Henry Hector Bolitho (28 May 1897 – 12 September 1974) was a New Zealand writer, novelist and biographer, who had 59 books published. Widely travelled, he spent most of his career in England.
Biography
Hector Bolitho was born and educated in
Auckland
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...
, New Zealand, the son of Henry and Ethelred Frances Bolitho. He travelled in the South Sea Islands in 1919 and then through New Zealand with the Prince of Wales in 1920.
Bolitho lived in Sydney from 1921 to 1923,
where he became editor of the ''Shakespearean Quarterly'' and literary editor and drama critic of the ''
Evening News Evening News may refer to:
Television news
*''CBS Evening News'', an American news broadcast
*''ITV Evening News'', a UK news broadcast
*'' JNN Evening News'', a Japanese news broadcast
*''Evening News'', an alternate name for '' News Hour'' in so ...
'' in Sydney.
He also travelled in Africa, Canada, America, and Germany in 1923-4, finally settling in Britain where he was to remain for the rest of his life.
On his arrival in Britain he worked as a freelance journalist; in 1927 he also provided a glowing introduction to (former journalist of the ''Evening News'' and future crime writer) Max Murray's first book, a sea voyage called ''The World's Back Doors'' (Jonathan Cape, 1927), the sixty-first book in
Jonathan Cape
Jonathan Cape is a London publishing firm founded in 1921 by Herbert Jonathan Cape, who was head of the firm until his death in 1960.
Cape and his business partner Wren Howard set up the publishing house in 1921. They established a reputation ...
's Traveller's Library series.
At the start of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
he joined the
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
The Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR) was established in 1936 to support the preparedness of the U.K. Royal Air Force in the event of another war. The Air Ministry intended it to form a supplement to the Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAuxAF ...
(RAFVR) as an
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 ...
with the rank of
squadron leader
Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr in the RAF ; SQNLDR in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly sometimes S/L in all services) is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also ...
, editing the ''Royal Air Force Weekly Bulletin'', which in 1941 became the ''Royal Air Force Journal''. In 1942 he was appointed editor of the ''Coastal Command Intelligence Review''.
Bolitho undertook several lecture tours of America (in 1938–39, 1947, 1948, and 1949) and he also revisited Australia in later years.
In his forties, Bolitho shared his life and his home with John Simpson. Hector described John as his ‘secretary’, which was then a common euphemism for gay partner. Simpson later died and his long-term partner was Derek Peel, an army officer. They met in 1949 and were together until Bolitho's death in 1974.
Bolitho is referenced in fictional form as "Hector Bolithiero" in the
Denton Welch
Maurice Denton Welch (29 March 1915 – 30 December 1948) was a British writer and painter, admired for his vivid prose and precise descriptions.
Life
Welch was born in Shanghai, China, to Arthur Joseph Welch, a wealthy British rubber merchant, ...
short story "
Brave and Cruel
''Brave and Cruel and Other Stories'' is the third book by the English author and painter Denton Welch. A collection of short stories, it was the last publication he worked on.
It was issued by Hamish Hamilton with a publication date of 1948, bu ...
".
The name Bolitho is of
Cornish origin.
Bibliography
References
External links
Dictionary of National Biography''Hector Bolitho'' at Dunedin Public Library websiteWorld War I New Zealand Army military personnel file
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bolitho, Hector
1897 births
1974 deaths
British biographers
British gay writers
New Zealand people of Cornish descent
New Zealand emigrants to the United Kingdom
LGBT writers from New Zealand
LGBT novelists
British male novelists
British monarchists
20th-century British novelists
20th-century British historians
20th-century British male writers
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II
Royal Air Force squadron leaders
Male biographers
20th-century LGBT people