Sydney Robert Elliott (31 August 1902 – 9 October 1987) 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 editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is held account ...

Biography

Born on Clydeside, Scotland, Elliott became involved in the co-operative movement. In the late 1920s, he moved to Manchester to become editor of the monthly co-operative journal '' The Millgate Monthly''."Our London Correspondence", ''

The Manchester Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', 28 November 1953 In 1929, the Sunday newspaper ''

Reynold's News ''Reynold's News'' was a Sunday newspaper in the United Kingdom, founded as ''Reynolds's Weekly Newspaper''Joanne Shattock, ''The Cambridge Bibliography of English Literature'', p.2908 by George W. M. Reynolds in 1850, who became its first edit ...

'' was bought by the

Co-operative Press The Co-operative Press is a cooperative, co-operative whose principal activity is the publication of ''Co-op News''. The society's stated mission is to "connect, champion and challenge the global co-operative movement". The co-operative's members ...

, and Elliott was appointed as its editor. He worked on updating the appearance of the paper, and appointed H.N. Brailsford and

Hamilton Fyfe Henry Hamilton Fyfe (29 September 1869 – 15 June 1951) was a British journalist and writer who was editor of both the newspapers the ''Daily Mirror'' and the '' Daily Herald''. Career Born in London, and educated at Fettes College, Edinburg ...

as columnists. In 1937, he wrote a comprehensive account of the movement, ''England: Cradle of Co-operation'', while he also launched the United Peace Alliance to campaign against Franco in the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

. This soon became the focus of unsuccessful attempts by communists and left-wing members of the Labour Party to create a popular front. In 1941, Elliott 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 ...

to work on the ''

Evening Standard The ''London Standard'', formerly the ''Evening Standard'' (1904–2024) and originally ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), is a long-established regional newspaper published weekly and distributed free newspaper, free of charge in London, Engl ...

'', then showing sympathy with

radical Radical (from Latin: ', root) may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics *Classical radicalism, the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and Latin America in the 19th century *Radical politics ...

causes under its editor,

Michael Foot Michael Mackintosh Foot (23 July 19133 March 2010) was a British politician who was Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition (United Kingdom), Leader of the Opposition from 1980 to 1983. Foot beg ...

. He succeeded Foot as editor in 1943, but left during the run-up to the 1945 general election after owner

Lord Beaverbrook William Maxwell Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook (25 May 1879 – 9 June 1964), was a Canadian-British newspaper publisher and backstage politician who was an influential figure in British media and politics of the first half of the 20th century ...

began pressing him to advocate a vote for the Conservative Party. He became Editorial Advisor at the ''

Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily Tabloid journalism, tabloid newspaper. Founded in 1903, it is part of Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), which is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the tit ...

'', where he masterminded its campaign to support the Labour Party at the 1945 election. He later moved to supervise the ''Mirror''s newspaper and radio operations in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, but returned to become general manager of the '' Daily Herald'' in 1952. Elliott became editor of the ''Herald'' in November 1953. In 1957, the

Trades Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union center, national trade union centre, a federation of trade unions that collectively represent most unionised workers in England and Wales. There are 48 affiliated unions with a total of ...

rescinded its editorial control of the paper to

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 ...

, and Elliott left the paper."Our London Correspondence", ''

Manchester Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', 18 September 1957 He was then engaged by

Tim Hewat Timothy Edward Patterson Hewat (4 May 1928 – 19 May 2004) was an Australian television producer and journalist. He has been described as the "maverick genius of Granada TV, Granada television's current affairs in its formative years" and "one o ...

to research a brief for a television documentary strand on ITV, to be based on social issues. This led to the ''Searchlight'' series, a precursor of ''

World in Action ''World in Action'' was a British investigative current affairs programme made by Granada Television for ITV from 7 January 1963 until 7 December 1998. Its campaigning journalism frequently had a major impact on events of the day. Its product ...

'', on which Elliott worked as a researcher.Peter Godard et al, ''Public issue television'', pp.12, 17 His grandson, Ben Summerskill, is a former chief executive of Stonewall, the LGBT equality organisation.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elliott, Sydney 1902 births 1987 deaths British cooperative organizers Scottish newspaper editors London Evening Standard people