Gerard Eyre Wriothesley Noel (20 November 1926 – 27 July 2016) was an English author, editor and aristocrat. He was the editor-in-chief of ''

The Catholic Herald The ''Catholic Herald'' is a London-based Roman Catholic monthly magazine, founded in 1888 and a sister organisation to the non-profit Catholic Herald Institute, based in New York. After 126 years as a weekly newspaper, it became a magazine ...

'' from 1982 to 1984 and wrote 20 books.

Early life

The Honourable ''The Honourable'' (Commonwealth English) or ''The Honorable'' (American English; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific Style ...

Gerard Noel was born on 20 November 1926. His father was Arthur Noel, 4th Earl of Gainsborough and his mother, Alice Mary (née Eyre), Countess of Gainsborough. His older brother

Anthony Anthony, also spelled Antony, is a masculine given name derived from the '' Antonii'', a '' gens'' ( Roman family name) to which Mark Antony (''Marcus Antonius'') belonged. According to Plutarch, the Antonii gens were Heracleidae, being descenda ...

succeeded to the earldom in 1927. Noel was educated at the

Worth School Worth School is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private co-educational Roman Catholic boarding school, boarding and day school, day school for pupils from 11 to 18 years of age near Worth, West Sussex, Worth, West Sussex, England. Unti ...

in West Sussex and Georgetown Preparatory School at Washington DC. He read Modern History at

Exeter College, Oxford Exeter College (in full: The Rector and Scholars of Exeter College in the University of Oxford) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, and the fourth-oldest college of the university. The college was founde ...

, matriculating in 1944. While he was at Oxford, he ran for the

presidency A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified b ...

of the

Oxford Union The Oxford Union Society, commonly referred to as the Oxford Union, is a debating society in the city of Oxford, England, whose membership is drawn primarily from the University of Oxford. Founded in 1823, it is one of Britain's oldest unive ...

but lost to

Tony Benn Anthony Neil Wedgwood Benn (3 April 1925 – 14 March 2014), known between 1960 and 1963 as Viscount Stansgate, was a British Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician and political activist who served as a Cabinet of the United Kingdom, Cabine ...

Career

Noel started his career as a lawyer in 1952. In the 1959 General Election he was the Liberal candidate for

Argyll Argyll (; archaically Argyle; , ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a Shires of Scotland, historic county and registration county of western Scotland. The county ceased to be used for local government purposes in 1975 and most of the area ...

. Noel served as the editor of ''

'' from 1971 to 1976. He then served as its editor-in-chief from 1982 to 1984. Additionally, he was a contributing writer to ''

Church Times The ''Church Times'' is an independent Anglican weekly newspaper based in London and published in the United Kingdom on Fridays. History The ''Church Times'' was founded on 7 February 1863 by George Josiah Palmer, a printer. It fought for the ...

'', '' The Baptist Times'' and ''

The Jewish Chronicle ''The Jewish Chronicle'' (''The JC'') is a London-based Jewish weekly newspaper. Founded in 1841, it is the oldest continuously published Jewish newspaper in the world. Its editor () is Daniel Schwammenthal. The newspaper is published every Fri ...

''. Noel was the author of 20 books. He authored biographies of politicians like

Harold Wilson James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx (11 March 1916 – 23 May 1995) was a British statesman and Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, from 1964 to 1970 and again from 197 ...

and

Barry Goldwater Barry Morris Goldwater (January 2, 1909 – May 29, 1998) was an American politician and major general in the United States Air Force, Air Force Reserve who served as a United States senator from 1953 to 1965 and 1969 to 1987, and was the Re ...

as well as member of the

British royal family The British royal family comprises Charles III and other members of his family. There is no strict legal or formal definition of who is or is not a member, although the Royal Household has issued different lists outlining who is considere ...

Princess Alice of the United Kingdom Princess Alice (Alice Maud Mary; 25 April 1843 – 14 December 1878) was Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine from 13 June 1877 until her death in 1878 as the wife of Grand Duke Louis IV. She was the third child and second daughter of Queen ...

and

Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg Victoria Eugenie Julia Ena of Battenberg (24 October 1887 – 15 April 1969) was List of Spanish royal consorts, Queen of Spain as the wife of King Alfonso XIII from their marriage on 31 May 1906 until 14 April 1931, when the Spanish Second Re ...

. He translated ''The Way to Unity After the Council'' by Cardinal-Deacon

Augustin Bea Augustin Bea (28 May 1881 – 16 November 1968) was a German Jesuit priest, cardinal, and scholar at the Pontifical Gregorian University, specialising in biblical studies and biblical archaeology. He also served as the personal confessor of Pop ...

from Italian into English. He was a Fellow of

St Anne's College, Oxford St Anne's College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It was founded in 1879 and gained full college status in 1959. Originally a women's college, it has admitted men since 1979. ...

and a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820 by King George IV to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the RSL has about 800 Fellows, elect ...

Personal life and death

Noel married Adele Julie Patricia Were in 1958. They had two sons and a daughter; Philip Arthur Nicholas Noel (born 1959)www.ampleforthcollege.org.uk
/ref> and Robert John Baptist Noel (born 1962), Clarenceux King of Arms. A Roman Catholic, he enjoyed a visit with

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...

at the

Papal Palace of Castel Gandolfo The Papal Palace of Castel Gandolfo, or the Apostolic Palace of Castel Gandolfo from its Italian name Palazzo Apostolico di Castel Gandolfo, is a 135-acre (54.6-ha) complex of buildings in a garden setting in the city of Castel Gandolfo, Italy ...

in 1947. He was a member of

White's White's is a gentlemen's club in St James's, London. Founded in 1693 as a hot chocolate shop in Mayfair, it is London's oldest club and therefore the oldest private members' club in the world. It moved to its current premises on St James's St ...

Brooks's Brooks's is a gentlemen's club in St James's Street, London. It is one of the oldest and most exclusive gentlemen's clubs in the world. History In January 1762, a private society was established at 50 Pall Mall by Messrs. Boothby and James ...

, the

Beefsteak A beefsteak, often called just steak, is a flat cut of beef with parallel faces, usually cut perpendicular to the muscle fibres. In common restaurant service a single serving has a raw mass ranging from . Beef steaks are usually grilled, pa ...

, Garrick and Athenaeum Clubs. Noel died on 27 July 2016, aged 89.

Works

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References

1926 births 2016 deaths Alumni of Exeter College, Oxford English newspaper editors English male journalists English biographers English translators English Roman Catholics

Gerard Gerard is a masculine forename of Proto-Germanic language, Proto-Germanic origin, variations of which exist in many Germanic and Romance languages. Like many other Germanic name, early Germanic names, it is dithematic, consisting of two meaningful ...

20th-century English translators Younger sons of earls English male biographers {{England-bio-stub