E. W. Dickes


Ernest Walter Dickes, most commonly known as E. W. Dickes, was an English journalist for the Manchester Guardian, and translator of more than 70 books.

Biography

Dickes was the eldest son of Walter James Dickes and Sarah Anne Dickes. Born in Camberwell, London, he was educated at the City of London School. He became a civil servant in the Admiralty for 20 years, and spent five years as a dockyard secretary in Malta. In 1915, as deputy cashier at Portsmouth Dockyard, he was charged with being in possession of false documents. The following year, as a conscientious objector, he came to the attention of the House of Commons. He spent two years in prison, during which time he learnt Esperanto.
After the war he joined the Manchester Guardian as a journalist, amongst other things serving as an in-house translator from French, German, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Portuguese, Polish, Latin, Greek, Danish, and Russian.
Dickes married twice: his first wife divorced him in 1936, and he married Doris Whittle shortly after. He died in Stockport, Cheshire, aged 81.

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