Colin Coote
Encyclopedia
Sir Colin Reith Coote DSO
(19 October 1893 - 8 June 1979) was a British
journalist and Liberal
politician. For fourteen years he was the editor of the Daily Telegraph.
, Huntingdonshire
. He was the son of Howard Browning Coote of Stukeley Hall, later Lord Lieutenant of Huntingdonshire
, and Jean née Reith of Aberdeen
. He was educated at Rugby School
and Balliol College, Oxford
, graduating in 1914. On the outbreak of war he obtained a commission in the Gloucestershire Regiment. He served in France and Italy, and was forced to return to the United Kingdom, having been wounded and gassed. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order
in 1918.
In November 1917 the sitting Liberal member of parliament
for Wisbech
, Neil James Archibald Primrose
, was killed in action. Coote was chosen as the Liberal candidate for the seat, and due to a war-time pact between the parties, was also nominated by the local Conservative and Unionist Association
. Accordingly, he was elected unopposed to the Commons on 14 December 1917.
A general election
was held in 1918. Constituencies were completely reorganised by the Representation of the People Act 1918
, and the Wisbech seat became part of the new Isle of Ely
division. Coote was returned as MP for the Isle, again unopposed.
At the subsequent general election in 1922
his differences with the Conservatives saw them running a candidate against him. Coote, running as a National Liberal
, was defeated by Colonel Norman Coates
. With hindsight, Coote described his defeat as the "crowning mercy" of his career, as it allowed him to pursue journalism.
While a member of parliament, Coote had gained a reputation as a freelance writer. On leaving the Commons he was appointed Rome
correspondent of The Times
. His period in Italy
saw him covering the rise of the fascists
under Benito Mussolini
. Returning to Britain in 1926, he spent three years as a parliamentary reporter before becoming a leader writer.
By the time of the Munich Crisis Coote found himself opposed to the newspaper's support of appeasement
, and refused to write leaders supporting the policy. He finally left The Times in 1942 on the resignation of Geoffrey Dawson
as editor, and took up a post with the Daily Telegraph. he became deputy editor of the Telegraph in 1945, and succeeded Arthur Watson
as editor in 1950. He held the post until 1964, with his Liberal tendencies balancing the otherwise Conservative views of the paper. He was knighted in 1962.
Coote married three times: in 1916 he married Marguerite Doris Wellstead, of Hessle
, East Riding of Yorkshire
and they had two daughters before divorcing in 1925. He subsequently married Denis Dethoor, of Doulieu, France. She died in 1945, and he married Amalie Lewkowitz, of Amsterdam
in the following year.
He died at his London home in June 1979, aged 85.
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
(19 October 1893 - 8 June 1979) was a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
journalist and Liberal
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
politician. For fourteen years he was the editor of the Daily Telegraph.
Biography
He was born in FenstantonFenstanton
Fenstanton – in Huntingdonshire , England – is a village near Hemingford Grey two miles south of St Ives lying on the south side of the River Ouse....
, Huntingdonshire
Huntingdonshire
Huntingdonshire is a local government district of Cambridgeshire, covering the area around Huntingdon. Traditionally it is a county in its own right...
. He was the son of Howard Browning Coote of Stukeley Hall, later Lord Lieutenant of Huntingdonshire
Lord Lieutenant of Huntingdonshire
This is a list of people who served as Lord Lieutenant of Huntingdonshire. Huntingdonshire became part of Huntingdon and Peterborough in 1965; see Lord Lieutenant of Huntingdon and Peterborough...
, and Jean née Reith of Aberdeen
Aberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
. He was educated at Rugby School
Rugby School
Rugby School is a co-educational day and boarding school located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire, England. It is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain.-History:...
and Balliol College, Oxford
Balliol College, Oxford
Balliol College , founded in 1263, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England but founded by a family with strong Scottish connections....
, graduating in 1914. On the outbreak of war he obtained a commission in the Gloucestershire Regiment. He served in France and Italy, and was forced to return to the United Kingdom, having been wounded and gassed. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
in 1918.
