Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

Philip Henry Lawless MC (9 October 1891 – 10 March 1945) was a British author, journalist,

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

player, soldier and war correspondent.Obituary, ''

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 ...

'', 13 March 1945, p.6

Early life

Born in London on 9 October 1891, "Peter" Lawless spent much of his early life in

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 ...

. He was educated at

Bedford School :''Bedford School is not to be confused with Bedford Girls' School, Bedford High School, Bedford Modern School, Old Bedford School in Bedford, Texas or Bedford Academy in Bedford, Nova Scotia.'' Bedford School is a public school (English indep ...

between 1905 and 1910.

First World War

Lawless' experiences during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

were drawn upon by his grandson,

Sebastian Faulks Sebastian Charles Faulks (born 20 April 1953) is a British novelist, journalist and broadcaster. He is best known for his historical novels set in France – '' The Girl at the Lion d'Or'', ''Birdsong'' and '' Charlotte Gray''. He has also pub ...

, during the writing of his novel '' Birdsong'', published in 1993. Lawless enlisted in the 28th County of London Battalion of the London Regiment, and arrived in France on 28 October 1914. In May 1915, he transferred to the 18th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment, which was charged with clearing, repairing and building front-line trenches. In July 1916, the battalion was moved from its location near Béthune to assist in the attempted

Capture of Fricourt Fricourt is a village that was fought over in July 1916, during the Battle of the Somme, which took place in France during the First World War. Fricourt is from Albert, north of Bray and west of Mametz, near the D 938 road and at the junction ...

. In 1917, Lawless was moved to the 26th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment, and was based in

Salonika Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...

in November 1918. He was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC i ...

in 1919 and left the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

with the rank of

Sport

Lawless was well over six feet tall and was described by Michael Moynihan as "a burly, jovial man whose air of a hunting-shooting-fishing English squire went down well with the Yanks." Before the

, Lawless was a keen rower and rowed for the London Rowing Club eight which was defeated by the

Union Boat Club The Union Boat Club (also known as UBC), founded in 1851, is an athletic club in Boston. It is the longest continuously operating rowing club in Boston. Located in the Beacon Hill neighborhood along the Charles River, the Club has grown beyond ro ...

in the 1914

Grand Challenge Cup The Grand Challenge Cup is a rowing competition for men's eights. It is the oldest and best-known event at the annual Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames in England. It is open to male crews from all eligible rowing cl ...

. After the

he played in three

teams representing Great Britain, against New Zealand, South Africa and Canada, as well as for

Richmond F.C. Richmond Football Club is a rugby union club from Richmond, London. It is a founding member of the Rugby Football Union, and is one of the oldest football clubs (of any code). It fields teams in both men's and women's rugby; the men's first t ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

, Surrey,

, the

, for the

Barbarians A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by some to be less c ...

against

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

in 1920, 1922 and 1924, and against the

East Midlands The East Midlands is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. It comprises the eastern half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It consists of Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Li ...

in 1922. He was also a keen golfer, and was Golfing Correspondent of '' The Morning Post'', writing under the pen name ''Vagrant''. He published books on rugby and golf.

Second World War

Lawless worked for '' The Morning Post'' until it was acquired by ''

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 ...

'', which he joined in 1937. After the outbreak of the

Second World War 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 accompanied 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 ...

in France, between September 1939 and May 1940, as ''

s correspondent. He joined the Army Intelligence Corps on 4 July 1940, but was released in 1944 to return to ''

'' as a war correspondent with the American First Army after the

invasion of Normandy Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Norm ...

. He was killed by shell fire in action in Remagen, Germany, whilst covering the taking of one of the last surviving bridges over the

River Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , sourc ...

in March 1945.Dennis Griffiths (ed.) ''The Encyclopedia of the British Press, 1422–1992'', London & Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1992, p.361

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lawless, Peter 1891 births 1945 deaths People educated at Bedford School British Army personnel of World War I British Army personnel of World War II Recipients of the Military Cross English war correspondents British male journalists Golf writers and broadcasters British sportswriters British sports journalists English male non-fiction writers Intelligence Corps soldiers War correspondents of World War II Journalists killed while covering World War II British civilians killed in World War II 20th-century English male writers