William Francis Deedes, Baron Deedes, KBE, MC, PC, DL (1 June 1913 – 17 August 2007) was a British journalist and politician. The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British Order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Military Cross ( MC) is the third level Military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993 other ranks of the British Army and formerly also to Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council is a body of advisors to the British Sovereign. In the United Kingdom, a Deputy Lieutenant is one of several deputies to the Lord-Lieutenant of an English ceremonial county, Welsh preserved county Events 193 - Roman Emperor Didius Julianus is Assassinated 987 - Hugh Capet is elected Year 1913 ( MCMXIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Events 986 - A Byzantine army was destroyed in the pass of Trajan's Gate by the Bulgarians under the Comitopuli Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located He is the only person in Britain to have been both a member of the British cabinet and the editor of a major daily newspaper.
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Early life and career
Brought up in the family home of Saltwood Castle and educated at Harrow, he was denied a university career after his father suffered heavy financial losses from the Wall Street Crash of 1929. Saltwood Castle is a castle in Saltwood village— which derives its name from the Castle— 1 mile (2 km north of Hythe Kent, England. The Wall Street Crash of 1929, also known as the ’29 Crash, the Crash of 1929, the Great Crash of 1929, the Great Crash of October 1929 Deedes began his career as a reporter on the Morning Post in 1931, joining the Daily Telegraph when it took over the Post in 1937. The Morning Post, as the paper was named on its Masthead, was a conservative daily Newspaper published in London from 1772 to 1937 when it was For "The Daily Telegraph" in Australia see The Daily Telegraph (Australia. Deedes fought in the Second World War as an officer in the 2nd Battalion of The Queen's Westminsters, one of the territorial units of the King's Royal Rifle Corps, gaining the Military Cross near Hengelo, Holland in April 1945. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including The Queen's Westminsters was a Regiment of the British Territorial Army (TA The King's Royal Rifle Corps was a British Army formation originally raised in colonial America as the Royal Americans, and recruited from American colonists The Military Cross ( MC) is the third level Military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993 other ranks of the British Army and formerly also to He was also the only officer to serve in the King's Royal Rifle Corps for the whole duration of the war.
He was married to Evelyn Branfort (who died in May 2004), by whom he had two sons (one of whom died young) and three daughters; Deedes' son, Jeremy Deedes, is a director of the Telegraph Group of companies. May 2004: January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September For "The Daily Telegraph" in Australia see The Daily Telegraph (Australia. His daughter, Lucy Deedes, is a former Master of Foxhounds and was the first wife of Crispin Money-Coutts, the 9th Baron Latymer. Fox hunting is an activity involving the tracking chase and sometimes killing of a fox traditionally a Red fox, by trained Foxhounds or other Scent hounds Baron Latymer is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created by writ in 1432 when George Nevill was summoned to Parliament
Politics
Deedes was elected Conservative Party Member of Parliament for Ashford, Kent in 1950. The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative and Unionist Party) is a Political party in the United Kingdom. A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters to a Parliament. Ashford is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Year 1950 ( MCML) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. He served as a junior minister under Churchill for three years. Junior ministers are usually ministers of below cabinet rank such as Ministers of State and Parliamentary Under-Secretaries of State in the UK Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS, PC, PC (Can ( 30 November 1874 He entered Harold Macmillan's Cabinet in 1962 as Minister without Portfolio. (Maurice Harold Macmillan 1st Earl of Stockton, OM, PC (10 February 1894 &ndash 29 December 1986 was a British Conservative Politician Year 1962 ( MCMLXII) was a Common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. A Minister without Portfolio is either a Government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister that does not head a particular ministry. He left the Cabinet in 1964, as Minister of Information, and stood down as an MP at the second 1974 general election. Year 1964 ( MCMLXIV) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the 1964 Gregorian calendar. The Minister of Information is a British government position that was created briefly during the First World War and again during the Second World Results |} Total number of votes 29189104 All parties shown Votes summary Seats summary
Journalism and later life
He served as editor of the Daily Telegraph from 1974 to 1986; after he was replaced by Max Hastings, he continued as a journalist. Year 1974 ( MCMLXXIV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. Year 1986 ( MCMLXXXVI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar) Sir Max Hastings, FRSL (born December 28, 1945) is a British Journalist, editor, Historian and Author His tenure was noted for battles with the print unions.
