Harry Hodgkinson (15 March 1913 – 2 October 1994), born
Kirkham,
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
, was a British writer, journalist, naval
intelligence officer
An intelligence officer is a person employed by an organization to collect, compile or analyze information (known as intelligence) which is of use to that organization. The word of ''officer'' is a working title, not a rank, used in the same way a ...
and expert on
the Balkans
The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
.
From the age of 16, he started writing for the ''
Blackpool Times'', ''
Yorkshire Observer'' and ''
Bradford Telegraph''. In 1936, he walked from
Charing Cross
Charing Cross ( ) is a junction in Westminster, London, England, where six routes meet. Clockwise from north these are: the east side of Trafalgar Square leading to St Martin's Place and then Charing Cross Road; the Strand leading to the City; ...
to
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
and published stories from his travels in ''
The Christian Science Monitor
''The Christian Science Monitor'' (''CSM''), commonly known as ''The Monitor'', is a nonprofit news organization that publishes daily articles in electronic format as well as a weekly print edition. It was founded in 1908 as a daily newspaper ...
'', ''
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 ''
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 ...
''. He was employed by
Naval Intelligence
Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist commanders in their decisions. This aim is achieved by providing an assessment of data from a ...
at the
Admiralty
Admiralty most often refers to:
*Admiralty, Hong Kong
*Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964
*The rank of admiral
*Admiralty law
Admiralty can also refer to:
Buildings
* Admiralty, Traf ...
and worked under
Ian Fleming
Ian Lancaster Fleming (28 May 1908 – 12 August 1964) was a British writer who is best known for his postwar ''James Bond'' series of spy novels. Fleming came from a wealthy family connected to the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co., a ...
, in charge of
Albania
Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
and
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
. After the war he was adviser to the Director of Naval Intelligence regarding the
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
satellite states
A satellite state or dependent state is a country that is formally independent in the world, but under heavy political, economic, and military influence or control from another country. The term was coined by analogy to planetary objects orbitin ...
. In 1954 he published ''Adriatic Sea'', and in 1955 ''Tito between East and West''. He was in correspondence with
Edith Durham
Edith Durham, (8 December 1863 – 15 November 1944) was a British artist, anthropologist and writer who is best known for her anthropological accounts of life in Albania in the early 20th century. Her advocacy on behalf of the Albanian cause a ...
for many years and received some sixty letters from her. He was appointed from 1985 to be a chairman of the
Anglo-Albanian Association
The Anglo-Albanian Association is an association established in 1913 by Aubrey Herbert under the name ''Albanian Committee''. In 1918 this committee evolved into ''Anglo-Albanian Society'' and then into the Anglo-Albanian Association.
Objectives ...
.
During his career he supported the
Albanian
Albanian may refer to:
*Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular:
**Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans
**Albanian language
**Albanian culture
**Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...
cause and took up strong
anti-Serb and anti-Bulgarian positions.
He left many unpublished manuscripts about the Balkans.
Works
* ''West and East of Tito'', Gollancz (1952)
* ''The Adriatic Sea'', Macmillan (1956)
* ''Scanderbeg'', The Centre for Albanian Studies/Learning Design; foreword by
David Abulafia (1999),
References
External links
1945 Harry Hodgkinson: Impressions of Albaniapublished on
Robert Elsie
Robert Elsie (June 29, 1950 – October 2, 2017) was a Canadian-born German scholar who specialized in Albanian literature and folklore.
Elsie was a writer, translator, interpreter, and specialist in Albanian studies, being the author of numerou ...
's web site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hodgkinson, Harry
20th-century British writers
1913 births
1994 deaths
Anti-Serbian sentiment
Anti-Bulgarian sentiment
People from Kirkham, Lancashire
English male journalists
Royal Navy officers of World War II
Albania–United Kingdom relations
20th-century English male writers
Writers from Lancashire