Sir Geoffrey Sandford Cox (7 April 1910 – 2 April 2008) was a

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

-born newspaper and television journalist. He was a former editor and chief executive of ITN and a founder of '' News at Ten''.

Early life

Cox was born in

Palmerston North Palmerston North (; mi, Te Papa-i-Oea, known colloquially as Palmy) is a city in the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Located in the eastern Manawatu Plains, the city is near the north bank of the ...

, the son of Charles William Sandford Cox, a bank manager, and Mary Cox, daughter of Duncan MacGregor. He was educated at Southland Boys' High School, followed by the University of Otago and then a

Rhodes scholarship The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...

Oriel College, Oxford Oriel College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Located in Oriel Square, the college has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford (a title formerly claimed by University College, ...

, from 1932 to 1935.

Career

His career in journalism began in 1935 when he joined the ''

News Chronicle The ''News Chronicle'' was a British daily newspaper. Formed by the merger of '' The Daily News'' and the ''Daily Chronicle'' in 1930, it ceased publication on 17 October 1960,''Liberal Democrat News'' 15 October 2010, accessed 15 October 2010 b ...

''. He covered the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlism, Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebeli ...

from Madrid, then went to Vienna and Paris for the ''

Daily Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first published as a broadsheet ...

'' in which he broke the news in 1939 that British troops had arrived in France. He then covered the

Winter War The Winter War,, sv, Vinterkriget, rus, Зи́мняя война́, r=Zimnyaya voyna. The names Soviet–Finnish War 1939–1940 (russian: link=no, Сове́тско-финская война́ 1939–1940) and Soviet–Finland War 1 ...

from Finland. He was critical of the Soviet attack on Finland but foresaw that the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...

would defeat the Germans. He enlisted in the

New Zealand Army , image = New Zealand Army Logo.png , image_size = 175px , caption = , start_date = , country = , branch = ...

, serving in Crete and

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

as an Intelligence Officer on Freyberg's staff, then was First Secretary at the new New Zealand Embassy in Washington (when

Walter Nash Sir Walter Nash (12 February 1882 – 4 June 1968) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 27th prime minister of New Zealand in the Second Labour Government from 1957 to 1960. He is noted for his long period of political service, hav ...

was Minister to the United States) before serving in Italy. In 1945, Cox was appointed a

Member 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 o ...

(Military Division). In 1956 he joined ITN, the new commercial TV channel in Britain as News Editor of

Independent Television News Independent Television News (ITN) is a UK-based television production company. It is made up of two divisions: Broadcast News and ITN Productions. ITN is based in London, with bureaux and offices in Beijing, Brussels, Jerusalem, Johannesburg, N ...

. In the

1959 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1959 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 30 December 1958 to cel ...

, Cox 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 ...

, and in the

1966 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1966 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced in supplements to the ''Lo ...

he was knighted as a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are ...

. He started ''News at Ten'' in 1967. In 1977 Cox joined Yorkshire Television (YTV) as Ward Thomas' Deputy Chairman. In the 2000 Queen's Birthday Honours, Cox was appointed a

Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant (document), royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Monarchy of New Zealand, Queen of New Zealand, "for those ...

, for services to New Zealand and New Zealand interests in the United Kingdom.

Personal life

He married Cecily Turner in 1935; they had two sons and twin daughters; his wife died in 1993.

Bibliography

*''Defence of Madrid'' (1937,

Victor Gollancz Sir Victor Gollancz (; 9 April 1893 – 8 February 1967) was a British publisher and humanitarian. Gollancz was known as a supporter of left-wing causes. His loyalties shifted between liberalism and communism, but he defined himself as a Chris ...

, London) (2006 Otago University Press edition)
reprinted 2006
*''The Red Army Moves'' (1941, Victor Gollancz, London) (report from Finland on the Winter War) *''The Road to Trieste'' (1947,

Heinemann Heinemann may refer to: * Heinemann (surname) * Heinemann (publisher), a publishing company * Heinemann Park, a.k.a. Pelican Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States See also * Heineman Heineman is a surname. Notable people with the surnam ...

, London) *''The Race for Trieste'' (1977, W. Kimber, London) & (1977,

Whitcoulls Whitcoulls is a major New Zealand book, stationery, gift, games & toy retail chain. Formerly known as Whitcombe & Tombs, it has 54 stores nationally. Whitcombe & Tombs was founded in 1888, and Coulls Somerville Wilkie in 1871. The companies mer ...

, Christchurch) (revision of ''The Road to Trieste'') *''See It Happen (The Making of ITN)'' (1983, Bodley Head, London) *''A Tale of Two Battles'' (1987, W. Kimber, London) (Greece & Crete, North Africa in World War II; Crete & Sidi Rezegh) *''Countdown to War'' (1988, W. Kimber, London) *''Pioneering Television News: a first hand report on a revolution in journalism'' (c1995, John Libbey, London) *''Eyewitness: A Memoir of Europe in the 1930s'' (1999, University of Otago, Dunedin) *''A New Zealand Boyhood'' (2004, Amadines Press, Gloucestershire, England)

References

*"Obituary" in '' Dominion Post'', 10 April 2008 page B7 (from ''

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'' ( ...

'' & NZPA)

External links

Geoffrey Cox: Photo and article at NZ History website

Obituary: ''Times''

Obituary: ''Telegraph''

Obituary: ''Guardian''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cox, Geoffrey 1910 births 2008 deaths Alumni of Oriel College, Oxford British people of the Spanish Civil War British television executives British television journalists British war correspondents Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the New Zealand Order of Merit English memoirists ITN Knights Bachelor New Zealand Army personnel New Zealand diplomats New Zealand emigrants to the United Kingdom New Zealand memoirists New Zealand male writers New Zealand military personnel of World War II New Zealand people of the Spanish Civil War New Zealand Rhodes Scholars People educated at Southland Boys' High School People from Palmerston North University of Otago alumni 20th-century British journalists 20th-century New Zealand journalists 20th-century memoirists