Lawrence Earl

Lawrence Earl (April 29, 1915 – April 5, 2005), born Lawrence Earl Weizel, was a Canadian photojournalist and author of several books.[1] He is best known for Yangtse Incident, which was adapted into the 1957 film Yangtse Incident: The Story of H.M.S. Amethyst, and The Battle of Baltinglass, which won the 1953 Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour.[2]

Born and raised in Saint John, New Brunswick,[1] Earl worked as a journalist for the Montreal Standard, including a stint as a war correspondent and photojournalist in Europe during World War II.[1] While working for the Standard, he met and married Jane Armstrong, who was herself one of Canada's first female war correspondents.[1] In 1948, he published a photo essay, "Mending Dikes in the Netherlands", in National Geographic,[1] and his photo of Queen Juliana was the model for a painting used on the cover of TIME.[1] He wrote many articles for the British magazine Illustrated;[1] and was a writer and editor for John Bull. He and Jane resided in London, England for 50 years, but often returned to Grand Bay–Westfield near Saint John in the summers.[1]

While living in London, Earl published both novels and non-fiction books, including Yangtse Incident (1950), The Battle of Baltinglass (1952), Crocodile Fever (1954), The Frozen Jungle (1955), She Loved a Wicked City (1962), The Riddle of a Haunted River (1962) and Risk (1969).

Following his wife Jane's death, Earl created the Jane Armstrong Earl Fund through the Greater Saint John Community Foundation.[1] He received an honorary doctorate from the University of New Brunswick in 2001.[1]

He died on April 5, 2005 in Saint John.[1]