Richard Reid Ingrams (born 19 August 1937 in Chelsea, London) is an English journalist, a co-founder and second editor of the British

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming o ...

magazine '' Private Eye'', and founding editor of '' The Oldie'' magazine. He left the latter job at the end of May 2014.Ben Quin
"Richard Ingrams resigns as editor of the Oldie over dispute with publisher"
''The Guardian'', 31 May 2014

Early life and education

Ingrams's parents, who had three other sons including the banker and opera impresario Leonard Ingrams, were Leonard St Clair Ingrams (1900–1953), O.B.E., an investment banker from a clergy family, who worked as a government official in propaganda, economic warfare and the secret services during World War II, and Victoria, the daughter of Sir James Reid, private physician to Queen Victoria. Through his maternal grandmother and her ties to the Baring family, Ingrams is a direct descendant of the 19th-century prime minister Earl Grey.Leonard Ingrams
by Paul Levy, The Independent, 1 August 2005. Ingrams was educated at the independent preparatory school

West Downs Westdowns (sometimes spelt incorrectly as ''Westdown'') is a small hamlet in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It lies half-a-mile south-west of Delabole and is sometimes considered part of that village, however, Westdowns is a distinct ...

in Winchester, Hampshire, followed by Shrewsbury School, where he met Willie Rushton and edited the school magazine. Before attending Oxford, he did his National Service in the army ranks after failing his interview for officer training, something which was unusual for someone from his background at the time. At University College, Oxford, where he read Classics, he shared tutorials with Robin Butler, later Cabinet Secretary and sometimes referred to as a "pillar of the Establishment". More importantly, he met

Paul Foot Paul Foot may refer to: * Paul Foot (comedian) (born 1973), English comedian * Paul Foot (journalist) (1937–2004), British investigative journalist, political campaigner and author See also * Paul Foot Award The Paul Foot Award is an award give ...

, another former Shrewsbury pupil not yet the left-wing radical he became, who was to be a lifelong friend, and whose biography Ingrams wrote after Foot's death.

Career

Along with several other Old Salopians, including Willie Rushton, Ingrams founded ''Private Eye'' in 1962, taking over the editorship from Christopher Booker in 1963. It was a classic case, he claimed on '' Desert Island Discs'' in 2008, of the "old boy network". '' Private Eye'' was part of the satire boom of the early 1960s, which included the television show '' That Was The Week That Was'', for which Ingrams wrote, and The Establishment nightclub, run by Peter Cook. When ''Private Eye'' ran into financial problems Cook was able to gain a majority shareholding on the proceeds of his brief but financially successful venture. Ingrams vacated the editor's chair at the ''Eye'' in 1986, when Ian Hislop took over. In 1992 Ingrams created and became editor of '' The Oldie'', a now monthly humorous lifestyle and issues magazine mainly aimed at the older generation. As of 2005 he was still chairman of ''Private Eye'', working there every Monday,Rob McGibbo
"Richard Ingrams interview"
'' Press Gazette'' 15 December 2005. spending four days a week in London. He was television critic for '' The Spectator'' from 1976 to 1984, though he rarely showed much enthusiasm for the medium. He was a regular on the radio panel quiz '' The News Quiz'' for its first twenty years and contributed a column to ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper Sunday editions, published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group, Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. ...

'' for eighteen years. In late 2005 he moved to ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publishe ...

'', considering ''The Observer'' to have gone downhill, particularly as a consequence of its support for the Iraq war. In his 27 August 2011 column, he announced that he had been sacked by the newly appointed editor of ''The Independent''. Shortly after the death of

Jimmy Savile Sir James Wilson Vincent Savile (; 31 October 1926 – 29 October 2011) was an English DJ, television and radio personality who hosted BBC shows including ''Top of the Pops'' and '' Jim'll Fix It''. During his lifetime, he was well kno ...

, Ingrams' ''The Oldie'' was the first publication to break the story of Savile's history of child abuse, after several national newspapers had been unwilling to print it. After a series of clashes with James Pembroke, owner and publisher of ''The Oldie'', Ingrams left the magazine at the end of May 2014 having resigned as editor. His most recent book is a biography of Ludovic Kennedy.

Personal life

Ingrams married Mary Morgan on 24 November 1962; they had three children: a son, Fred, who is an artist; a second son, Arthur, who was disabled and died in childhood; and a daughter, Margaret ("Jubby") a mother of three who died in 2004, aged 39, of a heroin overdose in Brighton. Ingrams played the organ for many years in his local Anglican church in Aldworth, Berkshire, each Sunday. The Romney Marsh Historic Churches Trust was formed under the patronage of Ingrams and the then Archbishop of Canterbury, Robert Runcie. In 2011 he announced he had converted to

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. Ingrams currently lives in Berkshire with his wife (who is also his god-daughter) Sara, a medical researcher. Before they married in 2011 he had a “long-term partner, Debbie Bosley, a waitress-turned novelist 27 years his junior” ‘Richard Ingrams In Love: Is He Serious?’, Elizabeth Grice, ''The Daily Telegraph'', 3 March 2011 His sister-in-law (wife of his late brother Rupert, a publisher) was

Davina Ingrams, 18th Baroness Darcy de Knayth Davina Marcia Herbert Ingrams, 18th Baroness Darcy de Knayth (10 July 1938 – 24 February 2008) was a crossbench member of the House of Lords, continuing to sit after the passing of the House of Lords Act 1999 as an elected peer. Biography ...

