John Laurence Russell Meredith (August 14, 1907 – November 1990) was a Canadian newspaper journalist,

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 ...

RAF pilot, First Nations language translator, and historian.

Personal

John Laurence Russell Meredith was born August 14, 1907, in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

to Francis Russell Meredith and Mishea Beryl (Johnson) Meredith, who had immigrated from

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, the year before. He was primarily known as Laurence Meredith, however he was also known as "Laurie," "Larry," and "Lawrence" throughout his life. He was a member of the Boys Choir at

St. Paul's Anglican Church (Vancouver) St. Paul's Anglican Church serves the south-west downtown peninsula of Vancouver, British Columbia, (the West End and Yaletown neighbourhoods) alongside Christ Church Cathedral (established 1888) serving the north-east (Downtown and Coal Harbour n ...

. His childhood education was received at Lord Roberts School in Vancouver, BC. At age 14, he won the governor-general's prize for highest standing as a student as he prepared to enter High School. After graduating from

The University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks among the top three ...

in 1930 and serving as a Principal at a British Columbia school, he moved to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in October 1934 to work for

United Press International United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ...

. He never married and his mother lived with him until she was invited to live in a

Grace and Favour ''Grace & Favour'' (American title: ''Are You Being Served? Again!'') is a British sitcom and a spin-off of ''Are You Being Served?'' that aired on BBC1 for two series from 1992 to 1993. It was written by ''Are You Being Served?'' creators and ...

cottage by the Queen. He died in November 1990 at Kensington and Chelsea,

Time at university

Laurence attended

from 1925 to 1929, except for a year long break in which he visited

. He graduated with 2nd class honors in English and Latin. The following year he returned to UBC and received a teaching certificate. While at UBC he was the literary editor of the "Ubyssey" from 1928 to 1930, elected president of the Letters Club in 1928, winner of the University Prize, English honour student, member of the Players' Club, and member of the Publications Board.

War Record

Laurence joined the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

during

and had a storied five-year career. Early on, he was appointed to the Intelligence Branch of the RAF. On October 10, 1941, he was raised to Acting Pilot Officer on probation (emergency). On December 10, 1941, he was raised to Pilot Officer. This career nearly ended early in 1942 when he fell 1000 feet without a parachute and broke almost every bone in his body. On October 1, 1942, he was demoted to Flight Officer on probation. He made it back into service and was appointed to

Louis Mountbatten Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (25 June 1900 – 27 August 1979) was a British naval officer, colonial administrator and close relative of the British royal family. Mountbatten, who was of German ...

's staff in 1944. On September 27, 1944, he was promoted to Flight Lieutenant. In 1946, he created an official record of

RAF India RAF India, later called Air Forces in India (1938–47) was a command of the Royal Air Force (RAF) that was active from 1918 until Indian independence and partition in 1947. It was the air force counterpart of the British Army in India. Origi ...

. On February 10, 1954, he relinquished his commission under the provisions of the Navy, Army and Air Force Reserve Act 1954 and was granted permission to retain the rank of Squadron Leader.

Professional career

Pre-United Press

Before attending UBC, Laurence worked for a lumber camp. This gave him an opportunity to interact with the Kwakwaka'wakw nation. He wrote four articles about the nation that were published by the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

. He also developed an English translation list of the Kwakwaka'wakw's language. After graduating from UBC, he become a teacher at Courtenay High School in Courteney, BC. He taught at Courtenay from 1930 to 1934. For some of his time there, he was also principal.

United Press

In 1934, Laurence moved to

where he joined

. Apparently, he was sent to the Fiji Islands at the start of his career. His career at UPI was interrupted by

when he joined the

. After World War 2, Laurence returned to United Press International as a foreign correspondent. His articles began to be picked up by international papers in the late 1940s. The earliest known article of his that made it into American or Canadian newspapers appeared in 1947 and it detailed the destruction of the 16 palatial homes in London, known as

Carlton House Terrace Carlton House Terrace is a street in the St James's district of the City of Westminster in London. Its principal architectural feature is a pair of terraces of white stucco-faced houses on the south side of the street overlooking St. James's ...

, to make way for the new home of Britain's

Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * Unit ...

. In 1970, Laurence was appointed UPI's manager in

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

. His last article to appear in American or Canadian newspapers was an article on the interrupted recovery of the

US dollar The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

in August 1973. The article was published in the United States six days after Meredith's 66th birthday. He was later quoted in an article published on the death of UPI reporter Harold Guard in 1986.

Additional Resources

Laurence Meredith's records and ephemera are located in the University Archives of The University of British Columbia.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meredith, Laurence 1907 births 1990 deaths Canadian male journalists Journalists from British Columbia People from Vancouver Royal Air Force pilots of World War II 20th-century Canadian journalists