian Media Hall of Fame
at Melbourne Press Club
Conversation with Richard Hughes
- recorded by Tim Bowden
Papers of Richard Hughes, ca. 1940-1983
at

National Library of Australia The National Library of Australia (NLA), formerly the Commonwealth National Library and Commonwealth Parliament Library, is the largest reference library in Australia, responsible under the terms of the ''National Library Act 1960'' for "mainta ...