Deedes was made a life peer in 1986, becoming Baron Deedes, of Aldington in the County of Kent, though he always preferred to be addressed as "Bill" rather than "Lord Deedes". In the United Kingdom, life peers are created members of the Peerage whose titles may not be inherited (those whose titles are inheritable are known as Hereditary Year 1986 ( MCMLXXXVI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar)
Bill Deedes continued to comment on social and political issues through his newspaper columns up to his death. In his later years he gained a cult fanbase after two memorable appearances on Have I Got News For You and was the oldest guest ever to have appeared on the programme. Have I Got News for You is a British television panel show produced by Hat Trick Productions for the BBC. He was also a stalwart member of the Carlton Club and was appointed as an ambassador for UNICEF in 1998, running high-profile campaigns against landmines. The Carlton Club is a gentlemen's club in London. It was founded in 1832 by Tory Peers, MPs and Gentlemen, as a place The United Nations Children's Fund (or UNICEF) was created by the United Nations General Assembly on December 11, 1946 Year 1998 ( MCMXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar) An advertising campaign is a series of Advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme which make up an integrated marketing communication (IMC A land mine is an Explosive device designed to be placed on or in the ground to explode when triggered by an operator or the Proximity of a vehicle person In 2006 he wrote an opinion piece for The Daily Telegraph saying that Islam "is the only faith on Earth that persuades its followers to seek political power and impose a law — sharia — which shapes everyone's style of life" adding that Islam "forbids" Muslims from conforming with British society. For "The Daily Telegraph" in Australia see The Daily Telegraph (Australia. For other meanings including people named 'Islam' see Islam (disambiguation. Sharia ( Arabic: ar شريعة) is the body of Islamic Religious law. [1] His final article, published on 3 August 2007, was on Darfur. Events 8 - Roman Empire General Tiberius defeats Dalmatians on the river Bathinus. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Darfur (دار فور daar foor, lit "realm of the Fur " is a region in Sudan. [2]
He died on 17 August 2007 at his home in Kent after a short illness. Events 986 - A Byzantine army was destroyed in the pass of Trajan's Gate by the Bulgarians under the Comitopuli Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. KENT (1400 AM) is a Radio station broadcasting a Adult Standards/MOR format [3]
Popular culture
Dear Bill
Deedes was close to Margaret Thatcher and her husband Denis. Margaret Hilda Thatcher Baroness Thatcher LG, OM, PC, FRS (born 13 October 1925 Major Sir Denis Thatcher 1st Baronet, MBE, TD (10 May 1915 &ndash 26 June 2003 was an English Businessman, and the husband of the The spoof letters "from" Mr. Thatcher which appeared in satirical magazine Private Eye throughout the Thatcher years were always addressed to Dear Bill - the "Bill" in question was usually assumed to be Deedes; however some instalments (e. Satire is often strictly defined as a literary genre or form; although in practice it is also found in the graphic and Performing arts In satire human Private Eye is a fortnightly British satirical Magazine, edited by Ian Hislop. The " Dear Bill " letters were a regular feature in the British satirical magazine Private Eye, purporting to be the private correspondence of Denis Thatcher g. 16 May and 28 November 1986) would suggest otherwise. Events 1204 - Baldwin IX Count of Flanders is crowned as the first Emperor of the Latin Empire. For the town in Argentina, see 28 de Noviembre. Events Year 1986 ( MCMLXXXVI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar) The two men regularly played golf together, with Deedes claiming it was a public service to take the Prime Ministerial consort away from the stress of being married to the country's head of government. This article is about the government position For other uses see Prime Minister (disambiguation. This article focuses on the cases where the Head of Government is a separate office from the Head of State The Eye also based its long-running editorial comment, "Shome mishtake shurely?", on Deedes' distinctive lisp. A lisp ( OE wlisp, stammering is a Speech impediment, historically also known as sigmatism.
