Colin Valdar (18 December 1918 – 11 January 1996) 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 ...

. Valdar studied at

Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School Haberdashers' Boys' School (formerly Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School) is a 4–18 boys Independent school (United Kingdom) in Elstree, Hertfordshire, England. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. The school was ...

, then in

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, England, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, located mainly in the London Borough of Camden, with a small part in the London Borough of Barnet. It borders Highgate and Golders Green to the north, Belsiz ...

. He worked as a freelance journalist from 1935 to 39, then served with the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In 1942, he became features editor with the '' Sunday Pictorial'', soon moving to become assistant editor. In 1946, he moved to the ''

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

'', again as features editor, and in 1951, they too promoted Valdar to assistant editor. In 1953, Valdar returned to the ''Sunday Pictorial'' as editor, serving until 1959. For last two years of his tenure, he was also a director of the publishing company.''The International Who's Who'' (1961), pp. 991–992 He was able to raise circulation to five million copies per issue.David North,
A bow tie and an open door
", ''

Press Gazette ''Press Gazette'', formerly known as ''UK Press Gazette'' (UKPG), is a British trade magazine dedicated to journalism and the press. First published in 1965, it had a circulation of about 2,500 before becoming online-only in 2013. Published wit ...

'', 25 November 2005 In 1959, Valdar became editor of the '' Daily Sketch'', serving three years in the post. He was also appointed to the council of the Commonwealth Press Union. In 1964, he briefly served on the board of ''Liberal News'', the official

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

newspaper but, the following year, he worked with his wife Jill and brother Stewart to set up a weekly journal for the newspaper industry, which soon became the ''

''. Valdar took the title of publisher, but remained strongly involved with supervising the content. The family retired in 1983.Roy Greenslade,
UK Press Gazette: 1965-2006
, '' Guardian Unlimited'', 27 November 2006

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Valdar, Colin 1918 births 1996 deaths English newspaper editors English male journalists People educated at Haberdashers' Boys' School Royal Engineers soldiers British Army personnel of World War II