{{Short description|Australian-born journalist and author (1874–1960)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2018}} {{Use Australian English|date=July 2018}} {{Infobox person | name = Sir Frank Fox | image = File:Frank Fox Notable Londoners 1922.jpg | alt = | caption = Photographic portrait of Frank Fox (in about 1922). | birth_name = | birth_date = {{Birth date|1874|8|10|df=y}} | birth_place = Adelaide, South Australia | death_date = {{Death date and age|1960|3|4|1874|8|12|df=y}}<ref name=ADB>Martha Rutledge (1981), [https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/fox-sir-frank-ignatius-6229 "Sir Frank Ignatius Fox (1874–1960)"], ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'', National Centre of Biography, Australian National University; accessed 28 July 2024.</ref> | death_place = Chichester, Sussex, England<ref name=ADB/> | nationality = | alma_mater = Christ College (University of Tasmania) | parents = {{ubli|Charles James Fox | Mary Ann}} | occupation = Journalist, soldier, author and campaigner | years_active = | notable_works = ''The Lone Hand'' }} '''Sir Frank Ignatius Fox''' (10 August 1874<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article28733251 |title=Family Notices |newspaper=The South Australian Advertiser |location=South Australia |date=13 August 1874 |access-date=27 April 2020 |page=2 |via=Trove }}</ref> – 1960)<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://sirfrankfox.com/time-obituary-sir-frank-fox/|title=The Times Obituary|date=9 March 1960|publisher=Official website|access-date=21 January 2016}}</ref> was an Australian-born journalist, soldier, author and campaigner; he lived in Britain from 1909.
==Early life and education== Frank Ignatius Fox was born in 1874 in Adelaide, second son of Charles James Fox, one-time Latin teacher, journalist and editor of ''The Irish Harp and Farmers' Herald'', and his wife Mary Ann (''née'' Toole). He moved to Hobart in 1883, when his father became editor of the ''Tasmanian Mail'', and was educated at Christ College. At an early age he wrote paragraphs for his father's paper.
==Career== Fox was appointed editor of ''The Australian Workman'' in 1893, then in 1895 the (Bathurst) ''National Advocate'', before joining ''The Age'', where he served as chief of their reporting staff.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Oxford Companion to Australian Literature |editor-first=W. H. |editor-last=Wilde |editor2-first=Joy |editor2-last=Hooton |editor3-first=Barry |editor3-last=Andrews |year=1994 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0-19-553381-X}}</ref> He joined the staff of the ''Sydney Bulletin'' in 1901<ref>{{cite news|title=The Argus |location=Melbourne |url=http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/12227526/566598 |date=9 April 1935|publisher=National Library of Australia|access-date=21 January 2016}}</ref> and was acting editor for a time. As "Frank Renar", he published his first book ''Bushman and Buccaneer, a memoir of Harry Morant'', which became the seminal work for subsequent books, plays and the acclaimed film ''Breaker Morant''.
[[File:FoxPortrait.png|thumb|right|upright=1.0|Portrait of Frank Fox by Norman Lindsay]]
While still working for the ''Bulletin'', Fox served from 1907 to 1909 as first editor and manager of ''The Lone Hand'', a monthly publication of literature and poetry. Fox published a volume of political essays, ''From the Old Dog'' (Melbourne), in 1908. He was a keen horseman; riding out regularly with his literary colleagues Andrew Banjo Paterson and Norman Lindsay.<ref>{{Cite Australian Dictionary of Biography |url=https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/lindsay-norman-alfred-7757 |access-date=21 January 2016 |title=Lindsay, Norman Alfred (1879–1969)}}</ref> In spite of the latter describing him as an "equine exhibitionist", Lindsay painted an equestrian portrait of Fox. This was considered highly unusual, as the subject matter is not in keeping with Lindsay's well-known works.<ref>{{cite web|title=Sir Frank Fox|url=http://sirfrankfox.com/hunt-for-the-missing-norman-lindsay-equestrian-portrait-of-sir-frank-fox/|first=Beaumont |last=Fox<!--Mentioned in the footer, presumably a relative. Don't call this an "official website". It isn't. Frank Fox didn't have one. He died long before the internet existed.--> |access-date=21 January 2016}}</ref>
Lindsay wrote ''Bohemians of the Bulletin'', which is illustrated with his doodles.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Patty|first1=Anna|title=The Bohemians at the Bulletin: the illustrations that helped shape Australia's identity on display|url=http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/art-and-design/the-bohemians-at-the-bulletin-the-illustrations-that-helped-shape-australias-identity-on-display-20140228-33rx6.html|access-date=20 January 2017|work=The Sydney Morning Herald}}</ref>
Fox was appointed as an assistant editor for the ''Morning Post''<ref>{{cite news|title=The Times|url=http://sirfrankfox.com/time-obituary-sir-frank-fox/|first=Beaumont |last=Fox<!--Mentioned in the footer, presumably a relative. Don't call this an "official website". It isn't. Frank Fox didn't have one. He died long before the internet existed.--> |access-date=21 January 2016}}</ref> in December 1909 and later in 1910, he was promoted as the news editor. He published ''Ramparts of Empire'' (1910) about the navy, ''Australia'' (1910), ''The British Empire'' (1911), ''Problems of the Pacific'' (1912) and many travel books.