Scoop
According to many sources, Deedes was the journalist used by Evelyn Waugh as the model and inspiration for the hapless William Boot, protagonist of the satirical novel Scoop, although Deedes himself denied any connection. Arthur Evelyn St John Waugh (ˈiːvlɪn ˈwɔː (28 October 1903 &ndash 10 April 1966 was an English Writer, best known for such darkly humorous and William Boot is a fictional journalist who is the protagonist in the 1938 Evelyn Waugh comic novel Scoop. Scoop is a 1938 novel by English writer Evelyn Waugh, a Satire of sensational journalism and foreign correspondence The two had reported together in 1936, trying to cover the Second Italo-Abyssinian War; Deedes arrived in Addis Ababa aged 22 with two tons of luggage. See also First Italo-Ethiopian War. The Second Italo–Abyssinian War (also referred to as the Second Italo-Ethiopian War) was a Addis Ababa (sometimes spelled Addis Abeba, the spelling used by the official Ethiopian Mapping Authority Amharic Berhanu Kebele, Ethiopian ambassador, to London, pointed out that Deedes's sharp journalistic instincts ensured Italian excesses were kept in the public eye. NOTE This intro is the result of careful NPOV work Please do not make potentially controversial edits to it without first discussing on the talk page [4] Barring the question of age, a more direct model for Boot is William Beach Thomas who, according to Peter Stothard, "was a quietly successful countryside columnist and literary gent who became a calamitous Daily Mail war correspondent" in World War I. Sir Peter Stothard (born 28 February 1951) is a British Newspaper editor, currently for the Times Literary Supplement World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All [5]
Publications
- Deedes, WF, Words and Deedes: Selected Journalism 1931-2006, Macmillan, 2006, ISBN 1-4050-5396-8
- Deedes, WF, At War with Waugh: The Real Story of "Scoop", Macmillan, 2003 ISBN 1-4050-0573-4
- Deedes, WF, Brief Lives, Macmillan, 2004 ISBN 0-330-42639-7
- Deedes, WF, Dear Bill: A Memoir, Macmillan, 2005 ISBN 1-4050-5266-X
Notes
- ^ Muslims can never conform to our ways - Daily Telegraph. For "The Daily Telegraph" in Australia see The Daily Telegraph (Australia. 20 October 2006
- ^ Darfur is as bad as Nazi Germany - and I know - Daily Telegraph. Events 1740 - Maria Theresa takes the throne of Austria. France, Prussia, Bavaria and Saxony Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. For "The Daily Telegraph" in Australia see The Daily Telegraph (Australia. 3 August 2007
- ^ Journalist Lord Deedes dies at 94 (webpage). Events 8 - Roman Empire General Tiberius defeats Dalmatians on the river Bathinus. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. BBC News Online. Retrieved on 2007-08-17. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 986 - A Byzantine army was destroyed in the pass of Trajan's Gate by the Bulgarians under the Comitopuli
- ^ Letter to the Daily Telegraph on 27th August 2007(Issue no 47,347)
- ^ The Times Hay, we got it wrong 29 May 2007
External links
- Lord Deedes: Daily Telegraph obituary, 17/08/2007
- A tribute to Lord Deedes: Daily Telegraph
- "Gentleman journalist remembered" - BBC News Online, 18/08/2007
- Lord Bill Deedes - Obituary
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Edward Percy Smith |
Member of Parliament for Ashford 1950–October 1974 |
Succeeded by Keith Speed |
| Media offices | ||
| Preceded by Maurice Green |
Editor of The Daily Telegraph 1974–1986 |
Succeeded by Max Hastings |
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Deedes, William Francis |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Deedes, Bill |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Prolific journalist, Politician and Newspaper editor |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1 June 1913 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | |
| DATE OF DEATH | 17 August 2007 |
| PLACE OF DEATH | Kent |
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