Freeman Wills Crofts (1879-1957) was born in Dublin, Ireland. He attended Methodist College and Campbell College in Belfast. At the age of 18, he was employed as a pupil on the civil engineering staff of the Belfast Counties Railway. He held various positions in railway engineering, becoming Chief Assistant Engineer at the Railway, then known as the L.M.S. Northern Counties Committee. While there, Crofts wrote his first novel, The Cask (1920), which established him as a new master of detective fiction. Thereafter he wrote several fine mysteries about his favorite detective, Inspector French, including Inspector French's Greatest Case (1924). He also wrote one religious book, The Four Gospels in One Story, several short stories, and short plays for the BBC. 1879 (MDCCCLXXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: 53. ... Methodist College is a private college that is supported by the North Carolina Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church and is located in Fayetteville, North Carolina. ... RUBBISH SCHOOL ... WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: 54. ... 1920 (MCMXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar) // Events January January 7 - Forces of Russian White admiral Kolchak surrender in Krasnoyarsk. ... 1924 (MCMXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is the largest publicly-funded radio and television broadcasting corporation of the United Kingdom (see British television) and the world. ...

In 1912 he wed Mary Canning, the daughter of J.J. Canning of Coleraine, Northern Ireland. In 1939 he was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. After a full and successful writing career, he died in 1957. 1912 (MCMXII) was a leap year starting on Monday in the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday in the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Arms of Coleraine Coleraine (Cúil Raithin in Irish) is a large town in County Derry, Northern Ireland at the mouth of the river Bann and has the advantage of being near some of the most extraordinary landscape in the whole of Europe. ... Dieu et mon droit (motto) (French for God and my right)2 Northern Irelands location within the UK Main language English Other recognised languages Irish, Ulster Scots Capital and largest city Belfast First Minister Office suspended Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Peter Hain MP Area  - Total Ranked 4th... 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) is a British multi-disciplinary institution, based in London. ... 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Select novels

• The Cask (1920)
• The Ponson Case (1921)
• The Pit Prop Syndicate (1922)
• Inspector French's Greatest Case (1924)
• The Sea Mystery (1928)
• The 12.30 from Croydon (1934) (U.S. title: Wilful and Premeditated)
• Man Overboard! (1936)
• Enemy Unseen (1945)
• John Woo's Maddog (1945)
• Death of a Train (1946)

The 12. ... A detective novel by Freeman Wills Crofts, set largely in Northern Ireland and based on an implausible, and ultimately non-existent, reversible chemical process to make petrol inert and thus safe. ... A detective novel by Freeman Wills Crofts, set during World War II. A network of German sympathisers plans to derail a train carrying vital war supplies. ...

External links

• A complete bibliography
• Works by Freeman Wills Crofts at Project Gutenberg
• complete text of The Pit Prop Syndicate from Project Gutenberg
• Discussions on some of his works