British Forces in the Middle East, 1945-1947 E31102

The ''Sunday Dispatch'' was a prominent British

newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, spor ...

, published between 27 September 1801 and 18 June 1961. It was ultimately discontinued due to its merger with the ''Sunday Express''.

History

The newspaper was first published as the ''Weekly Dispatch'' in 1801. The name was changed to the ''Sunday Dispatch'' in 1928. In 1903, the Newnes family sold the paper to Alfred Harmsworth and Lord Rothermere. The new owners then turned it around from

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debto ...

and into the biggest selling Sunday newspaper in Britain at the time. Due to editor

Charles Eade Charles Eade (10 June 1903 – 27 August 1964) was a British newspaper editor. Born in Leytonstone, Eade became a subeditor on the ''Daily Chronicle'' at the age of fourteen, then worked on ''Lloyd's Weekly Newspaper'' and the '' Daily Herald''. ...

's role as Press Liaison officer for Lord Mountbatten during

World War II 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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, distribution of the ''Dispatch'' was up from 800,000 to over 2 million copies per edition in 1947. In 1959, Eade and the editor of the ''Daily Sketch'' were fired due to a comment from Randolph Churchill that Esmond Harmsworth, 2nd Viscount Rothermere was "pornographer royal" for his ownership of both the '' Daily Sketch'' and ''Sunday Dispatch''. Under its last editor, Walter Hayes, the ''Dispatch'' still maintained pre-printed posters with the headline "CHURCHILL IS DEAD", in preparation of the death of Randolph Churchill's father

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...

. In December 1960, the paper had a respectable circulation of 1,500,000 copies. Despite this, the ''Sunday Dispatch'' was merged with the ''Sunday Express'' in 1961. The ''Dispatch'' is prominently featured in Philip Norman's 1996 novel ''Everyone's Gone to the Moon''. The novel is centered around the reporting of the

British pop invasion The British Invasion was a cultural phenomenon of the mid-1960s, when rock and pop music acts from the United Kingdom and other aspects of British culture became popular in the United States and significant to the rising "counterculture" on b ...

of America in the 1960s.

Famous stories and headlines

*September 1927 – In light of the trial verdict of the murder of PC Gutteridge of the

Metropolitan Police The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police (and informally as the Met Police, the Met, Scotland Yard, or the Yard), is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and ...

, the headline read "Hanged by a microscope". An early case of ballistics science, it reflected the fact that microscopic examination of the Smith & Wesson gun cartridge cases had provided the crucial evidence to convict car thieves Frederick Browne and Pat Kennedy of the

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, especially the ...

. *1933 – published Harry Price's book ''Leaves From a Psychist's Case-Book'' in a series of 10 articles *1945 – the first

Miss Great Britain Miss Great Britain is Britain's longest running beauty contest held annually in Britain since 1945. Owner and CEO John Singh made history crowning his first winner and to this date only the first black Miss Great Britain 1996. Singer and dancer A ...

contest was held by Morecambe and Heysham Council in association with the ''Dispatch'', which as a preliminary to the personal appearance heats at Morecambe, photographic heats held in the newspaper attracted contestant from all over the country. The first prize was 7 guineas and a basket of fruit. *2 December 1945 – broke news that British spy

John Amery John Amery (14 March 1912 – 19 December 1945) was a British fascist and Nazi collaborator during World War II. He was the originator of the British Free Corps, a volunteer Waffen-SS unit composed of former British and Dominion prisone ...

was dying of

Tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, ...

. A post mortem revealed after his conviction and execution for high treason that he had not been suffering from the disease. *13 February 1949 – in light of the importation of American "dark humour" comics, the headline read: "Horror has crept into the British nursery. Morals of little girls in plaits and boys with marbles bulging in their pockets are being corrupted by a torrent of indecent coloured magazines that are flooding bookstalls and newsagents." The counter article was co-written by the Reverend

Marcus Morris Marcus Thomas Morris Sr. (born September 2, 1989) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The forward played college basketball at Kansas before being drafted 14t ...

, later founder of '' The Eagle'' comic''The Eagle'' comic
/ref> *1950 – in late summer, the ''Dispatch'' was partly responsible for launching the

Flying Saucer A flying saucer (also referred to as "a flying disc") is a descriptive term for a type of flying craft having a disc or saucer-shaped body, commonly used generically to refer to an anomalous flying object. The term was coined in 1947 but has ...

debate in the UK, when in a circulation battle with the '' Sunday Express''. Both papers competed to serialise the seminal books by Major Donald Keyhoe ''Flying Saucers are Real,'' Frank Scully’s ''Behind the Flying Saucers'' and Gerald Heard's ''Riddle of the Flying Saucers.'' Eade had been encouraged to promote "flying saucer" stories by his friend Lord Mountbatten whom he had served as Press officer during 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 opposi ...