; his nephew Caspar is the present baron. A biography, ''Richard Ingrams: Lord of the Gnomes'' () by

Harry Thompson Harry William Thompson (6 February 1960 – 7 November 2005) was an English radio and television producer, comedy writer, novelist and biographer. He was the creator of the dark humour television series '' Monkey Dust'', screened between 200 ...

, was published in 1994.

Books by Ingrams

As author

* ''Mrs Wilson's Diary'' (with John Wells) 1965 * ''Mrs Wilson's Second Diary'' (with John Wells) 1966 * ''Mrs Wilson's Diaries'' (with John Wells) 1967 * ''The Tale of Driver Grope'' (with Ralph Steadman) 1969 * ''The Bible for Motorists: By Old Jowett'' (with Barry Fantoni) 1970 * ''Harris in Wonderland: By Philip Reid'' (pseudonym of Ingrams and Andrew Osmond) 1973 * ''God's Apology: A Chronicle of Three Friends'' 1977 * ''Goldenballs'' 1979 * '' Dear Bill: The Collected Letters of Denis Thatcher'' (with John Wells) 1980 * ''Romney Marsh and the Royal Military Canal'' (with Fay Godwin) 1980 * ''The Other Half: Further Letters of Denis Thatcher'' (with John Wells) 1981 * ''One for the Road'' (with John Wells) 1982 * ''Piper's Places: John Piper in England & Wales'' (with John Piper) 1983 * ''My Round!'' (with John Wells) 1983 * ''Bottoms Up!'' (with John Wells) 1984 * ''Down the Hatch!'' (with John Wells) 1985 * '' John Stewart Collis: A Memoir'' 1986 * ''Just the One'' (with John Wells) 1986 * ''The Best of "Dear Bill"'' (with John Wells) 1986 * ''Mud in Your Eye!'' (with John Wells) 1987 * ''You Might as Well be Dead'' 1988 * ''Still Going Strong'' (with John Wells) 1988 * '' The Ridgeway: Europe's Oldest Road'' 1988 * ''Number 10'' (with John Wells) 1989 * ''On and On'' (with John Wells) 1990 * '' Muggeridge: The Biography'' 1995 * ''My Friend Footy: A Memoir of

'' 2005 * ''The Life and Adventures of William Cobbett'' 2005 * ''Quips and Quotes: A Journalist's Commonplace Book'' 2011 * ''Ludo and the Power of the Book: Ludovic Kennedy's Campaigns for Justice'' 2017 * ''The Sins of

G. K. Chesterton Gilbert Keith Chesterton (29 May 1874 – 14 June 1936) was an English writer, philosopher, Christian apologist, and literary and art critic. He has been referred to as the "prince of paradox". Of his writing style, ''Time'' observed: "Wh ...

'' 2021

As compiler and editor

* ''What the Papers Never Meant to Say: "Private Eye's" Second Book of Boobs'' 1968 * ''The Life and Times of Private Eye 1961–1971'' 1971 * ''Beachcomber: The Works of

J. B. Morton John Cameron Andrieu Bingham Michael Morton, better known by his preferred abbreviation J. B. Morton (7 June 1893 – 10 May 1979) was an English humorous writer noted for authoring a column called "By the Way" under the pen name ' Beachcomber' i ...

'' 1974 * ''Cobbett's Country Book: An Anthology of William Cobbett's Writings on Country Matters'' 1974 * ''"Private Eye's" Book of Pseuds: A Mood Statement'' 1975 * ''"Private Eye's" Second Book of Pseuds'' 1977 * ''The Penguin Book of Private Eye Cartoons'' 1983 * '' Dr Johnson by Mrs Thrale: The "Anecdotes" of Mrs Piozzi in Their Original Form'' 1984 * ''England: An Anthology'' 1989 * ''The Bumper Beachcomber'' 1991 * ''The Oldie Book of Cartoons'' 1996 * ''More Cartoons'' 1996 * ''I Once Met: Fifty Encounters with the Famous'' 1996 * ''Jesus: Authors Take Sides: An Anthology'' 1999 * ''The Oldie Book of Cartoons, 1992–2009'' 2009 * ''The Oldie Book of Cartoons: A New Selection'' 2013

References

External links

Richard Ingrams interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ingrams, Richard 1937 births Military personnel from London 20th-century British Army personnel 20th-century British journalists 21st-century British journalists Alumni of University College, Oxford British Army soldiers British magazine founders Converts to Roman Catholicism from Anglicanism English Roman Catholics English magazine editors English male journalists English radio personalities Living people People educated at Shrewsbury School People educated at West Downs School People from Chelsea, London Private Eye contributors The Independent people The Observer people The Spectator people Writers from London