Brigadier General Richard Sankey Malone, OBE, ED was born 18 September 1909 in Owen Sound, Ontario, son of Willard Park Malone and Mildred Villiers Sankey.  His grandfather was Queen’s Own Rifles Major Villiers Sankey , and his uncle was QOR Lieutenant Colonel Richard Hierome Sankey.  His older brother Alfred Villiers Malone also served with the QOR. Richard was educated at Bishop Ridley College in St. Catharines, Ontario.

He started in journalism as a reporter for the Toronto Globe, in 1928, later working at the Regina Leader-Post, and the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix before joining the staff of the Winnipeg Free Press in 1936. His employment was interrupted by service in the Canadian military during World War two.

For a short time, he was staff secretary to the Minister of National Defence and then, on completion of a staff course, he re-joined his former militia regiment, The Queen’s Own Rifles, in England. Subsequently, he was appointed Staff Captain in the 5th Canadian Armoured Division and later Brigade Major with the 2nd Canadian Infantry Brigade.

He fought at Sicily, where he was wounded. In the Allied invasion of Europe, he was in charge of public relations and was responsible for planning the photographic coverage of the Normandy landings. He established The Maple Leaf, a weekly newspaper for Canadian Forces in Europe, and produced it in association with Jam Cook. He was awarded the Order of the British Empire and the Efficiency Decoration, being mentioned in despatches several times.

He later wrote about his wartime experiences in Missing From the Record (1946) and the two-volume A Portrait of War 1939-43 (1983) and The World In Flames 1943-45 (1984).

He returned to the Free Press as Assistant General Manager in 1945. He became Vice-President in 1951 and Publisher in 1961, then President in 1966. He left in 1974 to become Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of the Toronto Globe and Mail, from which he retired in 1978. He served for many years as a Director of The Canadian Press. While resident in Winnipeg, he was a member of the Manitoba Club, St. Charles Country Club, and Winnipeg Winter Club.

He died in Toronto on 24 June 1985 and is buried in St James Cemetery.