Gerald Aylmer Vallance (4 July 1892–24 November 1955), born George Alexander Gerald Vallance, was a Scottish

newspaper editor An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

. Born in

Partick Partick ( sco, Pairtick, Scottish Gaelic: ''Partaig'') is an area of Glasgow on the north bank of the River Clyde, just across from Govan. To the west lies Whiteinch, to the east Yorkhill and Kelvingrove Park (across the River Kelvin), and to t ...

, Vallance studied at

Fettes College Fettes College () is a co-educational independent boarding and day school in Edinburgh, Scotland, with over two-thirds of its pupils in residence on campus. The school was originally a boarding school for boys only and became co-ed in 1983. In ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

and

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the f ...

, before serving with the

Somerset Light Infantry The Somerset Light Infantry (Prince Albert's) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army, which served under various titles from 1685 to 1959. In 1959, the regiment was amalgamated with the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry to form the Some ...

and the General Staff of the 2nd Indian Division during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

.Martin Gilbert, ''Winston S. Churchill: 1922-1939'', p.541 n.1 After the war, he was appointed as General Secretary of the

National Maritime Board :''This is about the Maritime Board in the United Kingdom. For the Board in the Philippines, see National Seamen Board.'' The National Maritime Board (NMB) was a bilateral board governing wages and working practices in the British shipping industr ...

Geoffrey Cox, "The editor who made love - and great news", ''British Journalism Review'' 1996 7: 16 and became a director of the Political Research Bureau. From 1930 to 1933, Vallance was assistant editor of ''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Econo ...

''. He was then appointed editor of the ''

News Chronicle The ''News Chronicle'' was a British daily newspaper. Formed by the merger of '' The Daily News'' and the ''Daily Chronicle'' in 1930, it ceased publication on 17 October 1960,''Liberal Democrat News'' 15 October 2010, accessed 15 October 2010 be ...

'', which he took in a more

radical Radical may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics *Radical politics, the political intent of fundamental societal change *Radicalism (historical), the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and ...

direction, investigating and critically reporting on the

British Union of Fascists The British Union of Fascists (BUF) was a British fascist political party formed in 1932 by Oswald Mosley. Mosley changed its name to the British Union of Fascists and National Socialists in 1936 and, in 1937, to the British Union. In 1939, fo ...

, and recruiting writers such as

Vernon Bartlett Charles Vernon Oldfield Bartlett, CBE (30 April 1894 – 18 January 1983) was an English journalist, politician and author. He served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1938 to 1950: first as an Independent Progressive advocating a Popular Fron ...

, Tangye Lean, Ian Mackay and Gerald Barry. He also launched a Saturday supplement on green

newsprint Newsprint is a low-cost, non-archival paper consisting mainly of wood pulp and most commonly used to print newspapers and other publications and advertising material. Invented in 1844 by Charles Fenerty of Nova Scotia, Canada, it usually has an ...

. However, he resigned in 1936 after pressure from

subeditor Copy editing (also known as copyediting and manuscript editing) is the process of revising written material (copy) to improve readability and fitness, as well as ensuring that text is free of grammatical and factual errors. ''The Chicago Manual of ...

s over his persistent drunkenness and lukewarm support for the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

. He spent the remainder of the decade as an occasional contributor to the ''

Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

'', and was finance editor of the ''

New Statesman The ''New Statesman'' is a British political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney and Beatrice Webb and other leading members ...

'' from 1937 to 1939. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Vallance was a lieutenant-colonel, working as the liaison between the

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

and the

Political Warfare Executive During World War II, the Political Warfare Executive (PWE) was a British clandestine body created to produce and disseminate both white and black propaganda, with the aim of damaging enemy morale and sustaining the morale of countries occupied ...

. A supporter of the communist Partisans, he named a son Tito, after

Josip Broz Tito Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito (; sh-Cyrl, Тито, links=no, ), was a Yugoslav communist revolutionary and statesman, serving in various positions from 1943 until his deat ...

Kingsley Martin Basil Kingsley Martin (28 July 1897 – 16 February 1969) usually known as Kingsley Martin, was a British journalist who edited the left-leaning political magazine the ''New Statesman'' from 1930 to 1960. Early life He was the son of (Dav ...

, ''Editor'', p.6 From 1950 to 1955, he returned to the ''New Statesman'' as assistant editor. He also wrote several books, on the press and on economic affairs.

Personal life

In 1928 he married Phyllis Taylor Birnstingl, née Reid. They were divorced in 1940. He subsequently married Helen Chisholm, née Gosse the same year. They had two children, a son, Tito, and a daughter, Margaret. Again the marriage ended in divorce. Finally in 1950, he married Ute Christina Fischinger, daughter of a German Army officer and a German resistance fighter, who after his death, married photographer and physician Nico Jesse in 1961.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vallance, Aylmer 1892 births 1955 deaths Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford People educated at Fettes College Journalists from Glasgow Scottish magazine editors Scottish newspaper editors Somerset Light Infantry officers