George Blake (writer)

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George Blake (born October 28, 1893 in Greenock , Scotland , † August 29, 1961 in Glasgow , Scotland) was a Scottish writer and editor .

Education, participation in the war and work as a journalist

Blake attended Greenock Academy where he was born. He then took up a law degree at Glasgow University , which he interrupted due to his participation in the First World War. In 1917 he was wounded while serving in Gallipoli and was finally released from the same. Upon his return, Blake turned to journalism and began writing in 1918 under editor Neil Munro for the Glasgow Evening News , where he later took over the post of features editor .

Blake went to London in 1924 , where he was initially editor of the weekly newspaper John O'Londons's Weekly . In 1928 he moved on to Strand Magazine . Between 1930 and 1932 Blake worked for the publishing house Faber & Faber , where he was mainly responsible for Scottish literature , but then returned to Scotland and the Glasgow Evening News . During the Second World War Blake worked briefly for the British Ministry of Information .

In order to devote himself more intensively to his work as an author, Blake withdrew from journalistic work in 1935 and settled in Helensburgh , without completely losing sight of journalism. In 1939 he became editor of the Glasgow Evening Citizen . Blake also wrote for the Scottish Daily Express and the Glasgow Herald until his death in 1961 .

Work as a writer

Blake published his first novel in 1922 under the title The Vagabond Papers . The subjects favored in his novels are above all industrial development and the social middle class of Scotland, whereby his stories are mainly based on his own impressions of his hometown Greenock, its shipyards and its social conditions. His most famous novel, The Shipbuilders , published in 1935, deals with the gradually declining shipbuilding industry and the resulting unemployment in Glasgow. The Shipbuilders , as well as his novel Flood Tide , were later filmed.

In addition to fictional stories, Blake also wrote non-fiction books in later years. In The Ben Line , Lloyds Register of Shipping , and The Gourock, for example, he dealt with the history of various companies in the shipbuilding industry.

Other activities

In addition to his work as a writer and editor, Blake worked for many years as a radio announcer, including the coronation of King George VI. and commented on the launch of the RMS Queen Mary .

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personal data
SURNAME Blake, George
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Scottish writer and editor
DATE OF BIRTH October 28, 1893
PLACE OF BIRTH Greenock
DATE OF DEATH August 29, 1961
Place of death Glasgow