Mark Arnold-Forster

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Mark Arnold-Forster
R. B. Haldane

Mark Arnold-Forster,

DSC (16 April 1920 – 25 December 1981) was an English journalist and author. He is best remembered for his book The World at War, which accompanied the 1973 television series of the same name
.

Early years

He was the only son of

William Edward Arnold-Forster
(b. 1886, d. 1951), painter, publicist, and gardener, and his wife
Gordonstoun in Scotland, where he stayed until he left school in 1937. This upbringing made him fluent in French and German. Arnold-Forster won a place to study mechanical engineering at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, but he never took this up. Instead, after a year's apprenticeship during 1938–39 with the Blue Funnel Line, involving a voyage to Manchuria, Arnold-Forster went on to join the Royal Navy
.

Wartime career

Mark Arnold-Forster served throughout the

mentioned in despatches
, and was demobilized as a reserve Lieutenant in 1946.

Journalism career

In 1946, Arnold-Forster joined the editorial staff of

Berlin blockade in 1948. In 1949 he became labour correspondent, a key job he carried out for eight years. He then joined The Observer as a political correspondent, but in 1963 he had a falling out with The Observer over an issue related to an editorial change to one of his articles. He resigned in disgust and returned to The Guardian as chief editorial writer. He later moved to ITN, as deputy to editor Sir Geoffrey Cox, making the switch to television without any difficulty. In the 1970s, he wrote the series The World at War, with narration by Laurence Olivier and Jeremy Isaacs
as the producer. He continued to write regular leaders for The Guardian until his death in 1981.

Personal life

On 12 January 1955, he married Valentine Harriet Isobel Dione Mitchison (1930-2023), also a journalist, daughter of the Labour politician

R. B. Haldane
. They had five children: three sons and two daughters.

Decline and death

M. Arnold-Forster's later life home in Notting Hill was the former home of Emmeline Pankhurst and her daughter, fellow women's suffragist Christabel Pankhurst

Mark Arnold-Forster suffered from persistent ill health in his fifties, in particular a series of minor strokes. In 1979, he developed cancer of the upper

Christmas Day
, 1981. He was cremated at West London crematorium on 5 January 1982.

Books by Arnold-Forster

  • Mark Arnold-Forster, The World at War, Publ: Pimlico, Revised Edition, 2001, (
    ISBN 0712667822
    ).
  • Mark Arnold-Forster, The Siege of Berlin, Publ: Collins, 1979, (
    ISBN 0002167395
    ).
  • Mark Arnold-Forster, The Future of the Labour Party: A Stock-Taking, Publ: Manchester Guardian and Evening News, 1955, ASIN: B0007JWQE2.

Selected publications

References

  1. ^ "Hon Valentine Harriet Isabella Dione Arnold-Forster 1930-2023". Peerage News. Retrieved 4 July 2023.

Bibliography

Rosselli, John (2004). "Forster, Mark Arnold-".

doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/38509. (Subscription or UK public library membership
required.)

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mark_Arnold-Forster&oldid=1215110468"