William Francis Deedes, Baron Deedes, (1 June 1913 – 17 August 2007) was a British

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

politician, army officer and journalist. He was the first person in Britain to have been both a member of the Cabinet and the editor of a major daily newspaper, ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

''.

Early life and career

Deedes was the second child and only son of landowner Herbert William Deedes and his wife Melesina Gladys, daughter of Philip Francis Chenevix Trench. His younger sister Margaret Melesina married the 21st

Baron FitzWalter Baron FitzWalter is an ancient title in the Peerage of England. It was created on 24 June 1295 for Robert FitzWalter. The title was created by writ, which means that it can descend through both male and female lines. His great-grandson, the fo ...

. He was brought up in the family home of

Saltwood Castle Saltwood Castle is a castle in Saltwood village, one mile (2 km) north of Hythe, Kent, England. Of 11th century origin, the castle was expanded in the 13th and 14th centuries. After the Norman Conquest, the castle was appropriated by the Arc ...

until it was sold in 1925. He was educated at Harrow until after his father suffered heavy financial losses from the

Wall Street Crash of 1929 The Wall Street Crash of 1929, also known as the Great Crash, was a major American stock market crash that occurred in the autumn of 1929. It started in September and ended late in October, when share prices on the New York Stock Exchange colla ...

. Deedes was forced to leave school a year early and finish his exams with a tutor. Denied a university career, Deedes began his career as a reporter on the ''

Morning Post ''The Morning Post'' was a conservative daily newspaper published in London from 1772 to 1937, when it was acquired by ''The Daily Telegraph''. History The paper was founded by John Bell. According to historian Robert Darnton, ''The Morning Po ...

'' in 1931, joining ''The Daily Telegraph'' when it took over the ''Post'' in 1937. Between 1931 and the beginning of the war in 1939, he shared a home in

Bethnal Green Bethnal Green is an area in the East End of London northeast of Charing Cross. The area emerged from the small settlement which developed around the common land, Green, much of which survives today as Bethnal Green Gardens, beside Cambridge Heat ...

, with his uncle

Wyndham Deedes Brigadier-General Sir Wyndham Henry Deedes, CMG, DSO(10 March 1883 – 2 September 1956) was a British Army officer and civil administrator. He was the Chief Secretary to the British High Commissioner of the British Mandate of Palestine. E ...

. Deedes fought with the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

in 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 opposin ...

, being based initially at

Shrapnel Barracks The Shrapnel Barracks was a British army base providing living accommodation in Woolwich in southeast London from the mid-19th century until the 1960s. Named after Lieutenant General Henry Shrapnel (who invented the shrapnel shell and was for s ...

Woolwich Woolwich () is a district in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was maintained throu ...

as an

Officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

in the 2nd Battalion,

Queen's Westminsters The Queen's Westminsters were an infantry regiment of the Territorial Army, part of the British Army. Originally formed from Rifle Volunteer Corps, which were established after a French invasion scare of 1859. The unit became part of the newly e ...

, one of the Territorial Army (TA) units of the

King's Royal Rifle Corps The King's Royal Rifle Corps was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army that was originally raised in British North America as the Royal American Regiment during the phase of the Seven Years' War in North America known in the United St ...

. He gained the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC i ...

near Hengelo, The Netherlands in April 1945. He was also the only officer to serve in 12th King's Royal Rifle Corps (2nd Queen's Westminsters) for the duration of the war. His battalion served as the motorised battalion of 8th Armoured Brigade in the

North-west Europe campaign The North West Europe campaign was a campaign by the British Commonwealth armed forces in North West Europe, including its skies and adjoining waters during World War II. The term Western Front has also sometimes been used informally. The United S ...

Marriage and children

He was married to Evelyn Hilary Branfoot, who died in May 2004, by whom he had two sons (one of whom died young) and three daughters, Juliet, Jill and Lucy. A convinced Christian like his father, he lived very unpretentiously on the edge of

Romney Marsh Romney Marsh is a sparsely populated wetland area in the counties of Kent and East Sussex in the south-east of England. It covers about . The Marsh has been in use for centuries, though its inhabitants commonly suffered from malaria until the ...

, Kent, where his wife, Hilary, kept a menagerie of farm animals. He was never particularly well-off, preferring to use public transport whenever possible. His son, Jeremy Deedes, is a director of the

Telegraph Group Telegraph Media Group Limited (TMG; previously the Telegraph Group) is the proprietor of ''The Daily Telegraph'' and ''The Sunday Telegraph''. It is a subsidiary of Press Holdings. David and Frederick Barclay acquired the group on 30 July 2004, af ...

of companies and was (2008–2012) a director of lobbyists Pelham Bell Pottinger. He has been a Director of the Tote, Chairman of The '' Sportsman'' newspaper, and is currently a director of

Warwick Racecourse Warwick Racecourse is a horse racing course in Warwick, England. It is a National Hunt racing course and has a programme of 25 meetings throughout the year, many of which are televised. The first stand was built in 1808, and its most recent red ...

