Sir John Donald Brown Junor (15 January 1919 – 3 May 1997) was a Scottish journalist and

editor-in-chief 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 ...

of the ''

Sunday Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first published as a broadsheet i ...

'' between 1954 and 1986, having previously worked as a columnist there. He then moved in 1989 to '' The Mail on Sunday'', where he remained until his death. Noted for his deliberately provocative views, Junor was described by the Conservative MP

Julian Critchley Sir Julian Michael Gordon Critchley (8 December 1930 – 9 September 2000) was a British journalist, author and Conservative Party politician. He was the member of parliament for Rochester and Chatham from 1959 to 1964 and Aldershot from 1970 t ...

as "possibly the best-known Scotsman in England" during the 1980s and as "an ill-natured populist with a taste for common-or-garden abuse."

(5 May 1997)
"Obituary: Sir John Junor"
''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

''. Retrieved 16 September 2023.

Early life

Born in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

into a "Scottish Presbyterian, respectable working class" family, Junor was raised in what he later described as "a red-stone tenement in Shannon Street in Maryhill... na two roomed-flat without indoor sanitation.""Sir John Junor", ''The Times'', 5 May 1997, p. 23. He attended North Kelvinside Secondary School (later merged into

Cleveden Secondary School Cleveden Secondary School is located in Kelvinside in the West End of Glasgow. The school In 1973, the Glasgow High School for Girls, situated in the same building as the present school, began accepting both male and female pupils, and in 1975 w ...

) before proceeding to study English Literature at Glasgow University. As a student he was "violently anti-Fascist, anti-Franco, above all anti-Hitler", and in 1938 he became president of the university's Liberal Club. Shortly before graduation, Junor was recruited by the Liberal Party activist Lady Glen-Coats to accompany her on a fact-finding tour of the Third Reich; they reportedly only managed to escape Germany days before the outbreak of 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 ...

in September 1939. During the war Junor had a commission in the

Fleet Air Arm The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land and at sea. The Fleet Air Arm operates the F-35 Lightning II for maritime strike, the AW159 Wil ...

, where he edited a station magazine which so impressed the

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong * Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral * Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings *Admiralty, Tr ...

that he was invited to become the assistant editor of a new magazine intended for the entire branch of the service.

Peregrine Worsthorne Sir Peregrine Gerard Worsthorne (''né'' Koch de Gooreynd; 22 December 1923 – 4 October 2020) was a British journalist, writer, and broadcaster. He spent the largest part of his career at the ''Telegraph'' newspaper titles, eventually becomi ...

br>"Sympathy for the devil"
''

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 ...

'', 12 August 2002 After the original choice for editor,

A. P. Herbert Sir Alan Patrick Herbert CH (A. P. Herbert, 24 September 1890 – 11 November 1971), was an English humorist, novelist, playwright, law reformist, and in 1935–1950 an independent Member of Parliament for Oxford University. Born in Ashtead, S ...

, declined to take up the role, Junor was appointed in his place and named the magazine ''Flight Deck''. Following demobilisation, he worked for a time in '' The Sydney Sun's'' London office before joining the ''

Daily Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first published as a broadsheet i ...

'' in 1947 as a reporter on a salary of 18 guineas a week.

Politics

Ambitious for a parliamentary seat, in the

1945 General Election The following elections occurred in the year 1945. Africa * 1945 South-West African legislative election Asia * 1945 Indian general election Australia * 1945 Fremantle by-election Europe * 1945 Albanian parliamentary election * 1945 Bulgaria ...

Junor contested Kincardine and Western Aberdeenshire in the Liberal interest, losing to the Conservative candidate by only 642 votes. He then unsuccessfully fought Edinburgh East at a by-election in 1947, and finally was beaten once more at Dundee West in

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United ...

. From that point on he moved away from the Liberals (breaking with the party completely over the

Suez crisis The Suez Crisis, or the Second Arab–Israeli war, also called the Tripartite Aggression ( ar, العدوان الثلاثي, Al-ʿUdwān aṯ-Ṯulāṯiyy) in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel,Also known as the Suez War or 1956 Wa ...

) and into the orbit of reactionary, traditional Toryism. He was a vigorous supporter of

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 ...

during her time as Prime Minister, and was knighted on her recommendation in 1980.

Journalism

His ''Sunday Express'' column (which he continued to write in his years as editor-in-chief) was noted for recurrent catchphrases, two of them being "pass the sick-bag, Alice" and "I don't know, but I think we should be told". Junor frequently mentioned the small town of

Auchtermuchty Auchtermuchty ( ; , 'upland of the pigs/boar') is a town in Fife, Scotland. It is beside Pitlour Hill and north of Glenrothes. History Until 1975 Auchtermuchty was a royal burgh, established under charter of King James V in 1517. There is ...

Fife Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i ...

. Junor could be brutally forthright in his column. In 1984 he wrote: " th compatriots like these

he IRA Brighton bombers He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...

wouldn't you rather admit to being a pig than be Irish?" Following complaints that the comment was

racist Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...

, Junor was censured by the Press Council in May 1985. He was often lampooned in ''Private Eye'', which nicknamed him 'Sir Jonah Junor' and described the ''Daily Express'' building on Fleet Street as 'the Black Lubyanka'.

Contempt of Parliament

On 24 January 1957, Junor was called to the Bar of the House of Commons to be reprimanded for

contempt of Parliament In countries with a parliamentary system of government, contempt of Parliament is the offence of obstructing the legislature in the carrying out of its functions, or of hindering any legislator in the performance of his duties. Typology The conce ...

– the last non-politician to be so called. The matter concerned an article about petrol allocation that appeared in the ''Sunday Express'' on 16 December 1956. Junor apologised:

Personal life

Junor married Pamela Welsh in 1942, and had two children. The journalist

Penny Junor Penelope Jane Junor (born 6 October 1949) is an English journalist and author. Early life and education Born in Leatherhead, Surrey, Junor was educated at Benenden School in Kent. Her father was the newspaper editor Sir John Junor and her br ...

is his daughter, and the journalist

Sam Leith Sam Leith (born 1 January 1974) is an English author, journalist and literary editor of ''The Spectator''. After an education at Eton and Magdalen College, Oxford, Leith worked at the revived satirical magazine ''Punch'', before moving to the ' ...

his grandson. He was a lifelong supporter of

Partick Thistle Partick Thistle Football Club are a professional association football, football club from Glasgow, Scotland. Despite their name, the club are based at Firhill Stadium in the Maryhill area of the city, and have not played in Partick since 1908. ...

.Junor, ''Listening for a Midnight Tram'', p. 5.

Works

*''The Best of JJ'' (1981) *''Listening for a Midnight Tram: Memoirs'' (1990)

References

*Penny Junor (2002): ''Home Truths: Life Around My Father'', *Graham Lord (2012): ''Lord's Ladies and Gentlemen: 100 Legends of the 20th Century''

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Junor, John 1919 births 1997 deaths Journalists from Glasgow Alumni of the University of Glasgow Daily Mail journalists Scottish columnists Scottish newspaper editors 20th-century Scottish autobiographers Scottish knights Artists' Rifles soldiers Scottish Liberal Party parliamentary candidates Fleet Air Arm personnel of World War II