Hector Bolitho
Encyclopedia
Hector Bolitho (28 May 1897 – 12 September 1974) was a prolific author, novelist and biographer. In total, he had 59 books published.
, New Zealand
, the son of Henry and Ethelred Frances Bolitho. He travelled in South Sea Islands in 1919 and then through New Zealand with the Prince of Wales in 1920. He travelled in Africa, Australia, Canada, America, and Germany in 1923-4, finally settling in Britain where he was to remain for the rest of his life.
On his arrival in Britain he worked as a freelance journalist. At the start of World War II
he joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR) as an intelligence officer with the rank of squadron leader, editing the Royal Air Force Weekly Bulletin, which in 1941 became the Royal Air Force Journal. In 1942 he was appointed editor of the Coastal Command Intelligence Review.
Bolitho undertook several lecture tours of America (in 1938-39, 1947, 1948, and 1949).
Bolitho was homosexual and was in a long-term relationship with Derek Peel, an army officer, from 1949 until Bolitho's death in 1974.
The name Bolitho is of Cornish
origin.
Biography
Bolitho was born in AucklandAuckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, the son of Henry and Ethelred Frances Bolitho. He travelled in South Sea Islands in 1919 and then through New Zealand with the Prince of Wales in 1920. He travelled in Africa, Australia, Canada, America, and Germany in 1923-4, finally settling in Britain where he was to remain for the rest of his life.
On his arrival in Britain he worked as a freelance journalist. At the start of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
he joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR) as an intelligence officer with the rank of squadron leader, editing the Royal Air Force Weekly Bulletin, which in 1941 became the Royal Air Force Journal. In 1942 he was appointed editor of the Coastal Command Intelligence Review.
Bolitho undertook several lecture tours of America (in 1938-39, 1947, 1948, and 1949).
Bolitho was homosexual and was in a long-term relationship with Derek Peel, an army officer, from 1949 until Bolitho's death in 1974.
The name Bolitho is of Cornish
Cornish people
The Cornish are a people associated with Cornwall, a county and Duchy in the south-west of the United Kingdom that is seen in some respects as distinct from England, having more in common with the other Celtic parts of the United Kingdom such as Wales, as well as with other Celtic nations in Europe...
origin.