Sir William Emsley Carr (1 May 1867 – 5 August 1941) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

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 ...

, who edited the ''

News of the World The ''News of the World'' was a weekly national "Tabloid journalism#Red tops, red top" Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published every Sunday in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the world's highest-selling ...

'' for more than fifty years. Carr was born and raised in the

Hunslet Hunslet () is an inner-city area in south Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is southeast of the Leeds city centre, city centre and has an industrial past. It is situated in the Hunslet and Riverside (ward), Hunslet and Riverside ward of Lee ...

district of

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. His uncle, Henry Lascelles Carr, was a founder and editor of the '' Western Mail'', based in

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

, and he saw promise in Emsley, and summoned him to work as a

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

on the newspaper. In 1891, Lascelles Carr was part of a syndicate which purchased the ''News of the World'', a London-based Sunday newspaper with a small circulation, and he decided to appoint his nephew as its new editor.Carr, Sir (William) Emsley
, ''

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'' Emsley married Lascelles' daughter, Jenny Lascelles Carr, in 1895, and worked closely with George Riddell to build up sales of the ''News of the World''. This was highly successful; by 1900, the paper was selling more than one million copies of each issue. Carr also continued to write for the ''Western Mail'', acting as its chief political correspondent until the 1930s, using his membership of the Parliamentary lobby to obtain stories. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Carr undertook extensive charity work, in support of captured Welsh soldiers. He also undertook several trips to see the war for himself, visiting France and

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, and reporting on the Paris Peace Conference. In the 1918 New Year Honours, he was knighted for his wartime efforts. After the war, the ''News of the World'' continued to gain sales, reaching more than four million by 1940. Carr served as

High Sheriff of Glamorgan This page is a list of High Sheriffs of Glamorgan. Sheriffs of Glamorgan served under and were answerable to the independent Lords of Glamorgan until that lordship was merged into the crown. This is in contrast to sheriffs of the English shires w ...

in 1938, as Chairman of the Press Gallery at Parliament in 1930/1, and President of the Institute of Journalists in 1932/3. He also sponsored various sporting events, the Emsley Carr Mile being named in his honour some years after his death. His son, Harry, was a

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

er who also worked alongside his father as a journalist at the ''News of the World''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carr, Emsley 1867 births 1941 deaths British newspaper editors High sheriffs of Glamorgan People from Hunslet News of the World people Knights Bachelor