Albert Henry Ross (1 January 1881 – 14 September 1950), (pseudonym Frank Morison), was an English advertising agent and freelance writer known for writing the Christian apologetics book Who Moved the Stone? and And Pilate Said.
Biography Ross was born on 1 January 1881 in Kings Norton, Worcestershire just slightly south of Birmingham.England & Wales Birth Index 1881, Vol. 6c, 462. District: Kings Norton, County: Worcestershire. His father, John Charles Ross (1838–1914) was a wine merchant who operated different businesses in Birmingham.“Bankruptcy Proceedings,” Birmingham Daily Post, July 12 1890, 10. His mother was Mary Ann Ross (née Marshall) and she was born in Hollingbourne, Kent in 1850.England & Wales Civil Registration Birth Index 1837–1915, 1859 District: Hollingbourne, Kent Vol. 5, p 283 His parents were married in 1878.England & Wales Marriage Index 1837–1915, 1878, District: Thanet, Kent Vol 2A, p 1028. His mother died in Aston, Birmingham in 1912,England & Wales Civil Registration Death Index 1837–1915, 1912, District: Aston, Warwickshire, Vol. 6D, p 301 and his father died in Aston, Birmingham in 1914.England & Wales Civil Registration Death Index 1837–1915, 1914 District: Aston, Warwickshire Vol. 6D, p 504
It is understood that Ross attended the Grammar School of King Edward VI in Stratford-upon-Avon, England. According to the 1901 census he was living with his parents and older brother Percy Charles Ross in Birmingham and his occupation was that of a printer compositor.England and Wales Census, 1901, District: Aston, County: Warwickshire, archive reference RG13. He worked for Lever Brothers until 1910, then joined advertising agents S. H. Benson of Kingsway. He managed the printing department and became a director in 1936. After his retirement in 1947 he became an honorary fellow of the Institute of Incorporated Practitioners in Advertising.
Alongside his professional career as a printer and advertiser, he wrote seven books as well as some articles that were all published under the literary pseudonym of Frank Morison. His publications did not contain any author or publisher's blurb that described his professional credentials or occupation. During the 1930s some book reviewers formed an impression that he must be a lawyer.See Rev. D. Gardner Miller, “Who Moved The Stone?” Otago Daily Times, August 9 1930, 27.“Talks With Young Men,” Australian Christian Commonwealth, April 27, 1934, 10; “The Triumph of Easter,” Queensland Times, April 16, 1938, 11.“The Glorious Message of Easter: He Is Alive,” Derby Evening Telegraph, Saturday, April 16 1949, 3. This impression emerged after the publication of his book Who Moved the Stone? The claim that he was a lawyer was investigated by Ross Clifford, the Australian theologian and former barrister, and he established that Morison/Ross was never licensed in England to be either a solicitor or a barrister.Ross Clifford, Leading Lawyers’ Case for the Resurrection (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada: Canadian Institute for Law, Theology and Public Policy, 1996), 120-123.
In 1916 he enlisted in the Royal Flying Corps serving as an instructor in aerial bombing as well as working in the general administration of the Air Ministry's Directorate of Intelligence (also known as MI7).Hew Strachan, “Strategic Bombing and the Question of Civilian Casualties up to 1945,” in Firestorm: The Bombing of Dresden 1945, Ed. Paul Addison & Jeremy A. Craig (London: Pimlico, 2006), 13-14. . The UK National Archives holds a brief military service record of A. H. Ross catalogue reference: AIR/76/436. For additional background on MI7b see "History of MI7(b) (March, 1916-December 1918") the Public Record Office, 1920 Ref no. INF 4/1B He was appointed to a temporary commission as a second lieutenant in June 1918.The London Gazette, Issue 30747, June 14, 1918, p 7072. After the War he returned to work at Benson's advertising agency. Apart from his work as an advertiser and author, he was a keen colour cinematographer and amateur astronomer. He married Annie Elizabeth Mills in 1915 in Birmingham.England & Wales Marriage Index, 1915, Vol. 6d, 792, District: Birmingham, County: Warwickshire. In 1917 their only daughter, Margaret Lilian Ross, was born in Birmingham.England & Wales Birth Index, 1917, Vol. 6d, 925, District: Aston, County: Warwickshire. According to the obituary in The Times he died on 14 September 1950 at his home in Headley Down, Hampshire. He was buried in the church grounds of St. Luke Anglican Church, Grayshott, East Hampshire on 18 September 1950.See entry No. 776 "Albert Henry Ross" in Surrey, England, Church of England Burials, 1813–1987, Grayshott, St Luke(1950), p 97, available to subscribers
Writing Ross's first book, which was published in 1908 and re-released in 1911, was a character study of the preacher J. H. Jowett (1863–1923) who spent several years in pulpit ministry at the Congregational Church in Carrs Lane, Birmingham.Frank Morison, J. H. Jowett, M.A. of Birmingham: A Critical Appreciation (Birmingham: Allday, 1908). Re-released as J. H. Jowett M.A., D.D.: A Character Study (London: James Clarke, 1911). He self-published two other works in 1919 and 1927.Frank Morison, A Method of Study for Preachers (London: Study Bureau, 1919), and The Psychology of Public Speaking: introductory manual to the Study Bureau course in public speaking (West Croydon: The Study Bureau, 1927).
