Alec John Dawson
Encyclopedia
Alec John Dawson generally known as A. J. Dawson (pseudonyms Major Dawson, Howard Kerr, Nicholas Freydon) was an English author, traveller and novelist. During World War I he attained the rank of Major, and was awarded the MBE and Croix de Guerre in recognition of his work as a military propagandist. Dawson published over thirty books, the one best remembered today probably being the animal adventure story Finn the Wolfhound (1908).
, England, the third son of Edward and Sara Dawson. His father worked as a collector for the local gas company. He left school early to become an apprentice in the Merchant Navy
, but jumped ship in Australia after a couple of voyages. For the next few years he was something of a drifter, working for a spell as a farmer and then joining the staff of a Melbourne newspaper. Some five years later he decided to become an author, travelling for several years around Australasia
, India, Ceylon, Mauritius, South America, West Africa, Morocco and Europe.
He used the pen-name Howard Kerr for his first published novel, Leeway (1896). Further publications as A.J. Dawson soon followed: two collections of short stories (Mere Sentiment and In the Bight of Benin) and two novels (God's Foundling and Middle Greyness) in 1897 alone. Dawson's early fiction draws on his own upbringing and travels: John Sutherland
singles out for praise Daniel Whyte (1899), about his younger adventures in Australasia; and The Story of Ronald Kestrel (1900), dealing with his later career as a writer. African Nights Entertainments (1900), another collection of short stories, suggests a debt to Rudyard Kipling
's Plain Tales from the Hills.
By 1898 he was back in England, marrying in that year Elizabeth Drummond. Elizabeth (1874-?1921) was the daughter of the Bradford worsted
manufacturer John Drummond and his wife Mary. No children are known to have been born of this marriage, and the length of its duration is unclear: she is presumably the ‘Mistress of the Kennels’ to whom Finn the Wolfhound (1908) was dedicated, but no later references to her have been traced, unless she was the Elizabeth Dawson, aged 46, who died in Barnsley in 1921. In 1904 the couple had a house in Sussex and Dawson described himself as a novelist and traveller, dividing his time between Sussex and Morocco. Morocco was the setting for several of his novels (Bismillah, 1898; Joseph Khassan, 1901; Hidden Manna, 1902; The Fortunes of Farthings, 1905) while Things seen in Morocco (1904) combines short stories, travel writing and political analysis.
Dawson was also a dog-lover who had become interested in the revival of the Irish Wolfhound
breed and served as Honorary Secretary of the Irish Wolfhound Club. His own dog Tynagh and her son Gareth, who was described as the largest and finest specimen of his breed to date, served as the models for Tara and Finn in Finn the Wolfhound (1908). This is probably Dawson’s best-remembered and certainly his most frequently reprinted work: Finn, a champion Irish Wolfhound, is taken from England to Australia where he undergoes a series of adventures, being exhibited as a wild animal in a circus and escaping to live in the outback before eventually finding his old master and saving his life. Dawson also bred Bloodhounds and a sequel, Jan (1915), features Finn's son by the Bloodhound bitch Desdemona. Jan is taken to Canada where he survives similarly arduous adventures, serving with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
(Mounties) and as a sled dog. After the First World War Dawson would also write Peter of Monkslease (1924), the story of a Bloodhound, and several dog reference books.
, the Standard (forerunner of the Evening Standard
) and the Daily Express
. He was amongst those concerned about Great Britain’s unpreparedness for a potential war with Germany, from 1905 assisting the National Service League
with its attempts to introduce universal military service. Following a trip across Canada in 1907-8 he also became editor of The Standard of Empire, a weekly offshoot of the Standard set up to encourage emigration to, and investment in, the Dominions. Dawson’s desire for closer links within the Empire, and his belief in the potentially reinvigorating influence of the Dominions on the Old Country, inform his novel The Message (1907), one of many examples of anti-German invasion literature
published in the run-up to 1914, and also The Land of His Fathers(1910) with its Canadian millionaire hero. By contrast the anonymously published Record of Nicholas Freydon: an Autobiography (1914) reverts to Dawson’s early experiences in Australia and as a struggling journalist, but is unexpectedly bitter in tone and harsh in its realism
. It attracted considerable contemporary speculation as to its authorship, and comparisons to the work of the late George Gissing
[.