. The ''Dispatch'' later reported on the 1951 Mount Kilimanjaro incident and the West Freugh Incident in April 1957 *June 1953 – serialisation of ''" The Rommel papers"'' edited by military historian Basil Liddell Hart. *25 April 1954 – the headline read "Doctor's Journal Launches a Startling Campaign – Smoking sensation – MP Urges Ban On Manufacture Of Cigarettes As Move Against Cancer Peril" on the risks of smoking and

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from transformed, mali ...

. The article was later cited in 2000 by Gallaher Tobacco to the UK Parliamentary Health

select committee Select committee may refer to: *Select committee (parliamentary system) A select committee is a committee made up of a small number of parliamentary members appointed to deal with particular areas or issues originating in the Westminster system o ...

showing that such risks had been known for some while *1954 – broke the story that racing driver Mike Hawthorn was not called up for

National Service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The ...

because he cited that he was not in the country, while actually he was *1959 – exposed a story about Scientology founder

L. Ron Hubbard Lafayette Ronald Hubbard (March 13, 1911 – January 24, 1986) was an American author, primarily of science fiction and fantasy stories, who is best known for having founded the Church of Scientology. In 1950, Hubbard authored '' Dianetic ...

, where he sold shares at $65 each in a company that didn't exist. Hubbard apologised, and returned all monies, allegedly commenting: "It's lucky the police did not become involved, otherwise something most unpleasant might have happened."

Former journalists and editors

* Gordon Beckles - became assistant editor at age 25 in 1927, journalist, editor and author * Ursula Bloom – reporter. Later a novelist who wrote under numerous

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individu ...

s, she published over 500 books in her lifetime, an achievement that won her recognition in the Guinness Book of Records. *William Brittain – editor from 1931 to 1934. He then bought the short lived '' London Daily Recorder'' * Collin Brooks – editor, 1930s. * Randolph Churchill – political columnist. Resigned in 1936 following paper's refusal to publish one of his articles. *

Dorothy Crisp Dorothy Crisp (1906–1987) was a right-wing English political figure, writer and publisher. Biography Dorothy Crisp was born in Leeds, England on 17 May 1906. She was the only daughter of Albert Edward Crisp, an examiner, and Annie Beckwith ...

– a regular contributor of provocative articles. One edition in 1943 was banned in Ireland because it contained her criticisms of the de Valera's government. *

– editor, Press Liaison officer for Lord Mountbatten during the

*Alastair Forbes – wrote weekly column called "Behind the World Political Scene" from 1945, but he was fired in 1956. * Charles Graves, the journalist brother of

Robert Graves Captain Robert von Ranke Graves (24 July 1895 – 7 December 1985) was a British poet, historical novelist and critic. His father was Alfred Perceval Graves, a celebrated Irish poet and figure in the Gaelic revival; they were both Celt ...

* Walter Hayes – editor, 1957–1961. Later Ford PR Vice President. *Gerald McKnight – editor. Later founder of News Shopper *Reverend

– first feature he ever wrote. Later founder of '' The Eagle'' comic * Max Miller – the comedian wrote a weekly column. *

Bill Tidy William Edward "Bill" Tidy, MBE (born 9 October 1933), is a British cartoonist, writer and television personality, known chiefly for his comic strips. Tidy was appointed MBE in 2000 for "Services to Journalism". He is noted for his charitable ...

– cartoonist *Margaret Williams – reporter. Went to

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...

in 1946 with the first batch of British Army wives to rejoin their husbands serving in Germany. *

Ian Wooldridge Ian Edmund Wooldridge, OBE (14 January 1932 – 4 March 2007) was a British sports journalist. He was with the ''Daily Mail'' for nearly 50 years. Biography Born in New Milton, Hampshire, Wooldridge left Brockenhurst Grammar School with two sc ...

– journalist

Editors

:1801: Robert Bell :1815: George Kent :1816: Robert Bell :1818: Williams :1838: Joseph Wrightson :1856: Sydney French :1862: Thomas James Serle :1875:

Ashton Wentworth Dilke Ashton Wentworth Dilke (11 August 1850 – 12 March 1883) was an editor, British traveller and radical Liberal politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1880 to 1883. Life Dilke was the younger son of Sir Charles Dilke, 1st Baronet, and w ...

:1876: Henry Fox Bourne :1883: W. A. Hunter :1892: Frank Smith :1895: Charles John Tibbits :1903: Evelyn Wrench :1904: :1911: Montagu Cotton :1915: Hannen Swaffer :1919: Bernard Falk :1933: Harry Lane :1934: William Brittain :1936: Collin Brooks :1938:

:1959: Bert Gunn Source:

References

Bibliography

*N.J.Crowson - ''Fleet Street, Press Barons and Politics'' Cambridge University Press/Royal Historical Society. {{Defunct UK newspapers Publications established in 1801 Publications disestablished in 1961 Defunct weekly newspapers 1801 establishments in the United Kingdom 1961 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Defunct Sunday newspapers published in the United Kingdom