Motivated by the atrocities he witnessed to the civilian population in Belgium whilst war correspondent for the ''Morning Post'' he was commissioned in the Royal Field Artillery on 13 December 1914, over age at 41, and served in France. He was twice wounded in the Battle of the Somme. In 1917–18 he was at the War Office<ref>{{Cite Australian Dictionary of Biography |title=Fox, Sir Frank Ignatius (1874–1960) |first=Martha |last=Rutledge |url=https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/fox-sir-frank-ignatius-6229/text10717 |access-date=20 January 2017}}</ref> working for MI7, publishing ''The Battle of the Ridges'' and ''The British Army at War'', designed to educate the American Public about the British war effort. He then served as Staff Captain at the Quartermaster General's branch, General Headquarters, in France, and wrote a contemporary account of life there (''GHQ'', Montreuil-sur-Mer).
==Journalist== ===Australia (1892–1909)=== * Editor, ''The Australian Workman'', aged 18 * Editor, ''National Advocate''. Aged 21 * Acting editor, ''Sydney Bulletin'' * Founder, ''The Lone Hand''
===England (from 1909)=== * ''Morning Post'' ** News editor 1910 ** War correspondent – 1912 Bulgarian Army in the Balkan War ** War correspondent – Belgian Army, August–December 1914. German invasion. Reporting to Brussels re atrocities against the civilian population (Order of the Crown of Belgium – in the gift of King Albert).
==Soldier 1905–1919== * Commissioned Australian Field Artillery 1905 * Commissioned RFA 1914/19 – wounded twice at the Somme 1916. * War Office (1917). * GHQ – Montreuil-sur-Mer. Staff Officer in QMG Division; then War Office as Major (OBE Military; mentioned in dispatches) (1916–1919).
==Author== Australian military historian Craig Wilcox, author of the 2002 book ''Australia's Boer War'', wrote:
{{quote|Fox was a great man, and concerning Morant I think of him not only as the launcher of an Australian legend but also its subtlest and most intelligent storyteller; he confounds Morant's champions as well as Morant's detractors, as good literature and insider history ought to do. His little book [''Bushman and Buccaneer: A Memoir of Harry Morant''] is often cited, sometimes plundered, but too rarely read.}}
==Campaigner== === Australia === * Championed Australian federation (as editor of the ''National Advocate'')
=== Britain === * Warned of danger of war in Europe (1909–1914) and urged preparation – in print and public platform{{specify|date=March 2025}} * MI7 (1917) to encourage US participation in World War I{{vague|reason=What did he do??? This mention of MI7 lacks any context at all|date=March 2025}} * As an imperialist and a champion of Empire causes, organised: ** British Empire Cancer Campaign{{cn|date=March 2025}} ** Empire Rheumatism Council{{cn|date=March 2025}} ** Fellowship of British Empire Exhibition (for which he was knighted in 1926){{cn|reason=Which order of knighthood?|date=March 2025}}
==Family and personal life== He married Helena Clint (d. 1958) on 13 June 1894;<ref>{{Cite news|title=Frank Fox – Australian Author and Journalist |newspaper=The West Australian |date=2 April 1935|page=18|url=http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/32848927|via=National Library of Australia|access-date=20 January 2017}}</ref> they had a son and two daughters. Helena Clint was granddaughter of Alfred Clint, President of the Society of British Artists, great-granddaughter of George Clint ARA, and great-niece of Scipio Clint.
