Thomas Allcot Guy Pocock (18 August 1925 – 7 May 2007) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

biographer, war correspondent, journalist and naval historian.

Life

He was the son of the novelist and educationist Guy Pocock, who taught Lord Mountbatten at Dartmouth, and Dorothy Bowers. He was educated at West Downs and

Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...

. He joined the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

in 1943, being present at

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

and then serving as naval "minder" to war correspondents covering the Battle of Normandy. Falling ill, by the end of 1944 he was demobbed emobilized and became a war correspondent at only 19 years old. He spent four years with the

Hulton Press Sir Edward George Warris Hulton (29 November 1906 – 8 October 1988) was a British magazine publisher and writer. Early life Hulton was born to Sir Edward Hulton, 1st Baronet, a newspaper publisher and racehorse owner originally from Manches ...

current affairs magazine group, being one of the first journalists to see

Bergen-Belsen concentration camp Bergen-Belsen (), or Belsen, was a Nazi concentration camp in what is today Lower Saxony in Northern Germany, northern Germany, southwest of the town of Bergen, Lower Saxony, Bergen near Celle. Originally established as a prisoner of war camp, ...

and learning his trade from

Alan Moorehead Alan McCrae Moorehead, (22 July 1910 – 29 September 1983) was a war correspondent and author of popular histories, most notably two books on the nineteenth-century exploration of the Nile, ''The White Nile'' (1960) and ''The Blue Nile'' (1962 ...

(later becoming his biographer). He then moved on to be a feature-writer and then Naval Correspondent on 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 ...

, and then (in 1952) Naval Correspondent of

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 ...

. He was a foreign correspondent and special writer for the

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 ...

from 1956 to 1959, then from 1959 was feature writer, Defence Correspondent, war correspondent and finally Travel Editor on the

Evening Standard The ''London Standard'', formerly the ''Evening Standard'' (1904–2024) and originally ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), is a long-established regional newspaper published weekly and distributed free newspaper, free of charge in London, Engl ...

. In 1969 he married Penny Casson, a granddaughter of Sir

Lewis Casson Sir Lewis Thomas Casson (26 October 187516 May 1969) was an English actor and theatre director, and the husband of actress Dame Sybil Thorndike.Devlin, DianaCasson, Sir Lewis Thomas (1875–1969) ''The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' ...

and Dame

Sybil Thorndike Dame Agnes Sybil Thorndike, Lady Casson (24 October 18829 June 1976) was an English actress whose stage career lasted from 1904 to 1969. Trained in her youth as a concert pianist, Thorndike turned to the stage when a medical problem with her h ...

; they had two daughters. He won the

Mountbatten Maritime Prize The Mountbatten Maritime Award is awarded annually by the Maritime Foundation (formerly the British Maritime Charitable Foundation) to the author of a distinguished publication that has made a significant contribution to the maritime history of t ...

in 2004.

Relatives

Tom Pocock's family included Vice-Admiral Sir

George Pocock Admiral Sir George Pocock, KB (6 March 1706 – 3 April 1792) was a Royal Navy officer who served in the Seven Years' War. Family Pocock was born in Thames Ditton in Surrey, the son of Thomas Pocock, a chaplain in the Royal Navy. His grea ...

, K.B. (who was the captor of Havana in the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

), the marine painter

Nicholas Pocock Nicholas Pocock (2 March 1740 – 9 March 1821) was an English artist known for his many detailed paintings of naval battles during the age of sail. Birth and early career at sea Pocock was born in Bristol in 1740, the son of a seaman.Chatte ...

and his aunt Doris Pocock who was an author of girls' school stories.

Works

*''

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

and His World'' (1967), his first book, written on his return from reporting the

Aden Emergency The Aden Emergency, also known as the 14 October Revolution () or as the Radfan Uprising, was an armed rebellion by the National Liberation Front (South Yemen), National Liberation Front (NLF) and the Front for the Liberation of Occupied South ...

*''Chelsea Reach: The Brutal Friendship of Whistler and Walter Greaves'' (1970) *''London Walks: 30 Walks in and Around London'' (1973) *''Fighting General: The Public and Private Campaigns of General Sir Walter Walker'' (1973) *''Remember Nelson: The Life of Captain Sir

William Hoste Captain Sir William Hoste, 1st Baronet, KCB (26 August 17806 December 1828) was a Royal Navy officer who served in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. A protégé of Lord Nelson, he was one of the most talented frigate captains of the ...

'' (1977) *''The Young Nelson in the Americas'' (1980) *''1945: The Dawn Came Up Like Thunder'' (1983) *''East and West of Suez: The Retreat from the Empire'' (1986) *''Horatio Nelson'' (1987), runner-up for the Whitbread Biography Award *''

'' (1990) *''Sailor King: The Life of King

William IV William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded hi ...

'' (1991) *''Essential Venice'', The Essential Travel Guides (1991) *''

Rider Haggard Sir Henry Rider Haggard (; 22 June 1856 – 14 May 1925) was an English writer of adventure fiction Romance (literary fiction), romances set in exotic locations, predominantly Africa, and a pioneer of the Lost World (genre), lost world litera ...

and the Lost Empire: A Biography'' (1993) *''Norfolk'', Pimlico County History Guides (1995) *''A Thirst for Glory, The Life of Admiral Sir Sidney Smith'' (1996) *''Travels of a London Schoolboy, 1826–1830: John Pocock's Diary of Life in London and Voyages to Cape Town and the Swan River Settlement'' (editor, 1996) *''Battle for Empire: The Very First World War 1756–63'' (1998) *'' Captain Marryat: Seaman, Writer and Adventurer'' (2000) *''Nelson's Women'' (2002) *''The Terror Before

Trafalgar Trafalgar most often refers to: * The Battle of Trafalgar (1805), fought near Cape Trafalgar, Spain * Trafalgar Square, a public space and tourist attraction in London, England Trafalgar may also refer to: Places * Cape Trafalgar, a headland in ...

: Nelson, Napoleon and the Secret War'' (2002) *''Stopping

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

: War and Intrigue in the Mediterranean'' (2004) *''A History of

Chelsea Old Church Chelsea Old Church, also known as All Saints, is an Anglican church, on Old Church Street, Chelsea, London SW3, England, near Albert Bridge. It is the church for a parish in the Diocese of London, part of the Church of England. Inside the Grad ...

: The Church that Refused to Die'', with Alan Russett (2004) *''Trafalgar: An Eyewitness History'' (2005) *''Breaking the Chains: The Royal Navy's War on White Slavery'' (2006)

External links

* * * *
List of his books
Vice-Admiral George Pocock *

Nicolas Pocock

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pocock, Tom 1925 births 2007 deaths English naval historians English male journalists English biographers British war correspondents People educated at Cheltenham College People educated at Westminster School, London Royal Navy personnel of World War II 20th-century British biographers 20th-century English male writers British male biographers