James Lionel Manning (10 January 1914 – 18 January 1974) was a British sports columnist for the

Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily Middle-market newspaper, middle-market Tabloid journalism, tabloid conservative newspaper founded in 1896 and published in London. , it has the List of newspapers in the United Kingdom by circulation, h ...

. Born in Bristol, then in the County of Gloucestershire, in 1914, Manning was the eldest son of sports writer Lionel Victor Manning, and the elder half-brother of Brian Stuart Manning (1927–2004) a leading British Marxist historian. He was appointed

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(OBE) in the

1974 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1974 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countrie ...

Journalism career

In 1954, as a member of the

National Union of Journalists The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) is a trade union supporting journalists in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The NUJ was founded in 1907 and has 20,693 members. It is a member of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), Trades ...

, Manning wrote a harsh piece on ‘non-journalist’ sports writers, which brought him into conflict with

Norris McWhirter Norris Dewar McWhirter (12 August 192519 April 2004) was a British writer, political activist, co-founder of The Freedom Association, and a television presenter. He and his twin brother Ross were known internationally for founding the refe ...

1925-2004 and his twin brother Ross. The McWhirter twins were keen to follow their own publishing star, which led to their notable success

The Guinness Book of Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...

and allowed them to find fame on TV’s

Record Breakers ''Record Breakers'' was a British children's TV show, themed around world records and produced by the BBC. It was broadcast on BBC1 from 15 December 1972 to 21 December 2001. Format The programme was a spin-off series from '' Blue Peter'' wh ...

with

Roy Castle Roy Castle (31 August 1932 – 2 September 1994) was an English dancer, singer, comedian, actor, television presenter and musician. An accomplished jazz trumpet player, he could also play many other instruments. In a career as a versatile perfo ...

. The McWhirters sued Manning for libel and slander and were awarded £300 damages. In 1966, he wrote a noteworthy piece on the climatic problems facing Olympic athletes: 'I am sorry Mexico City is 7,500 ft. above sea level. I also regret that it is cold in Iceland, hot in Malaya, high in Nepal, inflationary in France, communist in Russia, earth-quakey in Chile, oily in Iraq, sandy in Egypt, intolerant in Ireland, foggy in Britain, revolting in West Africa, Democratic in the United States, malarial in the Congo, humid in Jamaica, indeterminate in Mali and another day altogether in Fiji.'

Tour de France expose

In 1967 Manning was noted for bringing to the attention of the public the part played by performance-enhancing drugs in the death of Tom Simpson (1937–1967) during the Tour de France. He wrote: 'Tommy Simpson rode to his death in the Tour de France so doped that he did not know he had reached the limit of his endurance. He died in the saddle, slowly asphyxiated by intense effort in a heatwave after taking methylamphetamine drugs and alcoholic stimulants.'

Political career

In the 1955 general election, Manning stood as the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

candidate for

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

in Enfield East against the Labour Party's incumbent Ernest Davies in a two-person contest. Manning won 39% of the vote, losing to Davies by 7,701 votes.

Personal life and death

Manning's Welsh wife was Amy Sylvia Jenkins; they had two daughters, Mrs Jane E. Dressler (1941-2014) fashion model and founder of the Roanoke Children's Theatre in America, and Catherine Ann Manning, born 1946, in Surrey, who is better known as the actor

Katy Manning Catherine Ann Manning (born 14 October 1946) is a British actress. Although she has made many appearances on both screen and stage, Manning is best known for her part as the companion Jo Grant in the BBC science fiction television series ''Doct ...

. Manning died on 18 January 1974 aged 60.

References

External links

* 1914 births 1974 deaths Conservative Party (UK) parliamentary candidates Daily Mail journalists English sports journalists English writers Officers of the Order of the British Empire {{England-writer-stub