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{{Short description|British journalist and author}}
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[[Image:Clifford and moorehead.jpg|thumb|right|220px|[[Alan Moorehead]] (left) and Alexander Clifford (right) during the North African Campaign]]
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2016}}
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[[Image:Alexander clifford.JPG|thumb|right|220px| Alexander Clifford self-portrait]]
{{Use British English|date=September 2016}}
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'''Alexander G. Clifford''' (1909 – 1952) was a [[United Kingdom|British]] [[journalist]] and [[author]], best known as a [[war correspondent]] during [[World War II]].
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[[File:Alexander clifford.JPG|thumb|right|220px| Alexander Clifford self-portrait]]
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[[File:Clifford and moorehead.jpg|thumb|right|220px|[[Alan Moorehead]] (left) and Clifford during the North African Campaign]]
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'''Alexander G. Clifford''' (1909 – 1952) was a British journalist and author, best known as a [[war correspondent]] during World War II.


==Life==
==Life==
Clifford 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]].<ref>[http://www.robertgraves.org/trust/index.php?id=32 Robert Graves Family Tree], robertgraves.org, accessed 30 November 2009</ref> Clifford died in 1952 and is buried on the headland near [[Portofino]], [[Italy]].
Clifford was educated at [[Charterhouse School]] and [[Balliol College, Oxford]].<ref>Alan Moorehead, 'A Late Education' (1970), p 41 and p 132</ref> 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]] and Annie Mary Prydie "Nancy" Nicholson, elder daughter of the painter [[William Nicholson (artist)|William Nicholson]].<ref group=note>Nancy Nicholson did not take Graves' surname when they married, and also insisted that her daughters bear hers.</ref><ref>[http://www.robertgraves.org/trust/index.php?id=32 Robert Graves Family Tree] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091025161308/http://www.robertgraves.org/trust/index.php?id=32 |date=25 October 2009 }}, St. John's College Robert Graves Trust, accessed 30 November 2009</ref> Clifford died in 1952 and is buried on the headland near [[Portofino]], Italy.


==World War II==
==World War II==
Clifford was a war correspondent for the ''[[Daily Mail]]'' during the war. In June 1940 the [[Short Sunderland|Sunderland]] flying ship in which he was being transported beached near [[Malta]] to avoid sinking.<ref>[http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=RMZ1TIasqngC&pg=PA74&lpg=PA74&dq=%22alexander+clifford%22+war+correspondent&source=bl&ots=i60XnnKwXi&sig=qna1XZYkzyRxqBwYTHI_K43SWzM&hl=en&ei=AIsTS-yWJdKh4Qbep8WJBA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6&ved=0CBcQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=&f=false ''Sunderland Squadrons of World War 2''], Jon Lake, Osprey, 2000, p. 74, accessed 30 November 2009</ref>
Clifford was a war correspondent for the ''[[Daily Mail]]'' during the war. In June 1940 the [[Short Sunderland|Sunderland]] flying ship in which he was being transported beached near Malta to avoid sinking.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=RMZ1TIasqngC&dq=%22alexander+clifford%22+war+correspondent&pg=PA74 ''Sunderland Squadrons of World War 2''], Jon Lake, Osprey, 2000, p. 74, accessed 30 November 2009</ref>{{clarify|date=March 2012}}


