Sir Joshua Albert Flynn KCB (15 September 1863 – 8 October 1933) was a British civil servant who served in South Africa with Lord Kitchener. He was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath in 1910 and knighted in 1919. He was later director of army accounts and subsequently director-general of finance at the Ministry of Pensions. He wrote three novels, one non-fiction work, and over 250 science fiction, romance and adventure stories under the pen name of "Owen Oliver" that were published in the popular magazines of the early 20th century.

Early life and family

Joshua Albert Flynn was born in

Sheerness Sheerness () is a town and civil parish beside the mouth of the River Medway on the north-west corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. With a population of 11,938, it is the second largest town on the island after the nearby town ...

, Kent, on 15 September 1863, the eldest son of Albert Spencer Flynn. He was educated at private schools and King's College, London, and graduated in mental and moral science from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

in 1891. He married Ada, the youngest daughter of James Parkinson, in 1886 and had two sons and three daughters.

Career

Flynn worked as a senior civil servant in 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, Tr ...

in 1884 and the

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

from 1885. He was financial adviser to Lord Kitchener in South Africa and director of army accounts from 1904. He was appointed director-general of finance at the

Ministry of Pensions Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian ...

in 1916. He was made a companion of the Order of the Bath in 1910 and knighted in 1919. He retired in 1920."Flynn, Sir Joshua Albert"
''Who's Who 2020 & Who Was Who'', Oxford University Press. Retrieved 14 December 2019. In 1928 he published ''The Problems of the Civil Service'' in which he gave much attention to recruitment and promotion, observing that membership of the senior administrative class was in practice restricted to those that had attended Britain's elite universities."Representative Bureaucracy"
by J. Donald Kingsley in

Writing

He wrote science fiction, romance, and adventure stories under the pen name of Owen Oliver that were published in the popular magazines of the early 20th century, Ashley, Mike. (Ed.) (2019) ''The End of the World: and Other Catastrophes''. London: British Library. p. 71. producing over 250 between 1901 and 1934, including 27 for the science fiction orientated ''

The Yellow Magazine ''The Harmsworth Red Magazine'', also known as ''Harmsworth's Red Magazine'' or just ''The Red Magazine'', was a fiction magazine published by Alfred Harmsworth's Amalgamated Press in 620 issues from June 1908 to September 1939. It was edited by Jo ...

'',"Gender and the Domestication of Wireless Technology in 1920s Pulp Fiction"
by Katy Price in a sister to ''Harmsworth's Red Magazine'' and ''The Green Magazine'', all published by Amalgamated Press. Flynn's science fiction often dealt with the threat to the Earth from an external peril, such as in "The Black Shadow" (1903) in which the remnants of a lunar civilisation are able to control human beings on Earth. In "The Plague of Lights" (1904), aliens invade the Earth, while in "The Long Night" (1906) the nights gradually lengthen due to the effect on the Earth of a comet. In "Days of Darkness" (1927), London is plunged into inexplicable darkness, throwing the city into chaos. "A Martyr to Wireless" (1924) takes a different approach with the invading force being the new technology of radio broadcasting which threatens marital harmony when it enters the home. Flynn's romantic fiction featured in ''The Windsor Magazine'' and included titles such as "Little Love" (1906/07), "They Called it Love" (1909/10), and "A House of Love" (1910).

Death

Flynn died on 8 October 1933. His address at the time of his death was 6 Thornton Avenue, Streatham. Probate was granted to Albert James Flynn, engineer, and Walter Alan Flynn, medical practitioner, on an estate of £6,121.1933 Probate Calendar, p. 367.
/ref> He received an obituary in ''

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 ...

''."Sir Albert Flynn", ''The Times'', 10 October 1933, p. 9.

Selected publications

All as "Owen Oliver".

Short stories

* "The Black Shadow", ''

Cassell's Magazine ''Cassell's Magazine'' is a British magazine that was published monthly from 1897 to 1912. It was the successor to ''Cassell's Illustrated Family Paper'', (1853–1867) becoming ''Cassell's Family Magazine'' in 1874, ''Cassell's Magazine'' in 1897 ...

'', February 1903 * "Out of the Deep", ''The London Magazine'', July 1904. * "The Plague of Lights: A Tale of the Year 1906", ''The London Magazine'', October 1904. * "The Long Night: A Story of the Next Decade", '' Pearson's Magazine'', January 1906. * "Little Love", ''The Windsor Magazine'', Vol. 25 (1906/07), pp. 796–803. * "The Gardener", ''The Windsor Magazine'', Vol. 28 (1908), pp. 583–590. * "The Box of Tricks", ''

The Windsor Magazine ''The Windsor Magazine'' was a monthly illustrated publication produced by Ward Lock & Co from January 1895 to September 1939 (537 issues). The title page described it as "An Illustrated Monthly for Men and Women". It was bound as six-monthly ...

'', Vol. 30 (1909), pp. 65–70. * "They Called it Love", ''The Windsor Magazine'', Vol. 31 (1909/10), pp. 305–314. * "The Annihilator", ''

Munsey's Magazine ''Munsey's Weekly'', later known as ''Munsey's Magazine'', was a 36-page quarto United States, American magazine founded by Frank Munsey, Frank A. Munsey in 1889 and edited by John Kendrick Bangs. Frank Munsey aimed to publish "a magazine of the pe ...

'', August 1910. * "A House of Love", ''The Windsor Magazine'', Vol. 32 (1910), pp. 643–648. * "The Cloud-Men", ''Munsey's Magazine'', August 1911, pp. 630–637. * "The Soul Machine", '' The Pall Mall Magazine'', November 1911. * "Platinum", '' All-Story Weekly'', 5 August 5, 1916. * "The Pretty Woman", ''All-Story Weekly'', 24 March 1917. * "A Martyr to Wireless", ''

'', 1924. * "Days of Darkness", ''

The London Magazine ''The London Magazine'' is the title of six different publications that have appeared in succession since 1732. All six have focused on the arts, literature and miscellaneous topics. 1732–1785 ''The London Magazine, or, Gentleman's Monthly I ...

'', April 1927.

Novels

* ''An Author's Daughter''. C. A. Pearson, London, 1918. * ''A Knight at Heart''. Hodder & Stoughton, London, 1925. * ''Red Blood: A Serial Story of the South Sea''. '' Harmsworth's Red Magazine'', London, 1921. (4 instalments)

Non-fiction

* ''The Problems of the Civil Service''. Cassell & Co., London, 1928. (As Sir Albert Flynn)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Flynn, Joshua 1863 births 1933 deaths English short story writers English civil servants People from Sheerness Alumni of the University of London English knights Companions of the Order of the Bath English science fiction writers Cape Colony people