Fountain near St James Church - London 2012

Julius Salter Elias, 1st Viscount Southwood (5 January 1873 – 10 April 1946), was a British newspaper proprietor, Labour politician and

hereditary peer The hereditary peers form part of the peerage in the United Kingdom. As of April 2025, there are 800 hereditary peers: 30 dukes (including six royal dukes), 34 marquesses, 189 earls, 108 viscounts, and 439 barons (not counting subsidiary ...

. He rose from humble origins to become head of

Odhams Press Odhams Press was a British publishing company, operating from 1920 to 1968. Originally a magazine publisher, Odhams later expanded into book publishing and then children's comics. The company was acquired by Fleetway Publications in 1961 and th ...

, Britain's largest newspaper and printing combine.

Early life and education

Elias was born in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, the youngest of the seven children of David Elias, a manufacturer and salesman of jet buttons and brooches whose initial success in the 1860s diminished as fashions changed. They moved to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

where his father set up as a

newsagent A newsagent's shop or simply newsagent's or paper shop (British English), newsagency (Australian English) or newsstand ( American and Canadian English) is a business that sells newspapers, magazines, cigarettes, snacks and often items of local ...

and

confectioner Confectionery is the art of making confections, or sweet foods. Confections are items that are rich in sugar and carbohydrates, although exact definitions are difficult. In general, however, confections are divided into two broad and somewh ...

at 81 The Grove,

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. It ...

. Elias rose at 6 a.m. each morning to deliver newspapers in Hammersmith before going to school. He left school at the age of 13 and tried various jobs before going to work as an office-boy at Odhams Bros, then a small printing firm in Hart Street employing about twenty people. When his son began work at Odhams, David Elias returned to the jet business, reviving his links with

Whitby Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It is on the Yorkshire Coast at the mouth of the River Esk, North Yorkshire, River Esk and has a maritime, mineral and tourist economy. From the Middle Ages, Whitby ...

and importing large quantities of jet buttons for London dressmakers. Although the family were not wealthy, they were able to live comfortably at Lonsdale Square at

Barnsbury Barnsbury is an area of north London in the London Borough of Islington, within the N1 and N7 postal districts. History The name is a syncopated form of ''Bernersbury'' (1274), being so called after the Berners family: powerful medieval ...

Islington Islington ( ) is an inner-city area of north London, England, within the wider London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's #Islington High Street, High Street to Highbury Fields ...

Career

Elias worked his way up to become managing director and eventually chairman of the firm, which after a merger with ''

John Bull John Bull is a national personification of England, especially in political cartoons and similar graphic works. He is usually depicted as a stout, middle-aged, country-dwelling, jolly and matter-of-fact man. He originated in satirical works of ...

'' in 1920 took the name Odhams Press Ltd. He was also managing director and chairman of the company that controlled the ''

Illustrated London News ''The Illustrated London News'', founded by Herbert Ingram and first published on Saturday 14 May 1842, was the world's first illustrated weekly news magazine. The magazine was published weekly for most of its existence, switched to a less freq ...

''. Elias was raised to the peerage as Baron Southwood, of Fernhurst in the County of Sussex, in 1937. In 1944 he was appointed

Chief Whip The Chief Whip is a political leader whose task is to enforce the whipping system, which aims to ensure that legislators who are members of a political party attend and vote on legislation as the party leadership prescribes. United Kingdom I ...

of the Labour Party in the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

, which he remained until the following year. In January 1946 he was made Viscount Southwood, of Fernhurst in the County of Sussex.

Marriage

In 1906, Elias married Alice Louise Collard, daughter of Charles Stone Collard, head of a London firm of chartered accountants based at Queen Victoria Street, near the

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the Mayors in England, mayor of the City of London, England, and the Leader of the council, leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded Order of precedence, precedence over a ...

official residence An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless of whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority (either their own or that of th ...

, Mansion House.Viscount Southwood,

R. J. Minney Rubeigh James Minney (29 August 1895 – 5 January 1979) was a British film producer, journalist, playwright, editor and author. He was author of over 40 books including novels and biographies. As a film-maker and film producer, he worked with Br ...

, Odhams Press, 1954, p.53 They had no children.

Death

Lord Southwood died from a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

at his

Highgate Highgate is a suburban area of N postcode area, north London in the London Borough of Camden, London Boroughs of Camden, London Borough of Islington, Islington and London Borough of Haringey, Haringey. The area is at the north-eastern corner ...

home in April 1946, at the age of 73. As he had no son, the viscountcy and barony became extinct upon his death.

References

External links

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Southwood, Julius Salter Elias, 1st Viscount 1873 births 1946 deaths Labour Party (UK) hereditary peers Viscounts created by George VI Barons created by George VI Odhams Press