Alexander Frater facts for kids

Alexander Russell Frater (born January 3, 1937 – died January 1, 2020) was a British writer and journalist. He was famous for his travel books and for making documentaries for the BBC and ABC. Many people thought he was a very funny writer.

Early Life and Adventures

Alexander Frater was born in a small hospital in Port Vila, Vanuatu. This happened during a big rainstorm! His family had a long history of helping people in Vanuatu.

• His grandfather and father were Scottish missionaries. They helped communities and shared their beliefs.
• His father, Alec, became a doctor. He built a hospital and taught local staff how to treat tropical diseases.
• His mother started and ran two schools in Vanuatu.

Young Alexander's father also taught him how to watch and understand the weather. The family even had a gardener named Moses. Moses believed that Alexander was a special "rain God"!

When World War II began, the family moved to Australia for safety. Later, in 1946, they moved to Suva, Fiji. There, his father became a professor at a medical school.

School and University Days

After primary school, Alexander went to Scotch College in Australia. He was the head boy there. He even managed to get rid of strict physical punishments at the school!

He started studying law at the University of Melbourne. But he left before finishing. Then he moved to England and studied English at Durham University. He was also part of the university's boat club and swimming club.

Alexander later tried studying Italian at Perugia University. He never actually graduated from any of these universities! He was quite proud of this "unusual feat." While in Italy, he met his wife, Marlis Pfund, who worked as a flight attendant.

Becoming a Journalist

Alexander became a journalist by chance. He had sent some articles to a famous magazine called Punch. To his surprise, they offered him a job! This made him leave university again.

Career as a Writer

Alexander Frater had a very interesting career. He wrote for several well-known publications.

Working at Punch Magazine

At Punch magazine, Alexander became friends with another writer, Alan Coren. They had a friendly competition with their writing. However, Punch was becoming less popular. Alexander thought this was because new, funnier types of comedy were appearing. Also, the British Empire was changing, and Punch had been very popular in those faraway places.

Writing for The New Yorker

After Punch, Alexander became a writer for The New Yorker magazine. He wrote many stories about a beautiful, made-up island in the Pacific called Tofua. Later, he found out that a real island named Tofua actually existed in Tonga! This discovery inspired him to write a book called Tales from the Torrid Zone.

He also worked for The Daily Telegraph newspaper for a year. His editor there insisted he use his first name, Alexander, for his articles. His family and old friends used to call him "Russ."

Travel Editor at The Observer

In 1967, Alexander joined The Observer newspaper. He stayed there for over twenty years! He became the travel editor and won many awards for his writing. He was even named "Travel Writer of the Year" multiple times.

Famous Travel Books

Alexander took a break from journalism to write his first big travel book.

• Beyond the Blue Horizon (1984): In this book, he tried to re-create an old journey. He followed the route of the world's longest and most exciting scheduled air trip, made by Imperial Airways.
• Chasing the Monsoon (1990): This book is about his journey following the monsoon rains across India. His father had told him many stories about India's monsoon season, which made him curious. This book became very popular, especially in India.

Alexander also visited North Korea in the 1990s. He pretended to be a teacher because journalists were not allowed in. He stayed in a huge hotel with only a few other guests.

His last book, The Balloon Factory (2008), was about the first people to build flying machines in Britain.

Television Documentaries

Alexander Frater also made several television documentaries.

• The Last African Flying Boat (1990): This BBC and ABC documentary showed him recreating old flying boat journeys in Africa. It was filmed in tough conditions!
• Monsoon (1991): A BBC documentary about India's monsoon rains.
• In the Footsteps of Buddha (1993): Another BBC documentary.

Personal Life

Alexander Frater had two children: Tania, who works at a university, and John, who is a medical professor. He lived near Heathrow Airport in London. Unlike many people, he didn't mind the planes flying overhead. He was actually quite interested in them!

In an interview, Alexander said his worst travel experience was being arrested in Kupang, West Timor. He spent three days in a prison cell next to a pit with two Komodo dragons! After that, he was kept under house arrest and then sent off the island.

Death

Alexander Frater passed away on January 1, 2020. He was almost 83 years old.

Books

• Frater, A.R. 2008. The Balloon Factory: The Story of the Men Who Built Britain's First Flying Machines. Picador.
• Frater, A.R. 2004. Tales from the Torrid Zone. Vintage Books/Picador.
• Frater, A.R. 1990. Chasing the Monsoon: a Modern Pilgrimage Through India. Picador.
• Frater, A.R. 1986. Beyond the Blue Horizon: On the track of Imperial Airways. Heinemann.
• Frater, A.R. (ed.) 1984. Great Rivers of the World. Hodder & Stoughton.
• Frater, A.R. 1983 Stopping-Train Britain. Hodder & Stoughton.

Awards

• BAFTA Award for Best Single Documentary (for The Last African Flying Boat)
• British Press Travel Award commendations – 1982 and 1989
• British Press Award Travel Writer of the Year – 1990, 1991 and 1992
• Best Radio Feature Travelex Travel Writers' Awards – 2000
• Overall winner Travelex Travel Writers' Awards – 2000
• Shortlisted Thomas Cook Travel Book of the Year Award, for Monsoon (Br Book Award, McVitie's Prize)

See also

• List of Hatfield College alumni
• List of Durham University people