He is best known today for writing the book Who Moved the Stone? It was first published in 1930 in England by Faber & Faber and has been repeatedly reprinted (in 1944, 1955, 1958, 1962, 1977, 1981, 1983, 1987, 1996 and 2006) as well as translated into several languages.Other language versions include: Nani aliyelivingirisha jiwe? (Dodoma, Tanganyika [now Tanzania]: Central Tanganyika Press, 1930);Den Tomme Grav (Copenhagen: Hasselbach, 1931); Le Tombeau Vide (Paris: Editions Contemporaines, 1932); Wer Wältze den Stein? (Hamburg: Christian Wagner Verlag, 1949); Het Lege Graf (Haarlam, Netherlands: N. V. Drukkerij de Spaarnestad, 1953); La Résurrection: mythe ou réalitié? (Lausanne: Ligue pour la lecture de la Bible, 1974); Quién Movió la Piedra (Miami, Florida: Editorial Caribe, 1977). Chi ha rimosso la pietra? (Rome: Edizioni Citta Nuova, 1998). The book analyses biblical texts about the events related to the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. Ross was sceptical regarding the resurrection of Jesus, and set out to analyse the sources and to write a short paper entitled Jesus – the Last Phase to demonstrate the apparent myth. However, in compiling his notes, he came to be convinced of the truth of the resurrection, and set out his reasoning in the book. T. S. Eliot, a literary consultant and an editorial board member at Faber & Faber publishers, read the manuscript when it was submitted for publication. Eliot was enthusiastic about the text and recommended that Faber & Faber publish the book.Eliot’s report, dated 18 December 1929, in The Letters of T. S. Eliot: Volume 5: 1930–1931, Ed. Valerie Eliot and John Haffenden (London: Faber, 2014/New Haven: Yale University Press, 2015), 38. The book was released in time for Lent in 1930 and Eliot passed complimentary copies for review to authors such as G. K. Chesterton.Letter to G. K. Chesterton, dated February 19, 1930, Letters of T. S. Eliot, Volume 5 1930–31, 107. In Chesterton's review, he remarked that he picked the book up "under the impression that it was a detective story" and found that the case for the resurrection was "treated in such a logical and even legal manner."G. K. Chesterton, “Our Note Book,” The Illustrated London News, April 5 1930, 554.
Many people have become Christian after reading the book, and writers including John Warwick Montgomery and Josh McDowell, have used his book in their own discussions on the resurrection.See John Warwick Montgomery, Human Rights and Human Dignity (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1986), 151 ; Josh McDowell, The Resurrection Factor (San Bernardino: Here's Life, 1981) p 12. Dorothy L. Sayers stated that she relied on Morison's discussion of the trial of Jesus while writing her play The Man Born To Be King.Dorothy L. Sayers, The Man Born To Be King: A Play-Cycle on the Life of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1990 ), 29. (Sayers had been Ross's colleague while she worked as an advertising copywriter at S. H. Benson in London from 1922 to 1931.)On Sayer's career at S. H. Benson see Alzine Stone Dale, Maker and Craftsman: The Story of Dorothy L. Sayers (Lincoln, New England: iUniverse, 2003) and Barbara Reynolds, Dorothy L. Sayers: Her Life and Soul (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1993).
After the release of Who Moved the Stone, the editor of the London newspaper The Sphere invited Ross to contribute articles to a religious column that were published from 1930 to 1934.Frank Morison, “I Was Crucified,” The Sphere, October 25, 1930, 162. “The Lord Gave the Land to the People?” The Sphere, June 27, 1931, 586. “The Pope’s Decree: The Date of the Crucifixion,” The Sphere, January 21, 1933, 76. “The Origin of Twelfth Night,” The Sphere, January 13, 1934, 64.
His next book was a science-fiction novel Sunset.Sunset (London: Faber & Faber, 1932; New York: The Century Co, 1932). The novel featured the radio astronomy experiments of an English physicist John Byford who sent wireless messages into outer space using a photo electric cell gadget. He eventually received a reply from Nerina who was living on a planet three light years from earth. Life on that planet was sterile and dying from cosmic wave radiation. Byford is murdered by criminals who seem to originate from both Germanic and Slavic parts of Europe. A fake message which is attributed to Byford appears in a Russian newspaper and is then syndicated throughout the English-speaking world. The message is based on his contact with Nerina and includes the fruits of eight years research in astronomy and mathematics. The message claims that within two months all life on earth will perish from the same cosmic wave radiation that has ruined Nerina's planet. The novel depicts different reactions to "the Sunset Scare" such as a London advertising agency, major newspapers, and the Stock Exchange reacting to financial panic. There are acts of mob violence as food prices soar. Some wealthy financiers seem to be making lots of money from the panic. In London a large crowd listens to a sermon delivered by the Dean of St. Paul's Cathedral based on the Book of Job and the church service climaxes with an organ rendition of part of Handel's Messiah. The plot includes the investigations of the Archbishop of Canterbury who analyses the message attributed to Byford and concludes that it is a fake. The last portion of the novel includes notes about Byford's experiments and his reflections on the meaning of life that centre on questions about the universe having a purpose, animal cruelty, and passages that he has meditated upon from the Oxyrhynchus Papyri. The Papyri were discovered in Egypt in 1903 and contain statements attributed to Jesus that are not recorded in the Bible.See Ralph Straus book review in The Sunday Times, March 6, 1932, 9.