GORDON SINCLAIR
Name: Allan Gordon Sinclair
Born: 3 June 1900
Died: 17 May 1984
Allan Gordon Sinclair (June 3, 1900 - May 17, 1984) was a Canadian
journalist, writer and commentator.
Born in Toronto, Ontario. In 1916, before finishing his first year of high
school, Sinclair dropped out to take a job with the Bank of Nova Scotia. After a
few months, he was fired and started working in the administrative office of
Eaton's. During World War I, Sinclair served as a part-time soldier in a militia
unit of the 48th Highlanders of Canada. After being fired from Eaton's,
Sinclair took a junior bookkeeping job with Gutta Percha and Rubber
Manufacturing Company, starting in April 1920. It was there that he met co-worker
Gladys Prewett. After an off-and-on relationship, the two were married on May 8,
1926.
Early in 1922, Sinclair applied for a reporting job at all four Toronto
newspapers. The only offer he received was from the Toronto Star, where
Sinclair started working in February 1922, hired on the same day as Foster
Hewitt, who was the son of the Star's sports editor.
Sinclair was given routine assignments at the Star for seven years before he
received his first byline. His breakthrough was a series of articles written
after living among a group of homeless people, which Sinclair called "Toronto's
hobo club" From that point, Sinclair rose to become one of the paper's star
reporters, spending most of the next decade travelling the world, filing reports
from exotic locations. During an Asian tour in 1932, Sinclair spent four months
in India and, after returing home, wrote his first book, Foot-loose In India. It
was published in October 1932 and became a best-seller in Canada, with the first
edition selling out on the first day of release.
Before the end of the year, Sinclair announced that his next trip would be to
Southeast Asia. A public farewell was held on January 13, 1933 filling Massey
Hall, with the Star estimating that an additional 6,500 people were turned away.
His experiences on that trip were collected in Sinclair's second book, Cannibal
Quest, which was a best-seller in Canada and also reached #9 on the U.S. best-seller
list. That was followed by a series from Devil's Island, which was also
turned into a book, Loose Among the Devils, published in 1935.
Later that year, Sinclair was fired by the Star after failing to get the story
on the outbreak of the Second Italo-Abyssinian War in Ethiopia. The Star
reported that Sinclair was leaving journalism to take a job in advertising.
The Star wrote that Sinclair had travelled 340,000 miles in 73 countries for the
newspaper. At the time, he was working on his fourth book, Khyber Caravan, based
on his travels in Afghanistan.
Doubts were frequently raised by readers that Sinclair had actually experienced
the incidents he reported. His Khyber series was so widely questioned that
the Star assigned another reporter to investigate Sinclair's claims.
Sinclair's time away from journalism was short-lived. Three months after joining
the staff of Maclaren Advertising, Sinclair returned to the Star, this time as a
sports columnist. Sinclair was hired shortly after the sudden death of Star
sports editor Lou Marsh, who had been one of Canada's best-known sports
journalists. According to sportswriter Scott Young, Sinclair's transition to
sports was "monumentally unsuccessful."
After a year in sports, Sinclair returned to general reporting and late in 1938
he again went on an Asian tour. He remained at home during the Second World War
and was not accredited as a war correspondent.
Name: Allan Gordon Sinclair
Born: 3 June 1900
Died: 17 May 1984
Allan Gordon Sinclair (June 3, 1900 - May 17, 1984) was a Canadian
journalist, writer and commentator.
Born in Toronto, Ontario. In 1916, before finishing his first year of high
school, Sinclair dropped out to take a job with the Bank of Nova Scotia. After a
few months, he was fired and started working in the administrative office of
Eaton's. During World War I, Sinclair served as a part-time soldier in a militia
unit of the 48th Highlanders of Canada. After being fired from Eaton's,
Sinclair took a junior bookkeeping job with Gutta Percha and Rubber
Manufacturing Company, starting in April 1920. It was there that he met co-worker
Gladys Prewett. After an off-and-on relationship, the two were married on May 8,
1926.
Early in 1922, Sinclair applied for a reporting job at all four Toronto
newspapers. The only offer he received was from the Toronto Star, where
Sinclair started working in February 1922, hired on the same day as Foster
Hewitt, who was the son of the Star's sports editor.
Sinclair was given routine assignments at the Star for seven years before he
received his first byline. His breakthrough was a series of articles written
after living among a group of homeless people, which Sinclair called "Toronto's
hobo club" From that point, Sinclair rose to become one of the paper's star
reporters, spending most of the next decade travelling the world, filing reports
from exotic locations. During an Asian tour in 1932, Sinclair spent four months
in India and, after returing home, wrote his first book, Foot-loose In India. It
was published in October 1932 and became a best-seller in Canada, with the first
edition selling out on the first day of release.
Before the end of the year, Sinclair announced that his next trip would be to
Southeast Asia. A public farewell was held on January 13, 1933 filling Massey
Hall, with the Star estimating that an additional 6,500 people were turned away.
His experiences on that trip were collected in Sinclair's second book, Cannibal
Quest, which was a best-seller in Canada and also reached #9 on the U.S. best-seller
list. That was followed by a series from Devil's Island, which was also
turned into a book, Loose Among the Devils, published in 1935.
Later that year, Sinclair was fired by the Star after failing to get the story
on the outbreak of the Second Italo-Abyssinian War in Ethiopia. The Star
reported that Sinclair was leaving journalism to take a job in advertising.
The Star wrote that Sinclair had travelled 340,000 miles in 73 countries for the
newspaper. At the time, he was working on his fourth book, Khyber Caravan, based
on his travels in Afghanistan.
Doubts were frequently raised by readers that Sinclair had actually experienced
the incidents he reported. His Khyber series was so widely questioned that
the Star assigned another reporter to investigate Sinclair's claims.
Sinclair's time away from journalism was short-lived. Three months after joining
the staff of Maclaren Advertising, Sinclair returned to the Star, this time as a
sports columnist. Sinclair was hired shortly after the sudden death of Star
sports editor Lou Marsh, who had been one of Canada's best-known sports
journalists. According to sportswriter Scott Young, Sinclair's transition to
sports was "monumentally unsuccessful."
After a year in sports, Sinclair returned to general reporting and late in 1938
he again went on an Asian tour. He remained at home during the Second World War
and was not accredited as a war correspondent.