John Laurence Russell Meredith (August 14, 1907 – November 1990) was a Canadian newspaper journalist,
World War II RAF pilot, First Nations language translator, and historian.
Personal
John Laurence Russell Meredith was born August 14, 1907, in
Vancouver,
British Columbia to Francis Russell Meredith and Mishea Beryl (Johnson) Meredith, who had immigrated from
Perth,
Australia, the year before.[1][2] He was primarily known as Laurence Meredith, however he was also known as "Laurie," "Larry," and "Lawrence" throughout his life.[1][3][4][5] He was a member of the Boys Choir at
St. Paul's Anglican Church (Vancouver).[6] His childhood education was received at Lord Roberts School in Vancouver, BC.[7] At age 14, he won the governor-general's prize for highest standing as a student as he prepared to enter High School.[8][9] After graduating from
The University of British Columbia in 1930 and serving as a Principal at a British Columbia school, he moved to
London,
England in October 1934 to work for
United Press International.[10][11][12] He never married and his mother lived with him until she was invited to live in a
Grace and Favour cottage by the Queen.[1] He died in November 1990 at
Kensington and Chelsea,
London,
England.[13][2]
Time at university
Laurence attended
The University of British Columbia from 1925 to 1929, except for a year long break in which he visited
Australia.[14] He graduated with 2nd class honors in English and Latin.[1] The following year he returned to UBC and received a teaching certificate.[15][16] While at UBC he was the literary editor of the "Ubyssey" from 1928 to 1930, elected president of the Letters Club in 1928,[17] winner of the University Prize, English honour student, member of the Players' Club, and member of the Publications Board.[14][18][19]
War Record
Laurence joined the
Royal Air Force during
World War II and had a storied five-year career.[4][20] Early on, he was appointed to the Intelligence Branch of the RAF.[21] On October 10, 1941, he was raised to Acting Pilot Officer on probation (emergency).[22] On December 10, 1941, he was raised to Pilot Officer.[23] This career nearly ended early in 1942 when he fell 1000 feet without a parachute and broke almost every bone in his body.[4][24] On October 1, 1942, he was demoted to Flight Officer on probation.[25] He made it back into service and was appointed to
Louis Mountbatten's staff in 1944.[26][4] On September 27, 1944, he was promoted to Flight Lieutenant.[27] In 1946, he created an official record of
RAF India.[28] 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.[29]
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. He also developed an English translation list of the Kwakwaka'wakw's language.[1] After graduating from UBC, he become a teacher at Courtenay High School in Courteney, BC. He taught at Courtenay from 1930 to 1934.[30][31] For some of his time there, he was also principal.[4]
United Press
In 1934, Laurence moved to
London where he joined
United Press International.[10][32][12] Apparently, he was sent to the Fiji Islands at the start of his career.[20] His career at UPI was interrupted by
World War II when he joined the
Royal Air Force. 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, to make way for the new home of Britain's
Foreign Office.[33] In 1970, Laurence was appointed UPI's manager in
Lisbon,
Portugal.[34] His last article to appear in American or Canadian newspapers was an article on the interrupted recovery of the
US dollar in August 1973. The article was published in the United States six days after Meredith's 66th birthday.[35] He was later quoted in an article published on the death of UPI reporter Harold Guard in 1986.[36]
Controversies
Lawrence Meredith, provoked a backlash by promoting tourism to
Azerbaijan, amid accusations of an ongoing genocide[37] carried out by Azerbaijan through its
blockade of the Armenian population in Artsakh. A former advisor at the European Parliament, described it as “an overpaid EU official promoting a despicable dictatorship, which is starving the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh in defiance of the ICJ, the UN, the Council of Europe, and the EU itself.”, while others pointed out the overall hypocrisy of showcasing support for Ukraine, while ignoring aggression carried out by another dictatorship.[38]
Additional resources
Laurence Meredith's records and ephemera are located in the University Archives of The University of British Columbia.[1]
^
ab(:Null) (July 1935). Harvey, Isobel (ed.).
"Personals". Graduate Chronicle (3). Vancouver, BC: Alumni Association of the University of British Columbia: 31.
doi:
10.14288/1.0224311. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
^"Letters Club". The Ubyssey. Vol. X, no. 38. Vancouver, BC. 23 March 1928. p. 2. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
^"Players' Club Select Many New Members". The Ubyssey. Vol. X, no. 6. Student Publications Board of the University of British Columbia. 18 October 1927. p. 1. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
^"The Ubyssey". Vol. X, no. 20. Student Publications Board of the University of British Columbia. 20 January 1928. p. 2. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
^
ab"Spotlight Writers". Chicago Tribune. 13 May 1962. p. 45 (Part 2, page 1). Retrieved 14 July 2020.
^Tobin, Brian A. (December 1941).
"Letter to the Editor". The Graduate Chronicle. III (3). Vancouver, BC: Alumni Association of the University of British Columbia: 5, 12.
doi:
10.14288/1.0224319. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
^(:Null) (October 1946).
"Branches". The Graduate Chronicle. 8 (3). Vancouver, BC: Alumni Association of the University of British Columbia: 35.
doi:
10.14288/1.0224147. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
^(:Null) (May 1937). Crawford, Helen (ed.).
"UBC in London". Graduate Chronicle (5). Vancouver, BC: Alumni Association of The University of British Columbia: 9–10.
doi:
10.14288/1.0224342. Retrieved 14 July 2020.