Welsh journalist (1905?1962)
Percy Cudlipp
(10 November 1905 ? 5 November 1962), was a prominent
Welsh
journalist and editor of the
Evening Standard
,
The Daily Herald
, and the
New Scientist
.
[1]
Biography
[
edit
]
Percy Cudlipp was born at 180 Arabella Street,
Cardiff
, the son of a travelling salesman,
[1]
and was the brother of
Hugh Cudlipp
(later Baron Cudlipp) and
Reginald Cudlipp
, both notable journalists. The eldest of the three, Percy was described by
Douglas Jay
as the most serious-minded.
[2]
All three were educated at the Gladstone Primary School and Howard Gardens High School, Cardiff. Percy Cudlipp began his journalistic career as a messenger boy for the
South Wales Echo
, later training as a reporter, and in 1924 became a columnist for the
Evening Chronicle
in Manchester.
[3]
In 1925 he began working as a drama critic and columnist on London's
Sunday News
.
[1]
In 1927 he married Gwendoline James, and they had one son.
[4]
Cudlipp had a sideline in writing light verse and lyrics.
[5]
He became editor of the
Evening Standard
, then owned by
Max Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook
, in 1933, aged 27,
[6]
and was at one time the youngest editor in Fleet Street.
[1]
As a socialist, Cudlipp was suspicious of the Fascist movement in Germany and encouraged a campaign against them.
[7]
He moved on to become editor of the
Daily Herald
in 1940.
In 1953, Cudlipp unexpectedly resigned the editorship of the
Daily Herald
, an action that has been attributed to the ongoing conflicts between the paper's management and the trade union movement
[8]
and the difficulty of retaining editorial control.
[9]
In the following years he was a columnist for the
News Chronicle
.
[4]
He was subsequently approached by the team, including scientist
Tom Margerison
,
[5]
who hoped to set up the
New Scientist
and, despite claiming to know nothing about science, became the first editor of the new magazine, which was launched in November 1956.
[10]
He was a frequent radio broadcaster, contributing to quiz shows and news programmes on the BBC World Service.
[11]
He died suddenly, at his home, 11 Falmouth House, Clarendon Place, London, just short of his 57th birthday, while still employed as editor of the
New Scientist
.
[6]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
David Glanville Rosser.
"(1905-1962), journalist"
.
Dictionary of Welsh Biography
. National Library of Wales
. Retrieved
8 March
2020
.
- ^
Greenslade, Roy
(2004).
Press Gang: How Newspapers Make Profits from Propaganda
. Pan. p. 26.
ISBN
978-0-330-39376-8
.
- ^
Griffiths, Dennis
(2016).
Plant Here The Standard
. Springer. p. 253.
ISBN
978-1-349-12461-9
.
- ^
a
b
The Author's & Writer's Who's who
. Burke's Peerage, Limited. 1960. p. 89.
- ^
a
b
Margerison, Tom
(1976).
"New Scientist - the early years"
.
New Scientist
.
72
(1028). IPC Magazines Ltd: 436?440.
- ^
a
b
"Mr Percy Cudlipp, Editor, the
New Scientist
"
.
New Scientist
.
16
(312). Harrison, Raison and Company Ltd: 303. 1962.
- ^
Curran, James;
Seaton, Jean
(16 December 2003).
Power Without Responsibility: Press, Broadcasting and the Internet in Britain
. Routledge. p. 41.
ISBN
1-134-54344-1
.
- ^
Roy Greenslade (2004).
Press Gang: How Newspapers Make Profits from Propaganda
. Pan. p. 61.
ISBN
978-0-330-39376-8
.
- ^
The Solicitors' Journal
. The Journal. 1984. p. 13.
- ^
Nigel Calder
(16 November 2006).
"How New Scientist got started"
.
New Scientist
. Retrieved
8 March
2020
.
- ^
London Calling
. British Broadcasting Corporation. July 1955. p. 26.
Media offices
|
Preceded by
George Gilliat
|
Editor of the
Evening Standard
1933–1938
|
Succeeded by
|
Preceded by
|
Editor of the
Daily Herald
1940–1953
|
Succeeded by
|