Portal:University of Oxford/Selected biography/60

William Beach Thomas (1868–1957) was a British author and journalist known for his work as a war correspondent and his writings about nature and country life. The son of a rural clergyman, he won an exhibition to Christ Church, Oxford, became president of the Oxford University Athletics Club. Finding work as a schoolmaster unpleasant, he turned his attention to writing articles for newspapers and periodicals, and began to write books. During the early part of the First World War Beach Thomas defied military authorities to report news stories from the Western Front. As a result he was briefly imprisoned before being granted official accreditation as a war correspondent. His reportage for the remainder of the war received national recognition, despite being criticised by some and parodied by soldiers. Beach Thomas's primary interest as an adult was in rural matters. He was conservative in his views, and feared that the post–Second World War socialist governments regarded the countryside only from an economic perspective. He was an advocate for the creation of national parks in England and Wales, and mourned the decline of traditional village society.