Patrick Ensor (2 December 1946 – 1 July 2007) was a British newspaper journalist. He was the editor of ''

Guardian Weekly ''The Guardian Weekly'' is an international English-language news magazine based in London, UK. It is one of the world's oldest international news publications and has readers in more than 170 countries. Editorial content is drawn from its sis ...

'' from 1993 until his death in 2007.

Early life and career

Patrick Ensor was born in December 1946 in Bournemouth. His father, Michael de Normann Ensor, was a civil servant in

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

(now Ghana), whose mother was the theosophical educationist

Beatrice Ensor Beatrice Ensor (11 August 1885 – 1974) was an English theosophical educationist, pedagogue, co-founder of the New Education Fellowship (later World Education Fellowship) and editor of the journal ''Education for the New Era''. Early years Bo ...

. He was educated at St George's school in

Port Elizabeth Gqeberha (), formerly Port Elizabeth and colloquially often referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, Sou ...

, South Africa, until he was 10, then at

Bryanston School Bryanston School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) located next to the village of Bryanston, and near the town of Blandford Forum, in Dorset in South West England. It was founded in 1928 ...

in Dorset. He studied philosophy and economics at the

University of Bristol , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...

. Ensor's early journalism posts were at ''

The Yorkshire Post ''The Yorkshire Post'' is a daily broadsheet newspaper, published in Leeds in Yorkshire, England. It primarily covers stories from Yorkshire although its masthead carries the slogan "Yorkshire's National Newspaper". It was previously owned by ...

'', ''

Oxford Mail ''Oxford Mail'' is a daily tabloid newspaper in Oxford, England, owned by Newsquest. It is published six days a week. It is a sister paper to the weekly tabloid ''The Oxford Times''. History The ''Oxford Mail'' was founded in 1928 as a success ...

'', ''

Times Higher Education Supplement ''Times Higher Education'' (''THE''), formerly ''The Times Higher Education Supplement'' (''The Thes''), is a British magazine reporting specifically on news and issues related to higher education. Ownership TPG Capital acquired TSL Education ...

'', ''

Screen International ''Screen International'' is a British film magazine covering the international film business. It is published by Media Business Insight, a British B2B media company. The magazine is primarily aimed at those involved in the global film business. ...

'' and the ''Tower'' community newspaper. He joined ''The Guardian'' in 1974 as a features subeditor and he became the Arts Editor in 1980. He was associate/features editor of the

Wellington, New Zealand Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...

newspaper '' The Dominion'' from 1985 to 1991, where he helped editor Geoff Bayliss "rejuvenate" the paper. While at ''The Dominion'' he trained the poet Andrew Johnston as a subeditor. He returned to the UK in 1992 to rejoin ''The Guardian'' as a features subeditor before becoming the editor of ''Guardian Weekly'' in 1993, in succession to John Perkin. Ensor wrote for the '' Pacific Journalism Review'' in 2003, and contributed once a fortnight to

Radio New Zealand Radio New Zealand ( mi, Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa), commonly known as Radio NZ or simply RNZ, is a New Zealand public-service radio broadcaster and Crown entity that was established under the Radio New Zealand Act 1995. It operates news and c ...

Alan Rusbridger Alan Charles Rusbridger (born 29 December 1953) is a British journalist, who was formerly editor-in-chief of ''The Guardian'' and then principal of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford. Rusbridger became editor-in-chief of ''The Guardian'' in 1995, hav ...

said of Ensor: "He was a punctilious editor of the old school as well as a quick-witted, tireless and kind colleague."

Roger Alton Roger Alton (born 20 December 1947 in Oxford) is an English journalist. He was formerly editor of ''The Independent'' and ''The Observer'', and executive editor of ''The Times''. Early life and education He was educated at Clifton College and ...

said he was "a ferociously sharp journalist, clever, dedicated, hugely industrious - shamingly so to many of his colleagues like me - and hugely creative." Ensor's deputy editor,

Natalie Bennett Natalie Louise Bennett, Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (born 10 February 1966) is a Australian-British politician and journalist who served as Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales from 2012 to 2016. Bennett was given a peerage in ...

, became editor after he died.

Personal life

Ensor was married to Judith Thomas, an artist and naturopath osteopath. He sang in a choir, swam, and played cricket, football, tennis and golf. He was diagnosed with auto-immune haemolytic anemia in February 2007 and died that July at his holiday home in Provence. He was survived by his wife, author and creator of Portals of Light Meditation Cards, and by his brother Jeremy. His niece, Josie, was the Middle East correspondent for ''

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 ...

'' based in

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

and has won the Marie Colvin Award and an Amnesty International Award. She is now based in New York for ''The Daily Telegraph''. His nephew, Charlie, is currently a Press Officer Officer for '' MSI Reproductive Choices'' based in London.

References

External links

Patrick Ensor
in

Sound Archives {{DEFAULTSORT:Ensor, Patrick 1946 births 2007 deaths British male journalists British newspaper editors The Guardian journalists Writers from Bournemouth Alumni of the University of Bristol