# Peter Lawless

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{{Short description|British author, rugby player, soldier and war correspondent (1891–1945)}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name        = Peter Lawless
| image       = 
| caption     = 
| birth_date  = {{birth date|1891|10|9|df=y}}
| birth_place = [London](/source/London), England
| death_date  = {{death date and age|1945|3|10|1891|10|9|df=y}}
| death_place = [Remagen](/source/Remagen), Germany
| death_cause = 
| occupation  = Author, journalist, [rugby](/source/Rugby_union) player, soldier and [war correspondent](/source/war_correspondent)
| known_for   = 
| title       = 
| children    = 
| spouse      = 
| website     = 
}}

[Major](/source/Major_(United_Kingdom)) '''Philip Henry Lawless''' [MC](/source/Military_Cross) (9 October 1891 – 10 March 1945) was a British author, journalist, [rugby](/source/Rugby_union) player, soldier and [war correspondent](/source/war_correspondent).<ref name=Times>Obituary, ''[The Times](/source/The_Times)'', 13 March 1945, p.6</ref>

==Early life==
Born in London on 9 October 1891, "Peter" Lawless spent much of his early life in [Devon](/source/Devon). He was educated at [Bedford School](/source/Bedford_School) between 1905 and 1910.<ref>Obituary, ''The Ousel'', Vol.XLIX, No.738, 4 April 1945, p.27</ref>

==First World War==
Lawless' experiences during the [First World War](/source/First_World_War) were drawn upon by his grandson, [Sebastian Faulks](/source/Sebastian_Faulks), during the writing of his novel ''[Birdsong](/source/Birdsong_(novel))'', published in 1993.<ref name=Faulks>{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/features/3633189/Family-detective.html|title=Family detective|author=Nick Barratt|date=30 June 2007|work=Telegraph.co.uk}}</ref>

Lawless enlisted in the [28th County of London Battalion of the London Regiment](/source/Artists_Rifles), and arrived in France on 28 October 1914. In May 1915, he transferred to the 18th Battalion, [Middlesex Regiment](/source/Middlesex_Regiment), which was charged with clearing, repairing and building front-line trenches. In July 1916, the battalion was moved from its location near [Béthune](/source/B%C3%A9thune) to assist in the attempted [Capture of Fricourt](/source/Capture_of_Fricourt). In 1917, Lawless was moved to the 26th Battalion, [Middlesex Regiment](/source/Middlesex_Regiment), and was based in [Salonika](/source/Thessaloniki) in November 1918. He was awarded the [Military Cross](/source/Military_Cross) in 1919 and left the [British Army](/source/British_Army) with the rank of [Major](/source/Major_(United_Kingdom)).<ref name=Faulks /><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/31092/supplement/27/data.pdf|title=Issue 31092|work=The London Gazette|date=1 January 1919
|page=27|access-date=27 June 2023}}</ref>

==Sport==
Lawless was well over six feet tall and was described by Michael Moynihan as "a burly, jovial man whose air of a hunting-shooting-fishing English squire went down well with the Yanks."<ref>Michael Moynihan, ''War Correspondent'', London, 1994, {{ISBN|0-850524-13-X}}, p.101</ref> Before the [First World War](/source/First_World_War), Lawless was a keen [rower](/source/Rowing_(sport)) and rowed for the [London Rowing Club](/source/London_Rowing_Club) eight which was defeated by the [Union Boat Club](/source/Union_Boat_Club) in the 1914 [Grand Challenge Cup](/source/Grand_Challenge_Cup). After the [First World War](/source/First_World_War) he played in three [rugby](/source/Rugby_union) teams representing Great Britain, against New Zealand, South Africa and Canada, as well as for [Richmond F.C.](/source/Richmond_F.C.), [Middlesex](/source/Middlesex), Surrey, [Devon](/source/Devon), the [British Army](/source/British_Army), for the [Barbarians](/source/Barbarian_F.C.) against [Leicester](/source/Leicester_Tigers) in 1920, 1922 and 1924, and against the [East Midlands](/source/East_Midlands) in 1922.<ref name=Times />

He was also a keen golfer, and was Golfing Correspondent of ''[The Morning Post](/source/The_Morning_Post)'', writing under the pen name ''Vagrant''.<ref name=Times /> He published books on rugby and golf.<ref>Peter Lawless, ''The Golfer's Companion'', [J. M. Dent](/source/J._M._Dent), 1937</ref><ref>Peter Lawless, ''Rugger's An Attacking Game'', [Sampson Low](/source/Sampson_Low), 1946</ref>

==Second World War==
Lawless worked for ''[The Morning Post](/source/The_Morning_Post)'' until it was acquired by ''[The Daily Telegraph](/source/The_Daily_Telegraph)'', which he joined in 1937. After the outbreak of the [Second World War](/source/Second_World_War), he accompanied the [Royal Air Force](/source/Royal_Air_Force) in France, between September 1939 and May 1940, as ''[The Daily Telegraph](/source/The_Daily_Telegraph)'''s correspondent. He joined the [Army Intelligence Corps](/source/Intelligence_Corps_(United_Kingdom)) on 4 July 1940, but was released in 1944 to return to ''[The Daily Telegraph](/source/The_Daily_Telegraph)'' as a [war correspondent](/source/war_correspondent) with the [American First Army](/source/First_Army_(United_States)) after the [invasion of Normandy](/source/invasion_of_Normandy).<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/34939/supplement/5398/data.pdf|title=Issue 34939|work=The London Gazette|date=6 September 1940|page=5398|access-date=27 June 2023}}</ref><ref>Mitchel P. Roth, James Stuart Olson, ''Historical Dictionary of War Journalism'', 1997, {{ISBN|0-313291-71-3}}, p.178</ref>

He was killed by shell fire in action in [Remagen](/source/Remagen), Germany, whilst covering the taking of one of the last surviving bridges over the [River Rhine](/source/River_Rhine) in March 1945.<ref>Dennis Griffiths (ed.) ''The Encyclopedia of the British Press, 1422–1992'', London & Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1992, p.361 {{ISBN|0-333529-84-7}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lawless, Peter}}
Category:1891 births
Category:1945 deaths
Category:People educated at Bedford School
Category:British Army personnel of World War I
Category:British Army personnel of World War II
Category:Recipients of the Military Cross
Category:English war correspondents
Category:Golf writers
Category:British sportswriters
Category:British sports journalists
Category:English male non-fiction writers
Category:Intelligence Corps soldiers
Category:British war correspondents of World War II
Category:Journalists killed while covering World War II
Category:British civilians killed in World War II
Category:Artists' Rifles soldiers
Category:Army rugby union players
Category:Richmond F.C. players
Category:Surrey RFU players
Category:Middlesex County RFU players
Category:Devon RFU players
Category:Barbarian F.C. players
Category:English rugby union players
Category:20th-century English male journalists
Category:20th-century English journalists

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Peter Lawless](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Lawless) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Lawless?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.