(James) Gordon McKenzie (28 December 1917 – 3 December 1998) was a British journalist and editor who worked for much of his career at the ''

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 ...

'' rising to be the paper's executive editor. Born in Cammachmore, Aberdeenshire, he started his career as a trainee reporter at the ''Aberdeen Bon Accord'' in 1935, later joining the ''

Aberdeen Press and Journal ''The Press and Journal'' is a daily regional newspaper serving northern and highland Scotland including the cities of Aberdeen and Inverness. Established in 1747, it is Scotland's oldest daily newspaper, and one of the longest-running newspap ...

'' before the outbreak of

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 ...

.Alwyn Robinson, ''Glasgow Herald'' obituary December 1998 He joined the

Gordon Highlanders Gordon may refer to: People * Gordon (given name), a masculine given name, including list of persons and fictional characters * Gordon (surname), the surname * Gordon (slave), escaped to a Union Army camp during the U.S. Civil War * Clan Gordon, ...

and was commissioned as an officer in 1941 into the

Durham Light Infantry The Durham Light Infantry (DLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1968. It was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 68th (Durham) Regiment of Foot (Light Infantry) and t ...

. He served in North Africa, Palestine and Italy where he was

mentioned in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

and wounded in combat during the

Battle of Monte Cassino The Battle of Monte Cassino, also known as the Battle for Rome and the Battle for Cassino, was a series of four assaults made by the Allies against German forces in Italy during the Italian Campaign of World War II. The ultimate objective was ...

in 1944. He finished his war service editing an English language paper in newly liberated

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. Returning to civilian life as the ''Press and Journals London editor in 1947 he gained an exclusive interview with Queen Mary, the then Queen Mother, which brought him to the attention of Fleet Street.Alasdair Steven, ''Scotsman'', Obituary 14 December 1998 After working for

Denis Hamilton Lieutenant Colonel Sir Charles Denis Hamilton, DSO, TD (6 December 1918 – 7 April 1988) was an English newspaper editor. He was born in South Shields, County Durham, England, the son of an engineer from the Acklam iron and steel work ...

, editorial director of

Kemsley Newspapers James Gomer Berry, 1st Viscount Kemsley, GBE (7 May 1883 – 6 February 1968) was a Welsh colliery owner and newspaper publisher. Background Berry was born the son of John Mathias and Mary Ann (née Rowe) Berry, of Merthyr Tydfil in Wales. He wa ...

and alongside the group's Foreign Manager

Ian Fleming Ian Lancaster Fleming (28 May 1908 – 12 August 1964) was a British writer who is best known for his postwar ''James Bond'' series of spy novels. Fleming came from a wealthy family connected to the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co., a ...

he was given his first editorship at the ''

Sunday Chronicle The ''Sunday Chronicle'' was a newspaper in the United Kingdom, published from 1885 to 1955. The newspaper was founded in Manchester by Edward Hulton in August 1885. He was known for his sporting coverage, already publishing the ''Sporting Chron ...

'' in 1950: at the age of 33 McKenzie was

Fleet Street Fleet Street is a major street mostly in the City of London. It runs west to east from Temple Bar at the boundary with the City of Westminster to Ludgate Circus at the site of the London Wall and the River Fleet from which the street was na ...

's youngest editor. He then edited the ''

Sunday Graphic The ''Sunday Graphic'' was an English tabloid newspaper published in Fleet Street. The newspaper was founded in 1915 as the ''Sunday Herald'' and was later renamed the ''Illustrated Sunday Herald''. In 1927 it changed its name to the ''Sunday ...

'' from 1953-58 where his ideas and production flair attracted the attention of the then Lord Rothermere

Esmond Harmsworth Esmond Cecil Harmsworth, 2nd Viscount Rothermere (29 May 1898 – 12 July 1978) was a British Conservative politician and press magnate. Early life Harmsworth was the third son of Harold Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Rothermere, who had founded the ...

. He took up a new editorship at the ''

Sunday Dispatch The ''Sunday Dispatch'' was a prominent British newspaper, published between 27 September 1801 and 18 June 1961. It was ultimately discontinued due to its merger with the ''Sunday Express''. History The newspaper was first published as the ''Wee ...

'' before moving to the ''Daily Mail'' in 1958 as assistant editor. He directed an internationally envied, intellectually diverse team of writers. Among them were

Bernard Levin Henry Bernard Levin (19 August 1928 – 7 August 2004) was an English journalist, author and broadcaster, described by ''The Times'' as "the most famous journalist of his day". The son of a poor Jewish family in London, he won a scholarship t ...

, Vincent Mulchrone,

Shirley Conran Shirley Conran OBE (née Pearce; born 21 September 1932) is a British novelist and journalist. Early life Born in 1932, she attended St. Paul's Girls School, London, and then a finishing school in Switzerland which later provided some inspir ...

Godfrey Winn Godfrey Herbert Winn (15 October 1906 – 19 June 1971) was an English journalist known as a columnist, and also a writer and actor. Born in Kings Norton, Warwickshire, he attended King Edward's School, Birmingham.Anne Scott-James Anne Eleanor Scott-James, Lady Lancaster (5 April 1913 – 13 May 2009) was a British journalist and author. She was one of Britain's first female career journalists, editors and columnists, and latterly author of a series of gardening boo ...

Quentin Crew Quentin is a French male given name from the Latin first name ''Quintinus'', diminutive form of '' Quintus'', that means "the fifth".Albert Dauzat, ''Noms et prénoms de France'', Librairie Larousse 1980, édition revue et commentée par Marie-T ...

Barry Norman Barry Leslie Norman (21 August 1933 – 30 June 2017) was a British film critic, television presenter and journalist. He presented the BBC's cinema review programme, '' Film...'', from 1972 to 1998. Early life Born at St Thomas’s Hospital ...

and

Lynda Lee-Potter Lynda Lee-Potter (; 2 May 1935 – 20 October 2004) was a British journalist. She was best known as a columnist for the '' Daily Mail''. Early years Lynda Higginson was born into a working-class family in the mining town of Leigh, Lancash ...

. As executive editor in the 1970s and early 1980s, he headed the features department and was a key figure in the Femail marketing policy of attracting women readers without alienating its male readership. He retired in 1983 as executive editor but continued in an advisory capacity at ''You'' magazine, as literary editor for the ''Mail'' as well as working on book serialisations almost until the end of his life. McKenzie married actress Vicki Campbell in 1947 and the journalist Rod McKenzie is their son.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McKenzie, Gordon 1917 births 1998 deaths British male journalists British newspaper editors People from Aberdeenshire