Arthur Leonard Bell Thompson DSO (1 December 1917 – 24 August 1975), known by the pen name of Francis Clifford, was a British writer of crime and thriller novels.
Prior to the Second World War, he worked as a Commercial Assistant in the rice trade, starting in London in 1935 and later in Burma from 1938–9.
After returning to civilian life he worked as a journalist in the steel industry, and took up writing in his spare time.
[1] From the late 1950s until his death in Weybridge in 1975, Thompson wrote 18 novels under the name Francis Clifford.
His earlier novels were set in Southeast Asia and drew heavily on his experiences there during the Second World War.