Harry Victor Frederick Winstone

FRGS The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

(3 August 1926 – 10 February 2010), known as "Victor", was an English author and journalist, who specialised in

Middle Eastern The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (European ...

topics. He wrote biographies of several influential figures in the history of this region. Victor Winstone worked as a reporter and features writer with weekly journals and a financial features agency from 1947 to 1950. He was an industrial journal editor and press advisor to

Royal Doulton Royal Doulton is an English ceramic and home accessories manufacturer that was founded in 1815. Operating originally in Vauxhall, London, and later moving to Lambeth, in 1882 it opened a factory in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, in the centre of Engl ...

and others during the 1950s and 60s. From 1970 to 1982, he was a freelance writer and magazine editor, chiefly of journals about decorative and applied arts (''Pottery Gazette'', ''Tableware International'', ''Home and Table'', ''Ambassador''). He also wrote for industrial and commercial publications and was the supervisory editor of the English edition of ''Automobile World'' (Zurich). From 1975 to 1990, he was freelance special features writer for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', book reviewer for ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

'', and was a contributor to Connoisseur, ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'', and various specialist journals. Winstone’s first biography was published in 1976 to positive reviews: ''Captain Shakespear: A Portrait'', a study of the explorer

William Shakespear William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

. A series of critically well-regarded books followed, mainly biographies of British figures associated with the nineteenth and twentieth century history of the Middle East, such as

Gertrude Bell Gertrude Margaret Lowthian Bell, CBE (14 July 1868 – 12 July 1926) was an English writer, traveller, political officer, administrator, and archaeologist. She spent much of her life exploring and mapping the Middle East, and became highly ...

Gerard Leachman Lieutenant-Colonel Gerard Evelyn Leachman, CIE, DSO (27 July 1880, Petersfield, Hampshire – 12 August 1920, Iraq) was an English soldier and intelligence officer who travelled extensively in Arabia. Career Leachman was commissioned a second ...

Leonard Woolley Sir Charles Leonard Woolley (17 April 1880 – 20 February 1960) was a British archaeologist best known for his Excavation (archaeology), excavations at Ur in Mesopotamia. He is recognized as one of the first "modern" archaeologists who excavat ...

Howard Carter Howard Carter (9 May 18742 March 1939) was a British archaeologist and Egyptologist who discovered the intact tomb of the 18th Dynasty Pharaoh Tutankhamun in November 1922, the best-preserved pharaonic tomb ever found in the Valley of the K ...

and

Lady Anne Blunt Anne Isabella Noel Blunt, 15th Baroness Wentworth (née King-Noel; 22 September 1837 – 15 December 1917), known for most of her life as Lady Anne Blunt, was co-founder, with her husband the poet Wilfrid Blunt, of the Crabbet Arabian Stud in E ...

. Winstone was a Fellow of the

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

. Prior to his death, he lived in

Bideford Bideford ( ) is a historic port town on the estuary of the River Torridge in north Devon, south-west England. It is the main town of the Torridge local government district. Toponymy In ancient records Bideford is recorded as ''Bedeford'', ''By ...

, north

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

, England. Winstone died from

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissue (biology), tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from tran ...

on 10 February 2010.

Selected books and articles by H. V. F. Winstone

*''Kuwait: Prospect and Reality'' London: Allen and Unwin (1972) (with

Zahra Freeth Zahra Freeth ( Irene Zahra Dickson; 1924/1925 – 20 May 2015) was a British author who wrote primarily about the Middle East. She was the daughter of H. R. P. Dickson (died 1959) and Dame Violet Dickson (died 4 January 1991). Life Zahra Dickso ...

) *''Captain Shakespear: A Portrait'' London: Jonathan Cape (1976) *''Gertrude Bell: A Biography'' London: Jonathan Cape (1978) *''Explorers of Arabia from the Renaissance to the End of the Victorian Era'' London: Allen and Unwin (1978) (edited by H. V. F. Winstone and Zahra Freeth) *''The Spirit of the East: An Anthology of Prose and Verse Inspired by the People, Places, and Legends of the East'' London: Quartet (1979) (edited by H. V. F. Winstone and

Gerald de Gaury Gerald Simpson Hillairet Rutland Vere de Gaury MC (1 April 1897 – 12 January 1984) was a British military officer, Arabist, explorer, historian and diplomat. He served in the Hampshire Regiment in the First World War, where he fought at the So ...

) *"A Journey to Hail" ''Saudi Aramco World'' 31(3) (May/June 1980) (with Zahra Freeth) *''The Road to Kabul: An Anthology'' London: Quartet (1981) (edited by H. V. F. Winstone and Gerald de Gaury) *''Diaries of Parker Pasha'' (ed.) London: Quartet (1982) *''The Illicit Adventure. The Story of Political and Military Intelligence in the Middle East from 1898 to 1926'' London: Jonathan Cape (1982) *''Leachman, OC Desert: The Life of Lieutenant-Colonel Gerard Leachman D.S.O'' London: Quartet (1982) *''Royal Copenhagen Porcelain'' London: Stacey International (1983) *''Uncovering the Ancient World'' London: Constable (1985) *''Woolley of Ur'' London: Secker and Warburg (1990) *''Howard Carter and the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun'' London: Constable (1991) *''Lady Anne Blunt'' Manchester: Barzan Publishing (2003)

References

External links

H. V. F. Winstone’s website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Winstone, H. V. F. 1926 births 2010 deaths Deaths from lung cancer in England English biographers English male journalists English orientalists Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society Writers from Bideford Male biographers