Godfrey Lias OBE was a British author, primarily of historical works, as well as a journalist, teacher and military man.

Career

During the first World War, Godfrey Lias was Captain and Adjutant, 11th Battalion Duke of Wellington's Regiment

Duke of Wellington's Regiment

The Duke of Wellington's Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Army, forming part of the King's Division.In 1702 Colonel George Hastings, 8th Earl of Huntingdon, was authorised to raise a new regiment, which he did in and around the city of Gloucester. As was the custom in those days...

 and Instructor at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. At the outbreak of the second World War, he joined the Foreign Office News Department. Later, he was British representative on the Inter-Allied Information Committee, the official publicity organ of the Ministries of Information of the Allied Governments in London. In 1944, he joined the Political Intelligence Department of the Foreign Office as Director of the Czechoslovak Region.

At one time, Godfrey Lias was an Assistant Master at Victoria College

Victoria College

Victoria College is or was the name of several institutions of secondary or higher education, including:* [Victoria College, Chulipuram], Sri Lanka* Victoria College, Alexandria, Egypt* Victoria College in Victoria, Texas...

, Alexandria

Alexandria

Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...

, Egypt

Egypt

Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

, and then Head-master at the Muhammadan Anglo Oriental College (now Aligarh Muslim University

Aligarh Muslim University

Aligarh Muslim University ,is a residential academic university, established in 1875 by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan as Mohammedan Angelo-Oriental College and later granted the status of Central University by an Act of the Indian Parliament in 1920...

) in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...

, India.

He took the History Tripos at King's College, Cambridge

King's College, Cambridge

King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college's full name is "The King's College of our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge", but it is usually referred to simply as "King's" within the University....

, and in the period between WWI and WWII (ie: circa 1918-1939) was diplomatic correspondent of the Christian Science Monitor, for which time he was awarded an OBE for political and public services.

He was Correspondent of The Times

The Times

The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...

, The Economist

The Economist

The Economist is an English-language weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in offices in the City of Westminster, London, England. Continuous publication began under founder James Wilson in September 1843...

and Christian Science Monitor in Prague

Prague

Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...

, from August 1945 until he was expelled by the communists in July 1949, then in Vienna

Vienna

Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

 until June 1953, when he returned to England.

Personal life

During Lias's time at the Foreign Office, his daughter Angela married archeologist Ronald F. Tylecote

Ronald F. Tylecote

Ronald Frank Tylecote was a British archaeologist and metallurgist, generally recognised as the founder of the sub-discipline of archaeometallurgy.-Education and profession:...

.

Published works

• Beneš of Czechoslovakia, G. Allen & Unwin, 1940
• I Survived, Evans Bros., 1954
• Glubb's Legion, Evans Bros., 1956
• Kazak Exodus, Evans Bros., 1956 (Translated into Turkish as: Büyük Kazak Göçü)
• Olaf, MacGibbon & Kee, 1958
• Doctor in revolt, by Dr. Geza as told to Godfrey Lias, London, F. Muller 1958
• Adventurer extraordinary; the Tiger Sarll story. With a foreword by Eamonn Andrews, London, Cassell, 1961
• With Garibaldi in Italy, F. Muller, 1963
• Kazak Exodus, Evans Bros., 1956. Author information on jacket cover.