Clifford was a friend of ''[[Daily Express]]'' correspondent [[Alan Moorehead]] (they both covered the [[Spanish Civil War]], meeting for the first time in the 'Bar Basque' in [[Saint-Jean-de-Luz]] in 1938);<ref>[http://www.choosebooks.com/displayBookDetails.do?itemId=66387919&b=1 Details of ''A Late Education: Episodes In A Life''], choosebooks.com, accessed 30 November 2009</ref> Moorehead wrote much about him in his three books on the [[North African Campaign]]. They spent much of the war in each other's company during the [[Western Desert Campaign|Desert War]], the [[Allied invasion of Italy]] and the [[Invasion of Normandy]]. 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."<ref>[http://textpublishing.com.au/books-and-authors/book/a-late-education/ Review of Moorehead's ''A Late Education''],
Clifford was a friend of ''[[Daily Express]]'' correspondent [[Alan Moorehead]]; they both covered the [[Spanish Civil War]], and first met in the 'Bar Basque' in [[Saint-Jean-de-Luz]] in 1938).<ref>[http://www.choosebooks.com/displayBookDetails.do?itemId=66387919&b=1 Details of ''A Late Education: Episodes In A Life''], choosebooks.com, accessed 30 November 2009</ref> Moorehead wrote much about him in his three books on the [[North African Campaign]]. They spent much of the war in each other's company during the [[Western Desert Campaign|Desert War]], the [[Allied invasion of Italy]] and the [[Invasion of Normandy]]. 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."<ref>[http://textpublishing.com.au/books-and-authors/book/a-late-education/ Review of Moorehead's ''A Late Education''],
textpublishing.com.au, accessed 30 November 2009</ref> Moorehead's memoir ''A Late Education: Episodes in a Life'' is, amongst other things, the story of his friendship with Clifford.
textpublishing.com.au, accessed 30 November 2009 {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100925203625/http://textpublishing.com.au/books-and-authors/book/a-late-education/ |date=25 September 2010 }}</ref> 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.
Alex Clifford was not buried in Portofino (although he owned a castello there for some years before his death) but in Halstead cemetery, just outside Lindfield, Sussex, near to where his mother, Marian Graeme Clifford, lived. The inscription on his headstone was written by Robert Graves, and carved by Skelton.


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

==Notes==
{{Reflist|group=note}}


==References==
==References==
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==External links==
==External links==
*[http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=Rofyk38DnOAC&dq=alexander+clifford++Rommel.&source=gbs_navlinks_s Text of ''The Conquest of North Africa 1940 to 1943'']
*[https://books.google.com/books?id=Rofyk38DnOAC&q=alexander+clifford++Rommel. Text of ''The Conquest of North Africa 1940 to 1943'']

{{Authority control}}


{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. -->
| NAME = Clifford, Alexander
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION =
| DATE OF BIRTH = 1909
| PLACE OF BIRTH =
| DATE OF DEATH = 1952
| PLACE OF DEATH =
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clifford, Alexander}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clifford, Alexander}}
[[Category:1909 births]]
[[Category:1909 births]]
[[Category:1952 deaths]]
[[Category:1952 deaths]]
[[Category:British journalists]]
[[Category:Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford]]
[[Category:British non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:British male journalists]]
[[Category:20th-century British non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:Daily Mail journalists]]
[[Category:Daily Mail journalists]]
[[Category:War correspondents]]
[[Category:People educated at Charterhouse School]]
[[Category:British war correspondents]]

[[Category:20th-century British journalists]]
[[ru:Клиффорд, Александр]]
[[Category:Graves family]]

Latest revision as of 23:37, 20 December 2024

Alexander Clifford self-portrait
Alan Moorehead (left) and Clifford during the North African Campaign

Alexander G. Clifford (1909 – 1952) was a British journalist and author, best known as a war correspondent during World War II.

Life

[edit]

Clifford was educated at Charterhouse School and Balliol College, Oxford.[1] 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 and Annie Mary Prydie "Nancy" Nicholson, elder daughter of the painter William Nicholson.[note 1][2] Clifford died in 1952 and is buried on the headland near Portofino, Italy.

World War II

[edit]

Clifford was a war correspondent for the Daily Mail during the war. In June 1940 the Sunderland flying ship in which he was being transported beached near Malta to avoid sinking.[3][clarification needed]

Clifford was a friend of Daily Express correspondent Alan Moorehead; they both covered the Spanish Civil War, and first met in the 'Bar Basque' in Saint-Jean-de-Luz in 1938).[4] Moorehead wrote much about him in his three books on the North African Campaign. They spent much of the war in each other's company during the Desert War, the Allied invasion of Italy and the Invasion of Normandy. 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."[5] 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

[edit]
  • 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

[edit]
  1. ^ Nancy Nicholson did not take Graves' surname when they married, and also insisted that her daughters bear hers.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Alan Moorehead, 'A Late Education' (1970), p 41 and p 132
  2. ^ Robert Graves Family Tree Archived 25 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine, St. John's College Robert Graves Trust, accessed 30 November 2009
  3. ^ Sunderland Squadrons of World War 2, Jon Lake, Osprey, 2000, p. 74, accessed 30 November 2009
  4. ^ Details of A Late Education: Episodes In A Life, choosebooks.com, accessed 30 November 2009
  5. ^ Review of Moorehead's A Late Education, textpublishing.com.au, accessed 30 November 2009 Archived 25 September 2010 at the Wayback Machine
[edit]
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