With the outbreak of World War I Dawson turned his energy into the recruitment of volunteers for the front, launching the standard scheme for the London area and publishing a written guide (How to Help Lord Kitchener, 1914) as well as serving as first organising secretary of the Central Committee for National Patriotic Organisations. He then joined up himself as a Temporary Lieutenant in the 11th Battalion Border Regiment
. He was promoted to Captain in 1915 and commanded his Company until invalided out of the trenches in France. By 1916 he was back in service as a General Staff Officer with Military Intelligence, being appointed in June of that year to start up a new subsection within MI7
. MI7 (b) 1 was responsible for the supply of military propaganda to the press. His books A ‘Temporary Gentleman’ in France (1916), Somme Battle Stories (1916), Back to Blighty (1917) and For France (1917) use his experiences in the trenches and as a military propagandist. In 1918 he was promoted to Major, and transferred to set up a propaganda department for the new Royal Air Force
. Dawson received an MBE and a Croix de Guerre in recognition of his war service.
). He was forced to retire in 1921 due to ill health and published comparatively little thereafter. He settled in Sussex, serving with the Home Guard there during World War II and eventually dying at his home in St Leonards-on-Sea
on 3 Feb 1951.
Early life and career
Dawson was born in WandsworthWandsworth
Wandsworth is a district of south London, England, in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It is situated southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.-Toponymy:...
, England, the third son of Edward and Sara Dawson. His father worked as a collector for the local gas company. He left school early to become an apprentice in the Merchant Navy
Merchant Navy
The Merchant Navy is the maritime register of the United Kingdom, and describes the seagoing commercial interests of UK-registered ships and their crews. Merchant Navy vessels fly the Red Ensign and are regulated by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency...
, but jumped ship in Australia after a couple of voyages. For the next few years he was something of a drifter, working for a spell as a farmer and then joining the staff of a Melbourne newspaper. Some five years later he decided to become an author, travelling for several years around Australasia
Australasia
Australasia is a region of Oceania comprising Australia, New Zealand, the island of New Guinea, and neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term was coined by Charles de Brosses in Histoire des navigations aux terres australes...
, India, Ceylon, Mauritius, South America, West Africa, Morocco and Europe.
He used the pen-name Howard Kerr for his first published novel, Leeway (1896). Further publications as A.J. Dawson soon followed: two collections of short stories (Mere Sentiment and In the Bight of Benin) and two novels (God's Foundling and Middle Greyness) in 1897 alone. Dawson's early fiction draws on his own upbringing and travels: John Sutherland
John Sutherland
John Andrew Sutherland is an English academic, emeritus professor, newspaper columnist and author.John Sutherland is now Emeritus Lord Northcliffe Professor of Modern English Literature at University College London. After graduating from the University of Leicester in 1964, he began his academic...
singles out for praise Daniel Whyte (1899), about his younger adventures in Australasia; and The Story of Ronald Kestrel (1900), dealing with his later career as a writer. African Nights Entertainments (1900), another collection of short stories, suggests a debt to Rudyard Kipling
Rudyard Kipling
Joseph Rudyard Kipling was an English poet, short-story writer, and novelist chiefly remembered for his celebration of British imperialism, tales and poems of British soldiers in India, and his tales for children. Kipling received the 1907 Nobel Prize for Literature...
's Plain Tales from the Hills.
By 1898 he was back in England, marrying in that year Elizabeth Drummond. Elizabeth (1874-?1921) was the daughter of the Bradford worsted
Worsted
Worsted , is the name of a yarn, the cloth made from this yarn, and a yarn weight category. The name derives from the village of Worstead in the English county of Norfolk...
manufacturer John Drummond and his wife Mary. No children are known to have been born of this marriage, and the length of its duration is unclear: she is presumably the ‘Mistress of the Kennels’ to whom Finn the Wolfhound (1908) was dedicated, but no later references to her have been traced, unless she was the Elizabeth Dawson, aged 46, who died in Barnsley in 1921. In 1904 the couple had a house in Sussex and Dawson described himself as a novelist and traveller, dividing his time between Sussex and Morocco. Morocco was the setting for several of his novels (Bismillah, 1898; Joseph Khassan, 1901; Hidden Manna, 1902; The Fortunes of Farthings, 1905) while Things seen in Morocco (1904) combines short stories, travel writing and political analysis.
Dawson was also a dog-lover who had become interested in the revival of the Irish Wolfhound
Irish Wolfhound
The Irish wolfhound is a breed of domestic dog , specifically a sighthound. The name originates from its purpose rather than from its appearance...
breed and served as Honorary Secretary of the Irish Wolfhound Club. His own dog Tynagh and her son Gareth, who was described as the largest and finest specimen of his breed to date, served as the models for Tara and Finn in Finn the Wolfhound (1908). This is probably Dawson’s best-remembered and certainly his most frequently reprinted work: Finn, a champion Irish Wolfhound, is taken from England to Australia where he undergoes a series of adventures, being exhibited as a wild animal in a circus and escaping to live in the outback before eventually finding his old master and saving his life. Dawson also bred Bloodhounds and a sequel, Jan (1915), features Finn's son by the Bloodhound bitch Desdemona. Jan is taken to Canada where he survives similarly arduous adventures, serving with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police , literally ‘Royal Gendarmerie of Canada’; colloquially known as The Mounties, and internally as ‘The Force’) is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal,...
