McClure, James

The journalist and author James "Jim" McClure’s Scottish parents left for South Africa in 1930, and he was subsequently born in Johannesburg. The family soon moved to Pretoria and then to Pietermaritzburg in Natal. McClure was educated at Scottsville School in 1947–51, Cowan House in 1952–54 and Maritzburg College in 1955–58, all in Pietermaritzburg. He worked as a photographer between 1958 and 1959 – sometimes in collaboration with Tom Sharpe who also went on to become an author – and later as an English teacher. He married Lorelee "Lorly" Ellis in 1962. The couple had three children together. In 1963, he embarked on a career in journalism.