. Lucy Deedes is a former

Master of Foxhounds Fox hunting is an activity involving the tracking, chase and, if caught, the killing of a fox, traditionally a red fox, by trained foxhounds or other scent hounds. A group of unarmed followers, led by a "master of foxhounds" (or "master of ho ...

and was the first wife of

Crispin James Alan Nevill Money-Coutts, 9th Baron Latymer Crispin James Alan Nevill Money-Coutts, 9th Baron Latymer (born 8 March 1955), is a British people, British Peerages in the United Kingdom, peer who is a descendant of both the well-known Irish people, Irish nationalist Thomas Addis Emmet and the ...

. She is the mother of society magician

Drummond Money-Coutts Drummond William Thomas Money-Coutts (born 1986), also known as DMC, is an English magician, and the heir apparent to the Latymer Barony.Complete Peerage, "Latimer or Latymer (Nevill), Vol VII, pp. 479–486, and supplement Vol XIV His first p ...

and the journalist Sophia Money-Coutts.

Politics

Deedes came from a family with a tradition of public service. He was very proud of the fact that there had been a Deedes member of parliament in every century since 1600. Deedes was elected as the

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MP) for

Ashford Ashford may refer to: Places Australia *Ashford, New South Wales *Ashford, South Australia *Electoral district of Ashford, South Australia Ireland *Ashford, County Wicklow *Ashford Castle, County Galway United Kingdom * Ashford, Kent, a town ** ...

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 cr ...

. First serving as a

junior minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ‘prime minister’, � ...

under

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

for three years, he later entered Harold Macmillan's

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

in 1962 as

Minister without Portfolio A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister who does not head a particular ministry. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet w ...

. He left the Cabinet in 1964, as

Minister of Information An information minister (also called minister of information) is a position in the governments of some countries responsible for dealing with information matters; it is often linked with censorship and propaganda. Sometimes the position is given to ...

, and subsequently stood down as an MP at the October 1974 election.

Journalism and later life

He was editor of ''

'' from 1974 to 1986 and, after he was replaced by

Max Hastings Sir Max Hugh Macdonald Hastings (; born 28 December 1945) is a British journalist and military historian, who has worked as a foreign correspondent for the BBC, editor-in-chief of ''The Daily Telegraph'', and editor of the ''Evening Standard' ...

, continued his career as a journalist. His tenure was noted for battles with the print unions. Deedes was created a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...

on 23 September 1986, becoming Baron Deedes, of Aldington in the

County of Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces the ...

, but he always preferred to be addressed as "Bill", rather than "Lord Deedes". He was the subject of '' This Is Your Life'' in 1998, when he was surprised by

Michael Aspel Michael Terence Aspel (born 12 January 1933) is an English retired television newsreader and host of programmes such as '' Crackerjack'', ''Aspel & Company'', ''Give Us a Clue'', '' This is Your Life'', '' Strange but True?'' and ''Antiques Ro ...

. After the

1999 Australian republic referendum The Australian republic referendum held on 6 November 1999 was a two-question referendum to amend the Constitution of Australia. The first question asked whether Australia should become a republic with a President appointed by Parliament foll ...

, Deedes wrote in ''The Daily Telegraph'': "I have rarely attended elections in any country, certainly not a democratic one, in which the newspapers have displayed more shameless bias. One and all, they determined that Australians should have a republic and they used every device towards that end." He continued to comment on social and political issues through his newspaper columns until his death. In his later years, he gained a cult fanbase after two memorable appearances on '' Have I Got News for You'' and was, at the age of 88, the oldest guest ever to have appeared on the programme until 2012, when Baroness Trumpington appeared at the age of 90. He was also a stalwart member of the

Carlton Club The Carlton Club is a private members' club in St James's, London. It was the original home of the Conservative Party before the creation of Conservative Central Office. Membership of the club is by nomination and election only. History The ...

and was appointed as an ambassador for

UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Devel ...

in 1998, running high-profile campaigns against

landmines A land mine is an explosive device concealed under or on the ground and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets, ranging from combatants to vehicles and tanks, as they pass over or near it. Such a device is typically detonated automati ...

. In 2006, he wrote in an opinion piece for ''The Daily Telegraph'' that Islam "is the only faith on Earth that persuades its followers to seek political power and impose a law –

sharia Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the H ...

– which shapes everyone's style of life" and added that Islam "forbids" Muslims from conforming with British society. He continued to write into his 94th year, with his final article, published on 3 August 2007, about

Darfur Darfur ( ; ar, دار فور, Dār Fūr, lit=Realm of the Fur) is a region of western Sudan. ''Dār'' is an Arabic word meaning "home f – the region was named Dardaju ( ar, دار داجو, Dār Dājū, links=no) while ruled by the Daju, ...

. He died on 17 August 2007 at his home in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, at 94, after a short illness. The residential street Bill Deedes Way, in the village of Aldington, near Ashford, is named after him.

