Edward Mauger Iliffe, 1st Baron Iliffe, (17 May 1877 – 25 July 1960) was a British newspaper magnate, public servant and

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 in ...

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 o ...

Biography

Iliffe was the son of William Isaac Iliffe (1843–1917), a printer and

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or '' puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the s ...

, of

Allesley Allesley is an English suburban village and civil parish in the City of Coventry metropolitan borough, West Midlands, about 3¼ miles (5.25 km) west-northwest of Coventry city centre and 4 miles (6.5 km) east-south-east of Meriden. ...

near

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...

. His father, associated with

Henry Sturmey John James Henry Sturmey (1857–1930), known as Henry Sturmey, is best remembered as the inventor with James Archer of the Sturmey-Archer three-speed hub for bicycles, but he was a technical editor and journalist heavily involved as a pioneer o ...

, founded early publications on the motor industry and cycling. His father also founded the ''

Coventry Evening Telegraph The ''Coventry Telegraph'' is a local English tabloid newspaper. It was founded as ''The Midland Daily Telegraph'' in 1891 by William Isaac Iliffe, and was Coventry's first daily newspaper. Sold for half a penny, it was a four-page broadsheet new ...

'', which Edward began working on at age 17. After his father died in 1917, he and his brother expanded the business and Edward ultimately became president and the principal proprietor of the ''

Birmingham Post The ''Birmingham Post'' is a weekly printed newspaper based in Birmingham, England, with a circulation of 2,545 and distribution throughout the West Midlands. First published under the name the ''Birmingham Daily Post'' in 1857, it has had a s ...

'' and the ''

Birmingham Mail The ''Birmingham Mail'' (branded the ''Black Country Mail'' in the Black Country) is a tabloid newspaper based in Birmingham, England but distributed around Birmingham, the Black Country, and Solihull and parts of Warwickshire, Worcestershire a ...

'' and owner of the ''Coventry Evening Telegraph'' and the '' Cambridge Daily News''. Iliffe was also Chairman of Iliffe & Sons, a Director of London Insurance and a Member of Lloyd's as well as Deputy Chairman of Allied Newspapers Ltd. He was also part owner of ''

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 f ...

'' together with Lord Camrose and

Lord Kemsley 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. ...

(a partnership dissolved in 1937).

Member of Parliament

He sat as a

for Tamworth from 1923 to 1929, but resigned to give his seat to Sir

Arthur Steel-Maitland Sir Arthur Herbert Drummond Ramsay Steel-Maitland, 1st Baronet (5 July 1876 – 30 March 1935) was a British Conservative politician. He was the first Chairman of the Conservative Party from 1911 to 1916 and held junior office from 1915 to 191 ...

, who had been unseated in the election.

Public service and honours

During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, Iliffe was Controller of the Machine Tool Department at the

Ministry of Munitions The Minister of Munitions was a British government position created during the First World War to oversee and co-ordinate the production and distribution of munitions for the war effort. The position was created in response to the Shell Crisis ...

. For this service he was appointed a Commander of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

in the

1918 Birthday Honours The 1918 Birthday Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of The King, 3 June a ...

. Iliffe was knighted in 1922. On 22 June 1933 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Iliffe, of Yattendon in the County of

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Ber ...

, where he lived at Yattendon Court. He worked with the Association of the

British Chambers of Commerce British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

for many years and was the president of the association in 1932. During the Second World War, he served as chairman of the Duke of Gloucester's Red Cross and St John Appeal and helped raise more than £50 million, for which he was promoted to Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire in 1946. Iliffe also served as president of the Trustees of the

Shakespeare Memorial Theatre The Royal Shakespeare Theatre (RST) (originally called the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre) is a grade II* listed 1,040+ seat thrust stage theatre owned by the Royal Shakespeare Company dedicated to the English playwright and poet William Shakes ...

Stratford-upon-Avon Stratford-upon-Avon (), commonly known as just Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It is situated on the River Avon, north-we ...

, from 1933 to 1958, and president of the International Lawn Tennis Club of Great Britain from 1945 to 1959. In 1937, Iliffe donated Allesley Hall and the surrounding acreage to the

Coventry City Council Coventry City Council is the local government body responsible for the governance of the City of Coventry in England, which has been a metropolitan district since 1974. The city is divided up into 18 Wards each with three councillor A co ...

Personal life

Iliffe married Charlotte, daughter of Henry Gilding, in 1902, and they had a son and a daughter. He died in July 1960 in London, aged 83, and was succeeded in the barony by his son, Langton.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Iliffe, Edward Iliffe, 1st Baron 1877 births 1960 deaths Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom British newspaper chain founders 20th-century British newspaper publishers (people) Iliffe family Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire People from Yattendon Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1923–1924 UK MPs 1924–1929 UK MPs who were granted peerages Barons created by George V