Sandra Fawkes ( Boyce-Carmichelle; 30 June 1929 – 26 December 2005) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

journalist.

Biography

Fawkes was found as a baby in the

Grand Union Canal The Grand Union Canal in England is part of the British canal system. It is the principal navigable waterway between London and the Midlands. Starting in London, one arm runs to Leicester and another ends in Birmingham, with the latter st ...

. She never discovered the identity of her birth parents. Her birth was registered in the third quarter of 1929 as Unity Pansy Boyce-Carmichele.https://www.freebmd.org.uk (The birthdate above is presumably an approximation.) Fawkes studied at

Camberwell School of Art Camberwell College of Arts is a public tertiary art school in Camberwell, in London, England. It is one of the six constituent colleges of the University of the Arts London. It offers further and higher education programmes, including postgradu ...

under John Minton. In 1949, she married

Wally Fawkes Walter Ernest Fawkes (born 21 June 1924) is a British-Canadian jazz clarinetist and satirical cartoonist. As a cartoonist, he usually worked under the name "Trog" until failing eyesight forced him to retire in 2005 at the age of 81. Early hist ...

, author of the cartoon strip '' Flook''. The couple had four children, of whom the first died of

SIDS Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is the sudden unexplained death of a child of less than one year of age. Diagnosis requires that the death remain unexplained even after a thorough autopsy and detailed death scene investigation. SIDS usual ...

. In the 1960s she worked as fashion editor for both '' Vanity Fair'' and the ''

Daily Sketch The ''Daily Sketch'' was a British national tabloid newspaper, founded in Manchester in 1909 by Sir Edward Hulton. It was bought in 1920 by Lord Rothermere's Daily Mirror Newspapers, but in 1925 Rothermere sold it to William and Gomer Berry ...

'', and then in the 1970s, feature writer for the ''

Daily Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first published as a broadsheet i ...

''. In 1974, Fawkes went to the United States on an unsuccessful assignment to try and interview several celebrities, including Vice-President

Spiro Agnew Spiro Theodore Agnew (November 9, 1918 – September 17, 1996) was the 39th vice president of the United States, serving from 1969 until his resignation in 1973. He is the second vice president to resign the position, the other being John ...

. During this time she had a three-day affair with a man who turned out to be the serial killer Paul Knowles, and wrote a best selling book, ''Killing Time'', later republished as ''Natural Born Killer''. She said Knowles had been going by the name Daryl Golden and was unsatisfying in the bedroom, requiring self-stimulation in order to have

sex Sex is the trait that determines whether a sexually reproducing animal or plant produces male or female gametes. Male plants and animals produce smaller mobile gametes (spermatozoa, sperm, pollen), while females produce larger ones (ova, oft ...

. Later she was distraught to find out her acquaintance Susan MacKenzie had almost been

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ag ...

d by the killer at gunpoint following their time together. Fawkes died on 26 December 2005.

Other works

She ghostwrote

Christine Keeler Christine Margaret Keeler (22 February 1942 – 4 December 2017) was an English model and showgirl. Her meeting at a dance club with society osteopath Stephen Ward drew her into fashionable circles. At the height of the Cold War, she became s ...

's autobiography, ''Nothing But''. Her tutor John Minton introduced her to

Soho Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century. The area was develop ...

's drinking culture and she became a denizen of Soho's pubs and drinking clubs, in particular The French House, the Coach & Horses and

The Colony Room Club The Colony Room Club was a private members' drinking club at 41 Dean Street, Soho, London. It was founded and presided over by Muriel Belcher from its inception in 1948 until her death in 1979. The artist Francis Bacon was a founder and lifelo ...

. As a result, she appeared several times in the ''

Private Eye ''Private Eye'' is a British fortnightly satire, satirical and current affairs (news format), current affairs news magazine, founded in 1961. It is published in London and has been edited by Ian Hislop since 1986. The publication is widely r ...

'' cartoon strip ''The Regulars'' by Michael Heath and had a small part in

John Maybury John Maybury (born 25 March 1958) is an English filmmaker and artist. He first came to prominence as the director of the music video for the Pet Shop Boys 1984 single "West End Girls". In 2005 he was named as one of the 100 most influential gay ...

's film '' Love Is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fawkes, Sandy 1929 births 2005 deaths 20th-century British journalists