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

Life

Clifford was educated at

Charterhouse School (God having given, I gave) , established = , closed = , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , president ...

and

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the f ...

. He married the actress and journalist Jennie Prydie Nicholson (1919–1964) on 22 February 1945 in the

Savoy Chapel The King's Chapel of St John the Baptist in the Precinct of the Savoy, also known as the King's Chapel of the Savoy, is a church in the City of Westminster, London. Facing it are 111 Strand, the Savoy Hotel, the Institution of Engineering and Te ...

, London; she was the eldest child of poet and author

Robert Graves Captain Robert von Ranke Graves (24 July 1895 – 7 December 1985) was a British poet, historical novelist and critic. His father was Alfred Perceval Graves, a celebrated Irish poet and figure in the Gaelic revival; they were both Celtic ...

and Annie Mary Prydie "Nancy" Nicholson, elder daughter of the painter William Nicholson.Nancy Nicholson did not take Graves' surname when they married, and also insisted that her daughters bear hers. Clifford died in 1952 and is buried on the headland near

Portofino Portofino (; ) is a ''comune'' located in the Metropolitan City of Genoa on the Italian Riviera. The town is clustered around its small harbour, and is known for the colourfully painted buildings that line the shore. Since the late 19th century ...

, Italy.

World War II

Clifford was a war correspondent for the ''

Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper and news websitePeter Wilb"Paul Dacre of the Daily Mail: The man who hates liberal Britain", ''New Statesman'', 19 December 2013 (online version: 2 January 2014) publish ...

'' during the war. In June 1940 the

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

flying ship in which he was being transported beached near Malta to avoid sinking. Clifford was a friend of ''

Daily Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first published as a broadsheet i ...

'' correspondent

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'' (196 ...

; they both covered the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

, and first met in the 'Bar Basque' in

Saint-Jean-de-Luz Saint-Jean-de-Luz (; eu, Donibane Lohitzune,Donibane Lohitzune
Auñamendi Ency ...

in 1938). 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 The Allied invasion of Italy was the Allied amphibious landing on mainland Italy that took place from 3 September 1943, during the Italian campaign (World War II), Italian campaign of World War II. The operation was undertaken by General (Unit ...

and the

Invasion of Normandy Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Norm ...

. 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."Review of Moorehead's ''A Late Education''
textpublishing.com.au, accessed 30 November 2009 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

*''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

References

External links

Text of ''The Conquest of North Africa 1940 to 1943''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clifford, Alexander 1909 births 1952 deaths Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford British male journalists British non-fiction writers Daily Mail journalists People educated at Charterhouse School British war correspondents 20th-century non-fiction writers Graves family