Popular culture

''Scoop''

According to many sources, Deedes was the journalist used by

Evelyn Waugh Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (; 28 October 1903 – 10 April 1966) was an English writer of novels, biographies, and travel books; he was also a prolific journalist and book reviewer. His most famous works include the early satires ''Decli ...

as the model and inspiration for the hapless

William Boot William Boot is a fictional journalist who is the protagonist in the 1938 Evelyn Waugh comic novel ''Scoop.'' Character Boot is the young author of a regular column on country life for a London newspaper named the ''Daily Beast''. His affected st ...

, protagonist of the satirical novel ''

Scoop Scoop, Scoops or The scoop may refer to: Objects * Scoop (tool), a shovel-like tool, particularly one deep and curved, used in digging * Scoop (machine part), a component of machinery to carry things * Scoop stretcher, a device used for casualty ...

''. Deedes himself said he "spent part of my life brushing aside the charge," but admitted "that my inexperience and naivety as a reporter in Africa might have contributed a few bricks to the building of Boot." The two had reported together in 1936, trying to cover the

Second Italo-Abyssinian War The Second Italo-Ethiopian War, also referred to as the Second Italo-Abyssinian War, was a war of aggression which was fought between Italy and Ethiopia from October 1935 to February 1937. In Ethiopia it is often referred to simply as the Itali ...

; Deedes arrived in

Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; am, አዲስ አበባ, , new flower ; also known as , lit. "natural spring" in Oromo), is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. It is also served as major administrative center of the Oromia Region. In the 2007 census, t ...

aged 22 with almost 600 pounds of luggage. Berhanu Kebele, Ethiopian

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

to London, pointed out that Deedes's sharp journalistic instincts ensured Italian excesses were kept in the public eye. Barring the question of age, a more appropriate model for Boot is

William Beach Thomas Sir William Beach Thomas, (22 May 186812 May 1957) was a British author and journalist known for his work as a war correspondent and his writings about nature and country life. Thomas was the son of a clergyman in Cambridgeshire. H ...

who, according to

Peter Stothard Sir Peter Stothard (born 28 February 1951) is a British author, journalist and critic. From 1992 to 2002 he was editor of ''The Times'' and from 2002 to 2016 editor of ''The Times Literary Supplement'', the only journalist to have held both role ...

, "was a quietly successful countryside columnist and literary gent who became a calamitous ''

Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper and news websitePeter Wilb"Paul Dacre of the Daily Mail: The man who hates liberal Britain", ''New Statesman'', 19 December 2013 (online version: 2 January 2014) publish ...

'' war correspondent" in

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 ...

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'' (fou ...

br>Hay, we got it wrong
29 May 2007

''Dear Bill''

Deedes was close to

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. S ...

and her husband Denis. The spoof letters "from" Mr. Thatcher which appeared in satirical magazine ''

Private Eye ''Private Eye'' is a British fortnightly satire, satirical and current affairs (news format), current affairs news magazine, founded in 1961. It is published in London and has been edited by Ian Hislop since 1986. The publication is widely r ...

'' throughout the Thatcher years were always addressed to ''

Dear Bill The "Dear Bill" letters were a regular feature in the British satirical magazine ''Private Eye'', purporting to be the private correspondence of Denis Thatcher, husband of the then-Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher. It was written by Richard I ...

'' – the "Bill" in question was usually assumed to be Deedes; however some instalments (e.g. 16 May and 28 November 1986) would suggest otherwise. The two men regularly played golf together, with Deedes claiming it was a public service to take the spouse of the Prime Minister away from the stress of being married to the country's head of government. The ''Eye'' also based its long-running editorial comment, "Shome mishtake shurely?", on Deedes' distinctive slur.

Publications

* ''Swift and Bold: The Story of the King's Royal Rifle Corps in the Second World War 1939-1945'', coedited with Sir Hereward Wake, Aldershot: Gale & Polden, 1949 * ''At War with Waugh: The Real Story of "Scoop"'', Macmillan, 2003 * ''Brief Lives'', Macmillan, 2004 * ''Dear Bill: A Memoir'', Macmillan, 2005 * ''Words and Deedes: Selected Journalism 1931-2006'', Macmillan, 2006,

Arms

Notes

External links

''The Daily Telegraph'' obituary, 17 August 2007

A tribute to Lord Deedes: ''The Daily Telegraph''

"Gentleman journalist remembered" - BBC News Online, 18 August 2007
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Deedes, Bill 1913 births 2007 deaths 20th-century British journalists British Army personnel of World War II British newspaper editors Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Conservative Party (UK) life peers Deputy Lieutenants of Kent English male journalists English newspaper editors Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Ministers in the Eden government, 1955–1957 Ministers in the Macmillan and Douglas-Home governments, 1957–1964 Ministers in the third Churchill government, 1951–1955 People educated at Harrow School Queen's Westminsters officers Recipients of the Military Cross UK MPs 1950–1951 UK MPs 1951–1955 UK MPs 1955–1959 UK MPs 1959–1964 UK MPs 1964–1966 UK MPs 1966–1970 UK MPs 1970–1974 UK MPs 1974 Military personnel from Kent