Former Conservative Member of Parliament Charles Goodson-Wickes is Frank Fox's great-grandson and literary executor.<ref>{{cite news|title=Forces War Records July 2016|url=https://www.forces-war-records.co.uk/magazine/issues/2016/07/content/assets/basic-html/page-34-35.html|publisher=www.forces-war-records.co.uk|access-date=20 January 2016|archive-date=1 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170801164410/https://www.forces-war-records.co.uk/magazine/issues/2016/07/content/assets/basic-html/page-34-35.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
==Bibliography== {{div col}} * 1902 – ''Bushman and Buccaneer: a memoir of Harry Morant'', Frank Renar, H. T. Dunn, Australia * 1908 – ''From the Old Dog'', Lothian, Melbourne, Australia * 1909 – ''The Australian Crisis'', written under the pseudonym C. H. Kirmess * 1910 – ''Australia'', illustrations by Percy Spence,<ref>{{Cite book|title=Australian Dictionary of Biography|chapter-url=https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/spence-percy-frederick-seaton-8601|chapter=Spence, Percy Frederick Seaton (1868–1933)|publisher=National Centre of Biography, Australian National University}}</ref> Black * 1910 – ''Ramparts of Empire; a view of the Navy from an Imperial Standpoint'', Black * 1911 – [http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/25976 ''Australia: Peeps at many lands''], Black * 1911 – ''The British Empire: peeps at many lands'' (new 1915; 2nd 1929) * 1911 – ''Oceania: Peeps at many lands'', Black, new edition 1915 * 1912 – [http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/40305 ''Problems of the Pacific''], Williams and Norgate * 1912 – ''The Tyranny of Trade Unions'', Eveleigh Nash * 1913 – ''Naturalist in Cannibal Land'', AS Meek (ed. F. Fox), Fisher, Unwin * 1913 – ''Our English Land Muddle; an Australian view'', Nelson * 1914 – [http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/38790 ''England''], Black * 1914 – [http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/39651 ''Switzerland''], Black * 1915 – [http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/39688 ''The Balkan Peninsula''], Black * 1915 – ''The Agony of Belgium (being Phase 1 of the Great War)'', Hutchinson (republished in 2014 as ''The Agony of Belgium: The Invasion of Belgium, August–December 1914'' by Charles Goodson-Wickes, his great grandson and literary executor). Reviewed July 2016 in ''The Guards Magazine''.<ref name="The Guards Magazine">{{cite news|title=The Guards Magazine|url=http://guardsmagazine.com/bookreviews/booksummer16_07FrankFox.html|date=July 2016|publisher=The Guards Magazine|access-date=20 January 2016}}</ref> * 1915 – [http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/22257 ''Bulgaria''], Black * 1915 – ''Italy'', Black * 1918 – ''The Battle of the Ridges: Arras to Messines'' (March–June 1917), Pearson * 1918 – ''The British Army at War'', Unwin * 1920 – ''GHQ'' (Montreuil-sur-mer), ''GSO'', P. Allan. French edition republished in 2015. English edition republished in 2016 by Charles Goodson-Wickes. Reviewed July 2016 in ''The Guards Magazine'',<ref name="The Guards Magazine"/> and in December 2016 in ''The RUSI Journal''.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Spence|first1=Jack|title=The Somme, A Contest of Endurance|journal=The RUSI Journal|date=December 2016|volume=161|issue=6|page=58|doi=10.1080/03071847.2016.1265838|s2cid=157484114}}</ref> * 1922 – ''The King's Pilgrimage'', Hodder & Stoughton (Fox accompanying George V and Field Marshal Earl Haig to the opening of Belgian and French military cemeteries in 1922) – republished 2017{{verify inline|reason=WP:CRYSTAL: previously stated in future tense|date=March 2025}} * 1923 – ''The History of the Royal Gloucestershire Hussars Yeomanry 1898–1922 (The Great Cavalry Campaign in Palestine)'', P. Allan * 1923 – ''Beneath an Ardent Sun'', Hodder & Stoughton * 1923 – ''The English 1909–1922: a gossip'', Murray * 1924 – ''The British Empire Exhibition, Wembley, Official Guide'', in collaboration with Grant Cook * 1926 – ''Finland Today'', Black; new edition 1928 * 1927 – ''Italy Today'', H Jenkins * 1928 – ''The Mastery of the Pacific: can the British Empire and the United States agree?'' Seams, New York, 1928 * 1928 – ''The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers in the World War'', Constable * 1930 – ''Parliamentary Government: a failure?'', S. Paul * 1937 – ''The Royal House of Windsor 1837–1937'' (edited), Royal Warrant Holders Association * 1951 – ''The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers in the Second World War, 1939–45'' {{div col end}}
==References== {{Reflist|2}}
==External links== *{{Gutenberg author|id=25216}} * {{Internet Archive author |sname= Fox, Frank}} * {{LCAuth|n90676934|Frank Fox|8|ue}} * [https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/kirmess_c_h C. H. Kirmess] (pseudonym) at ''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction''
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fox, Frank}} Category:1874 births Category:1960 deaths Category:Alumni of Christ's College, Cambridge Category:Writers from Adelaide Category:Australian journalists Category:Australian soldiers Category:Australian Officers of the Order of the British Empire Category:Australian Knights Bachelor Category:Australian emigrants to the United Kingdom