Stafford William Somerfield (9 January 1911–14 January 1995)Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, 107th edition, vol. 1, ed. Charles Mosley, Burke's Peerage Ltd, 2003, p. 872 was a British

newspaper editor 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 ...

Early life

Born in

Barnstaple Barnstaple ( or ) is a river-port town in North Devon, England, at the River Taw's lowest crossing point before the Bristol Channel. From the 14th century, it was licensed to export wool and won great wealth. Later it imported Irish wool, bu ...

to Albert George Somerfield and Bessie (née Rivett), Somerfield worked at the ''

Express and Echo The ''Express & Echo'' is a paid-for newspaper for Exeter and the surrounding area. History The ''Express & Echo'' was established in 1904 as the result of a merger between the ''Western Echo'' and the ''Devon Evening Express'', which was foun ...

'', then moved to London as a journalist on the ''

Daily Telegraph Daily or The Daily may refer to: Journalism * Daily newspaper, newspaper issued on five to seven day of most weeks * ''The Daily'' (podcast), a podcast by ''The New York Times'' * ''The Daily'' (News Corporation), a defunct US-based iPad new ...

'' and the ''

News Chronicle The ''News Chronicle'' was a British daily newspaper. Formed by the merger of '' The Daily News'' and the ''Daily Chronicle'' in 1930, it ceased publication on 17 October 1960,''Liberal Democrat News'' 15 October 2010, accessed 15 October 2010 be ...

''. During

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 ...

he served with the

Gloucestershire Regiment The Gloucestershire Regiment, commonly referred to as the Glosters, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army from 1881 until 1994. It traced its origins to Colonel Gibson's Regiment of Foot, which was raised in 1694 and later became the ...

, rising to become a

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

Bernard Shrimsley Bernard Shrimsley (13 January 1931 – 9 June 2016) was a British journalist and newspaper editor. Early life and career The son of John, a tailor’s pattern cutter, and his wife Alice, a homemaker, Shrimsley (previously Shremski) was born in ...

, "Blood-lust of a newshound", ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', 16 January 1995

Newspaper career

When the war ended, Somerfield joined the ''

News of the World The ''News of the World'' was a weekly national Tabloid journalism#Red tops, red top Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published every Sunday in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the world's highest-selling En ...

'', and in 1960, he was appointed as its editor. He prioritised shocking stories and printed explicit details of

Diana Dors Diana Dors (born Diana Mary Fluck; 23 October 19314 May 1984) was an English actress and singer. Dors came to public notice as a blonde bombshell, much in the style of Americans Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield and Mamie Van Doren. Dors was pr ...

and Christine Keeler's lives. He often fell into conflict with the Press Council, particularly after paying David Smith, chief prosecution witness in the

Moors murders The Moors murders were carried out by Ian Brady and Myra Hindley between July 1963 and October 1965, in and around Manchester, England. The victims were five children—Pauline Reade, John Kilbride, Keith Bennett, Lesley Ann Downey, and Edward E ...

case, on condition that the suspects were convicted. In common with the Carr family, Somerfield vociferously opposed

Robert Maxwell Ian Robert Maxwell (born Ján Ludvík Hyman Binyamin Hoch; 10 June 1923 – 5 November 1991) was a Czechoslovak-born British media proprietor, member of parliament (MP), suspected spy, and fraudster. Early in his life, Maxwell escaped from N ...

's attempt to take over the ''News of the World''Roy Greenslad
''Press Gang: How Newspapers Make Profits From Propaganda''
London: Pan, 2004

003 003, O03, 0O3, OO3 may refer to: *003, fictional British 00 Agent *003, former emergency telephone number for the Norwegian ambulance service (until 1986) *1990 OO3, the asteroid 6131 Towen * OO3 gauge model railway *''O03 (O2)'' and other related ...

p. 395 and wrote a front-page leading article in October 1968 on the subject, which led to extensive criticism that his attitude was

xenophobic Xenophobia () is the fear or dislike of anything which is perceived as being foreign or strange. It is an expression of perceived conflict between an in-group and out-group and may manifest in suspicion by the one of the other's activities, a ...

. He objected to

Rupert Murdoch Keith Rupert Murdoch ( ; born 11 March 1931) is an Australian-born American business magnate. Through his company News Corp, he is the owner of hundreds of local, national, and international publishing outlets around the world, including ...

's eventual purchase of a majority of the title's stock from the Carrs a few months later. He was asked to resign in February 1970 by Murdoch, now chairman of the company, and reportedly took an offer of £100,000 to leave.

Later life

In retirement, he became a judge at

Crufts Crufts is an international dog show held annually in the United Kingdom, first held in 1891. Organised and hosted by The Kennel Club, it is the largest show of its kind in the world. Crufts is centred on a championship conformation show for do ...

and wrote columns on dog-related matters. He also wrote three books: the first was in 1950 after interviewing

John George Haigh John George Haigh (; 24 July 1909 – 10 August 1949), commonly known as the Acid Bath Murderer, was an English serial killer convicted for the murder of six people, although he claimed to have killed nine. Haigh battered to death or shot his ...

, the convicted murderer known as the 'Acid bath murderer'; then in 1979 he penned a story about his Fleet Street memories; and finally in 1985, a book about the

Boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: * Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing *Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

, a breed he had an in-depth interest in. He was chairman of

Dog World ''Dog World'' was a monthly magazine aimed at the community of serious dog enthusiasts and participants, including breeders; conformation exhibitors; obedience, agility, herding, and field trial competitors; veterinarians; groomers; and trainers ...

. Married first, 1934: Gertrude Frances Camfield, by whom he had two daughters. Divorced 1950. Married second, 1951, Elizabeth Egerton, daughter of Lt-Col Arthur Egerton Cotton, DSO, of the

Rifle Brigade The Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army formed in January 1800 as the "Experimental Corps of Riflemen" to provide sharpshooters, scouts, and skirmishers. They were soon renamed the "Rifle ...

, a descendant of

Sir Lynch Cotton, 4th Baronet Sir Lynch Salusbury Cotton, 4th Baronet (''c.'' 1705 – 14 August 1775) was a Member of Parliament (MP) for Denbighshire. He was the son of Sir Thomas Cotton and his wife Philadelphia Lynch. He was the younger brother of the 3rd Baronet, Robe ...

, of Rev. Sir Philip Grey Egerton, 9th Baronet, and of Josias Du Pre, a director of the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

and

Governor of Madras This is a list of the governors, agents, and presidents of colonial Madras, initially of the English East India Company, up to the end of British colonial rule in 1947. English Agents In 1639, the grant of Madras to the English was finalized be ...

from 1770 to 1773.Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, 107th edition, ed. Charles Mosley, Burke's Peerage Ltd, 2003, vol. 1, p. 872, vol. 2, p. 1679 Elizabeth Somerfield's first husband, Francis Montgomery, was son of the politician and lawyer

Robert Mortimer Montgomery Robert Mortimer Montgomery KC (October 1869 – 31 December 1948), was a British lawyer, school administrator, legal writer, and Liberal Party politician. Early life and education Montgomery was born the son of Rev. John Knowles Montgomery, Unita ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Somerfield, Stafford 1911 births 1995 deaths British Army personnel of World War II English newspaper editors English male journalists Gloucestershire Regiment officers News of the World people