Career
He had been adopted by the Loughborough Labour Party in 1936 as prospective parliamentary candidate but had a long wait because of the war years before being elected. In 1949 and again in 1952 he introduced private member"s bills in the United Kingdom parliament for the reform of English spelling. Follick was born in Cardiff and educated at the Sorbonne, Halle (Doctor Philosophy) and Padua.
He served as secretary to the Aga Khan, Sir Robert Philp (Premier of Queensland) and Mulay Hafid (Sultan of Morocco).
He stood unsuccessfully for the Parliamentary constituencies of Ashford (1929), East Surrey (1931) and West Fulham (1935) before his successful bid for Loughborough in 1945. On his death, he bequeathed the substantial sums raised by this venture to found and endow a professor"s chair of Comparative Philology "in which spelling reform (not merely the teaching of reading) should form a principal part".
The bequest was finally accepted by the University of Manchester, and a chair bearing Follick"s name is still in existence. His publications include The Adam’s Lottery, 1919.
Influence of English, 1934.
Facing Facts, 1935. Efforts of Chance, 1938. English Grammar for Foreigners, 11 editions.
And The Twelve Republics, 1952.
In his book "Facing Facts", (started in 1932) Follick accurately foretold the aggressions of Germany and the Japanese invasion of China. The book started with the words "Beware Europe" and ended with "You have been warned". He was also the inventor and patentee of the Geodok system of teaching geography.