Basil Ivor Denton Cardew (28 October 1906 – 30 November 1992) was a British journalist. He was the motoring correspondent for the '' Daily Express'' and the editor of their annual motor show review from the 1950s to the 1970s. He also served as a war correspondent during the Second World War. He was described by ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'' as "a compelling anecdotalist and a lavish spender of his paper's expenses".

Early life

Basil Cardew was born on 28 October 1906, the son of the journalist Alfred Roger Denton-Cardew (1878–1945), who worked for the '' Daily Mail'' for 38 years as the racing correspondent, writing as "

Robin Goodfellow In English folklore, Puck (), sometimes known as Robin Goodfellow, is a domestic and nature sprite, demon, or fairy. Origins and comparative folklore Etymology The etymology of ''puck'' is uncertain. The modern English word is attested alrea ...

", and was killed in a road accident. His mother was Ellen Fielder Cardew."Basil Cardew", ''The Times'', 8 January 1993, p. 17.

Career

Cardew's journalistic career began at the Press Association. Early in his career he saw the land speed record attempts of

Malcolm Campbell Major Sir Malcolm Campbell (11 March 1885 – 31 December 1948) was a British racing motorist and motoring journalist. He gained the world speed record on land and on water at various times, using vehicles called ''Blue Bird'', including a 1 ...

, who he was close to, and the water speed attempt of

Henry Segrave Sir Henry O'Neal de Hane Segrave (22 September 1896 – 13 June 1930) was an early British pioneer in land speed and water speed records. Segrave, who set three land and one water record, was the first person to hold both titles simultaneous ...

in 1930 in which Segrave was killed. He joined the ''Daily Express'' in 1933 when Arthur Christiansen took over as editor and began to revamp the paper, resulting in a large increase in circulation. His early stories for the paper included attending the divorce hearing of Wallace and

Ernest Simpson Ernest Aldrich Simpson (6 May 1897 – 30 November 1958) was an American-born British shipbroker, best known as the second husband of Wallis Simpson, later wife of the former King Edward VIII. Simpson served as an officer in the Coldstream Gu ...

. He served as a war correspondent during the

Second World War 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 opposi ...

reporting from the home front and abroad where he had several narrow escapes as a result of working too close to the front line. After the war, he was the motoring and air correspondent for the ''Express'' and was a well known figure at motor racing events and airshows in the 1940s and 50s. He was the editor of the reviews of the paper's motor show published annually from the 1950s to the 1970s.British Library Catalogue. bl.uk Retrieved 21 November 2018. In their obituary, ''The Times'' described him as "a compelling anecdotalist and a lavish spender of his paper's expenses" with a camel-hair coat and "rakish trilby" hat. John Bullock described him as "one of the most outstanding motoring writers of the day. He covered every major motoring event over a period of some 40 years".

David Kynaston David Thomas Anthony Kynaston (; born 30 July 1951 in Aldershot) is an English historian specialising in the social history of England. Early life and education Kynaston was educated at Wellington College, Berkshire and New College, Oxford, ...

described him as "anti-pedestrian".

Death

Cardew died in West Sussex, on 30 November 1992. He left an estate not exceeding £125,000.1992 Probate Calendar, p. 1396.
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Selected publications

* ''Daily Express Motor Show Review'' (multiple annuals, 1950s to 1970s)

References

External links

Motorsport Magazine, articles tagged to Basil Cardew
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cardew, Basil 1906 births 1992 deaths War correspondents of World War II Daily Express people 20th-century British journalists