George Allen Hutt (1901–1973) was a British journalist, editor, newspaper designer and Communist and trade union activist.

Life

Hutt came from a family of printers, while his mother Marion was a headmistress. He attended

Kilburn Grammar School Kilburn Grammar School was an English grammar school which opened in 1898 in Kilburn, north-west London. The school ceased to exist in 1967. History The school's history is detailed in a book by Richard E Brock. It was founded by the Rev. Dr. H ...

and then

Downing College, Cambridge Downing College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge and currently has around 650 students. Founded in 1800, it was the only college to be added to Cambridge University between 1596 and 1869, and is often described as the olde ...

, graduating with a first-class honours degree. As a young man Hutt became a convinced communist and member of the

Communist Party of Great Britain The Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) was the largest communist organisation in Britain and was founded in 1920 through a merger of several smaller Marxist groups. Many miners joined the CPGB in the 1926 general strike. In 1930, the CPG ...

. After beginning a career as a writer and journalist, he became an expert on newspaper production, frequently advising newspapers on their design. His clients included ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' and ''

Reynold's News ''Reynold's News'' was a Sunday newspaper in the United Kingdom, founded as ''Reynolds's Weekly Newspaper''Joanne Shattock, ''The Cambridge Bibliography of English Literature'', p.2908 by George W. M. Reynolds in 1850, who became its first edito ...

''. He was also newspaper consultant to the typesetting machine company

Monotype Monotyping is a type of printmaking made by drawing or painting on a smooth, non-absorbent surface. The surface, or matrix, was historically a copper etching plate, but in contemporary work it can vary from zinc or glass to acrylic glass. The ...

. He wrote many reviews and books, including ''The Post-war History Of The British Working Class'' (1937) and
British Trade Unionism
' (1941). Hutt was active in the

National Union of Journalists The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) is a trade union for journalists in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It was founded in 1907 and has 38,000 members. It is a member of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ). Structure There i ...

for many years. He was longtime editor of the union's journal, ''The Journalist'', and was the union's

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

in the year 1967. His book ''Newspaper Design'' (1960, revised 1967) was very successful. Conservative journalist

Arthur Christiansen Arthur Robin Christiansen (27 July 1904 – 27 September 1963) was a British journalist, and editor of Lord Beaverbrook's newspaper the '' Daily Express'' from 1933 to 1957. Christiansen was born in Wallasey, Cheshire to Louis Niels Chris ...

, whose work was praised in the text, described it as "a prodigious service to journalism" and "destined to be a standard work for years". After his death an updated edition was written by Bob James. At the time of Hutt's retirement in 1966 he was chief sub-editor of the ''

Daily Worker The ''Daily Worker'' was a newspaper published in New York City by the Communist Party USA, a formerly Comintern-affiliated organization. Publication began in 1924. While it generally reflected the prevailing views of the party, attempts were m ...

'', but he continued working as a freelance consultant. He was named a

Royal Designer for Industry Royal Designer for Industry is a distinction established by the British Royal Society of Arts (RSA) in 1936, to encourage a high standard of industrial design and enhance the status of designers. It is awarded to people who have achieved "sustained ...

in 1970.

Family

Hutt's son Sam Hutt (born 1940) is a

gynaecologist Gynaecology or gynecology (see American and British English spelling differences, spelling differences) is the area of medicine that involves the treatment of women's diseases, especially those of the reproductive organs. It is often paired with ...

, but is better known as a

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

and

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

singer-songwriter and television presenter under the stage name

Hank Wangford Samuel Hutt, known by the stage name Hank Wangford (born 15 November 1940), is an English country and western songwriter. "Hank is a good smoke screen. He can do things I can't do. He's my clown," says Dr. Hutt, who has been struggling to bal ...

. Allen Hutt later married Avis (née Askey, formerly Clarke), a

nurse Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health c ...

and health visitor who was the widow of communist surgeon Ruscoe Clarke. Collections of Hutt's personal papers are held by

Cambridge University Library Cambridge University Library is the main research library of the University of Cambridge. It is the largest of the over 100 libraries within the university. The Library is a major scholarly resource for the members of the University of Cambri ...

Miyazaki University is a Japanese national university, national university primarily in the Kibana neighborhood of southern Miyazaki, Miyazaki, Miyazaki city, Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan. The name is sometimes shortened to the abbreviation "UoM" or the portmanteau "M ...

and the

People's History Museum The People's History Museum (the National Museum of Labour History until 2001) in Manchester, England, is the UK's national centre for the collection, conservation, interpretation and study of material relating to the history of working people i ...

. As a communist activist, the

Metropolitan Police The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police (and informally as the Met Police, the Met, Scotland Yard, or the Yard), is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and ...

held a file of cuttings on Hutt's work, which has been released under

Freedom of Information law Freedom of information laws allow access by the general public to data held by national governments and, where applicable, by state and local governments. The emergence of freedom of information legislation was a response to increasing dissatisfa ...

References

External links

Books digitised by the Internet Archive
{{authority control 1901 births 1973 deaths Communist Party of Great Britain members Alumni of Downing College, Cambridge British typographers and type designers Royal Designers for Industry Presidents of the National Union of Journalists