(Mounties) and as a sled dog. After the First World War Dawson would also write Peter of Monkslease (1924), the story of a Bloodhound, and several dog reference books.
Dawson and the First World War
To make ends meet Dawson also continued to work as a journalist and reviewer, most notably for the Athenaeum (magazine)Athenaeum (magazine)
The Athenaeum was a literary magazine published in London from 1828 to 1921. It had a reputation for publishing the very best writers of the age....
, the Standard (forerunner of the Evening Standard
Evening Standard
The Evening Standard, now styled the London Evening Standard, is a free local daily newspaper, published Monday–Friday in tabloid format in London. It is the dominant regional evening paper for London and the surrounding area, with coverage of national and international news and City of London...
) and the Daily Express
Daily Express
The Daily Express switched from broadsheet to tabloid in 1977 and was bought by the construction company Trafalgar House in the same year. Its publishing company, Beaverbrook Newspapers, was renamed Express Newspapers...
. He was amongst those concerned about Great Britain’s unpreparedness for a potential war with Germany, from 1905 assisting the National Service League
National Service League
The National Service League was a British pressure group founded in February 1902 to alert the country to the inadequacy of the British Army to fight a major war and to propose the solution of national service....
with its attempts to introduce universal military service. Following a trip across Canada in 1907-8 he also became editor of The Standard of Empire, a weekly offshoot of the Standard set up to encourage emigration to, and investment in, the Dominions. Dawson’s desire for closer links within the Empire, and his belief in the potentially reinvigorating influence of the Dominions on the Old Country, inform his novel The Message (1907), one of many examples of anti-German invasion literature
Invasion literature
Invasion literature was a historical literary genre most notable between 1871 and the First World War . The genre first became recognizable starting in Britain in 1871 with The Battle of Dorking, a fictional account of an invasion of England by Germany...
published in the run-up to 1914, and also The Land of His Fathers(1910) with its Canadian millionaire hero. By contrast the anonymously published Record of Nicholas Freydon: an Autobiography (1914) reverts to Dawson’s early experiences in Australia and as a struggling journalist, but is unexpectedly bitter in tone and harsh in its realism
Realism (arts)
Realism in the visual arts and literature refers to the general attempt to depict subjects "in accordance with secular, empirical rules", as they are considered to exist in third person objective reality, without embellishment or interpretation...
. It attracted considerable contemporary speculation as to its authorship, and comparisons to the work of the late George Gissing
George Gissing
George Robert Gissing was an English novelist who published twenty-three novels between 1880 and 1903. From his early naturalistic works, he developed into one of the most accomplished realists of the late-Victorian era.-Early life:...
[.
With the outbreak of World War I Dawson turned his energy into the recruitment of volunteers for the front, launching the standard scheme for the London area and publishing a written guide (How to Help Lord Kitchener, 1914) as well as serving as first organising secretary of the Central Committee for National Patriotic Organisations. He then joined up himself as a Temporary Lieutenant in the 11th Battalion Border Regiment
Border Regiment
The Border Regiment was an infantry regiment of the line in the British Army, formed in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 34th Regiment of Foot and the 55th Regiment of Foot....
. He was promoted to Captain in 1915 and commanded his Company until invalided out of the trenches in France. By 1916 he was back in service as a General Staff Officer with Military Intelligence, being appointed in June of that year to start up a new subsection within MI7
MI7
MI7, the British Military Intelligence Section 7 , was a department of the British Directorate of Military Intelligence. Part of the War Office, MI7 was set up to work in the fields of propaganda and censorship.-History:...
. MI7 (b) 1 was responsible for the supply of military propaganda to the press. His books A ‘Temporary Gentleman’ in France (1916), Somme Battle Stories (1916), Back to Blighty (1917) and For France (1917) use his experiences in the trenches and as a military propagandist. In 1918 he was promoted to Major, and transferred to set up a propaganda department for the new Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
. Dawson received an MBE and a Croix de Guerre in recognition of his war service.
Later career and death
In 1919 Dawson, who continued to use his title of Major, was appointed Director of Information to the Government of Bombay (the former Bombay PresidencyBombay Presidency
The Bombay Presidency was a province of British India. It was established in the 17th century as a trading post for the English East India Company, but later grew to encompass much of western and central India, as well as parts of post-partition Pakistan and the Arabian Peninsula.At its greatest...
