William Percival Crozier (1 August 1879 – 16 April 1944) was a British

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

and editor of the ''

Manchester 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 ...

'' from 1932, when he succeeded

Ted Scott Edward Walter Scott (April 30, 1916 – June 21, 2004) was a Canadian Anglican bishop. Scott was born in Edmonton, Alberta in 1916 and grew up in Vancouver, British Columbia, where his father was a rector. He attended Anglican Theological Col ...

, who had died in a sailing accident, until his death in 1944. Crozier was born at Stanhope in

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

on 1 August 1879, the youngest son of Rev. Richard Crozier, a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

minister, and his wife, Elizabeth Hallimond. He was educated at

Manchester Grammar School The Manchester Grammar School (MGS) in Manchester, England, is the largest independent school (UK), independent day school for boys in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1515 as a Grammar school#free tuition, free grammar school next to Manchester C ...

and

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, where he gained a first class degree in

Classics Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

(1900). After leaving

he spent a year as a

schoolmaster The word schoolmaster, or simply master, refers to a male school teacher. This usage survives in British independent schools, both secondary and preparatory, and a few Indian boarding schools (such as The Doon School) that were modelled after B ...

Knaresborough Knaresborough ( ) is a market and spa town and civil parish in the Borough of Harrogate, in North Yorkshire, England, on the River Nidd. It is east of Harrogate. History Knaresborough is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as ''Chenares ...

, before abandoning

teaching Teaching is the practice implemented by a ''teacher'' aimed at transmitting skills (knowledge, know-how, and interpersonal skills) to a learner, a student, or any other audience in the context of an educational institution. Teaching is closely re ...

for

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (profes ...

, joining first

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

and then the

in 1903. He made an impression with his critical analysis of the case for

tariff reform The Tariff Reform League (TRL) was a protectionist British pressure group formed in 1903 to protest against what they considered to be unfair foreign imports and to advocate Imperial Preference to protect British industry from foreign competitio ...

, and quickly came to the attention of the Guardian's then

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, orga ...

C. P. Scott Charles Prestwich Scott (26 October 1846 – 1 January 1932), usually cited as C. P. Scott, was a British journalist, publisher and politician. Born in Bath, Somerset, he was the editor of the ''Manchester Guardian'' (now ''the Guardian'') ...

, who, recognising Crozier's potential, made him his right-hand man at the paper in charge of news gathering. In 1912 Crozier was made news editor and in 1918 military critic. He also later served as foreign editor. Under Scott, Crozier reorganized the Guardian's foreign news service, increased the use of

photographs A photograph (also known as a photo, image, or picture) is an image created by light falling on a photosensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic image sensor, such as a CCD or a CMOS chip. Most photographs are now created ...

and

map A map is a symbolic depiction emphasizing relationships between elements of some space, such as objects, regions, or themes. Many maps are static, fixed to paper or some other durable medium, while others are dynamic or interactive. Although ...

s, encouraged new features and introduced the daily

crossword A crossword is a word puzzle that usually takes the form of a square or a rectangular grid of white- and black-shaded squares. The goal is to fill the white squares with letters, forming words or phrases, by solving clues which lead to the answ ...

in 1929. He also developed a deep commitment to

Zionism Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after ''Zion'') is a Nationalism, nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is ...

and became "''the leading advocate in the daily press of a Jewish national home''." (Morris) Crozier was made a member of the

's board and was appointed editor in April 1932 after the death of

Edward Taylor Scott Edward Taylor Scott (15 November 1883 – 22 April 1932) was a British journalist, who was editor and briefly co-owner of the ''Manchester Guardian'', and the younger son of its editor-owner C. P. Scott. After a brief spell at Oxford University, ...

. Crozier's appointment was in part intended to guarantee editorial continuity, and he maintained a close control over the paper, frequently contributing leading articles and editorials. Foreign news had always been Crozier's chief interest and his editorship coincided with the establishment of the

National Socialist Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...

regime in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and 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 ...

. Working closely with his friend and sometime German

correspondent A correspondent or on-the-scene reporter is usually a journalist or commentator for a magazine, or an agent who contributes reports to a newspaper, or radio or television news, or another type of company, from a remote, often distant, locati ...

F. A. Voigt Frederick Augustus Voigt (9 May 1892 – 8 January 1957) was a British journalist and author of German descent, most famous for his work with the ''Manchester Guardian'' and his opposition to dictatorship and totalitarianism on the European Conti ...

, Crozier "''considered it no less than his duty personally and persistently to expose the

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...

''" (Morris) and he pursued this policy with a crusading zeal until the very end. In the late 1930s his health became increasingly frail and he suffered from a perforated

ulcer An ulcer is a discontinuity or break in a bodily membrane that impedes normal function of the affected organ. According to Robbins's pathology, "ulcer is the breach of the continuity of skin, epithelium or mucous membrane caused by sloughing o ...

in 1936. In June 1936 he was elected to serve on the Liberal Party Council.The Liberal Magazine, 1936 In 1943 he was diagnosed with the heart condition which proved ultimately to be fatal. Crozier died at his Manchester home on 16 April 1944, aged 64, just two months before his so
Major S.F. Crozier was part of the Military Police
operations overseeing logistics landings using the Mulberry Harbours at Gold Beach (Arromanche) after D-Day. He was 'mentioned in dispatches' for this work and later awarded the MBE.

Novels

* ''Letters of Pontius Pilate: Written During His Governorship of Judea to His Friend Seneca in Rome'' (1928) * ''The Fates are Laughing'' (1945; published posthumously)

Novels

References

Further reading