). He was forced to retire in 1921 due to ill health and published comparatively little thereafter. He settled in Sussex, serving with the Home Guard there during World War II and eventually dying at his home in St Leonards-on-Sea
St Leonards-on-Sea
St Leonards-on-Sea is part of Hastings, East Sussex, England, lying immediately to the west of the centre. The original part of the settlement was laid out in the early 19th century as a new town: a place of elegant houses designed for the well-off; it also included a central public garden, a...
on 3 Feb 1951.
Published works
- [as Howard Kerr] Leeway (1896) novel
- God’s Foundling (1897), novel
- Mere Sentiment (1897), short stories
- Middle Greyness (1897) novel
- In the Bight of Benin (1897), short stories
- Bismillah (1898), novel
- Daniel Whyte, An Unfinished Biography, (1899), novel
- The Story of Ronald Kestrel (1900), novel
- African Nights Entertainments (1900), short stories
- Joseph Khassan, Half-Caste (1901), novel
- Hidden Manna (1902), novel
- Things seen in Morocco (1904), travel, political analysis and short stories
- The Fortunes of Farthings (1905), historical novel
- The Genteel A.B., (1907), novel
- The Message (1907), novel
- Finn the Wolfhound (1908), novel
- Across Canada (1908), travel
- The Land of His Fathers (1910), novel
- [published anonymously] The Record of Nicholas Freydon: an autobiography (1914), novel
- How to Help Lord Kitchener (1914), volunteer recruitment advice
- Jan, A Dog and a Romance (1915, USA), novel. A sequel to Finn the Wolfhound, published as Jan, Son of Finn in the UK in 1917
- Somme Battle Stories (1916)
- A ‘Temporary Gentleman’ in France: home letters from an officer in the New Army (1917), ‘edited’ ( or rather, from internal evidence, written) by Dawson
- Back to Blighty: Battle Stories (1917)
- For France: ‘C’est pour la France’, some English Impressions of the French front (1917)
- Everybody’s Dog Book (1922, and later editions), advice and stories
- Britain’s Life-Boats (1923), commemorating the RNLI centenary, with a foreword by Dawson’s friend Joseph ConradJoseph ConradJoseph Conrad was a Polish-born English novelist.Conrad is regarded as one of the great novelists in English, although he did not speak the language fluently until he was in his twenties...
- Peter of Monkslease (1924), the story of a Bloodhound
- His Mortal Tenement (1924), novel
- The Emergence of Marie (1926), novel
- Letters to Young Dog Owners (1927)
- The Case Books of X 37 (1930), short stories
- Things Every Dog Owner Should Know (1932)
Sources
- Bibliophile Dictionary Dawson's entry in The Bibliophile Dictionary (compilers Nathan Haskell Doyle, Forrest Morgan and Caroline Ticknor), 1904 at http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=x0KZEYvVMOgC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_navlinks_s
- Knight - Maxwell Knight's foreword to abridged edition of Finn the Wolfhound, Brockhampton Press, 1962, pp.v-vi http://www.archive.org/details/finnthewolfhound001014mbp
- History of MI7 (b) at http://www.psywar.org/psywar/reproductions/MI7b.pdf
- Morgan - Dawson’s entry in Henry J Morgan, The Canadian Men and Women of the Time, Wm Briggs (Toronto), 1912 at http://www.archive.org/details/canadianmenwomen02morguoft
- Sutherland - Dawson's entry in John Sutherland, The Stanford Companion to Victorian Literature, 1989
- Times Dawson’s obituary in the London Times, 7 February 1951, p. 8
- Who Was Who Dawson’s entry in Who Was Who 1951-60, A & C Black, 1967, pp. 287–8
External links
- http://www.archive.org/search.php?query=mediatype%3A%28texts%29%20-contributor%3Agutenberg%20AND%20%28subject%3A%22Dawson%2C%20Alec%20John%2C%201872-1951%22%20OR%20subject%3A%22Dawson%2C%20A.%20J.%20%28Alec%20John%29%2C%201872-1951%22%20OR%20creator%3A%22Dawson%2C%20Alec%20John%2C%201872-1951%22%20OR%20creator%3A%22Alec%20John%20Dawson%22%20OR%20creator%3A%22Dawson%2C%20A.%20J.%20%28Alec%20John%29%22%20OR%20creator%3A%22Howard%20Kerr%22%20OR%20title%3A%22Alec%20John%20Dawson%22%20OR%20title%3A%22A%20J%20Dawson%22%20OR%20description%3A%22Alec%20John%20Dawson%22%20OR%20description%3A%22A%20J%20Dawson%22%29Works by A. J. Dawson] at Internet ArchiveInternet ArchiveThe Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
(scanned books original editions color illustrated)