In November 1917 the sitting Liberal member of parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Wisbech
Wisbech (UK Parliament constituency)
Wisbech is a former United Kingdom Parliamentary constituency. It was created upon the abolition of an undivided Cambridgeshire county constituency in 1885 and was itself abolished in 1918.-Boundaries:...
, Neil James Archibald Primrose
Neil James Archibald Primrose
Captain The Honourable Neil James Archibald Primrose PC, MC , was a British Liberal politician and soldier. The second son of Prime Minister Lord Rosebery, he represented Wisbech in parliament from 1910 to 1917 and served as Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs in 1915 and as...
, was killed in action. Coote was chosen as the Liberal candidate for the seat, and due to a war-time pact between the parties, was also nominated by the local Conservative and Unionist Association
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
. Accordingly, he was elected unopposed to the Commons on 14 December 1917.
A general election
United Kingdom general election, 1918
The United Kingdom general election of 1918 was the first to be held after the Representation of the People Act 1918, which meant it was the first United Kingdom general election in which nearly all adult men and some women could vote. Polling was held on 14 December 1918, although the count did...
was held in 1918. Constituencies were completely reorganised by the Representation of the People Act 1918
Representation of the People Act 1918
The Representation of the People Act 1918 was an Act of Parliament passed to reform the electoral system in the United Kingdom. It is sometimes known as the Fourth Reform Act...
, and the Wisbech seat became part of the new Isle of Ely
Isle of Ely (UK Parliament constituency)
Isle of Ely was a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, centred on the Isle of Ely in Cambridgeshire...
division. Coote was returned as MP for the Isle, again unopposed.
At the subsequent general election in 1922
United Kingdom general election, 1922
The United Kingdom general election of 1922 was held on 15 November 1922. It was the first election held after most of the Irish counties left the United Kingdom to form the Irish Free State, and was won by Andrew Bonar Law's Conservatives, who gained an overall majority over Labour, led by John...
his differences with the Conservatives saw them running a candidate against him. Coote, running as a National Liberal
National Liberal Party (UK, 1922)
The National Liberal Party was a liberal political party in the United Kingdom from 1922 to 1923. It was led by David Lloyd George and was, at the time, separate to the original Liberal Party.-History:...
, was defeated by Colonel Norman Coates
Norman Coates
Lieutenant-Colonel Norman Coates M.C. was a British army officer, School Head Master, and briefly a Conservative politician. First employed as a trainee accountant, he was given a commission when he enlisted in the first month of the First World War. He was wounded in action at Gallipoli and then...
. With hindsight, Coote described his defeat as the "crowning mercy" of his career, as it allowed him to pursue journalism.
While a member of parliament, Coote had gained a reputation as a freelance writer. On leaving the Commons he was appointed Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
correspondent of The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
. His period in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
saw him covering the rise of the fascists
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
under Benito Mussolini
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
. Returning to Britain in 1926, he spent three years as a parliamentary reporter before becoming a leader writer.
By the time of the Munich Crisis Coote found himself opposed to the newspaper's support of appeasement
Appeasement
The term appeasement is commonly understood to refer to a diplomatic policy aimed at avoiding war by making concessions to another power. Historian Paul Kennedy defines it as "the policy of settling international quarrels by admitting and satisfying grievances through rational negotiation and...
, and refused to write leaders supporting the policy. He finally left The Times in 1942 on the resignation of Geoffrey Dawson
Geoffrey Dawson
George Geoffrey Dawson was editor of The Times from 1912 to 1919 and again from 1923 until 1941. His original last name was Robinson, but he changed it in 1917.-Early life:...
as editor, and took up a post with the Daily Telegraph. he became deputy editor of the Telegraph in 1945, and succeeded Arthur Watson
Arthur Watson (journalist)
Arthur E. Watson was a British newspaper editor.Watson attended Alleyn's School in Dulwich, Rutherford College of Technology in Newcastle, and Armstrong College of the University of Durham, before entering journalism. After a spell with the Newcastle Daily Leader, he joined the Daily Telegraph in...
as editor in 1950. He held the post until 1964, with his Liberal tendencies balancing the otherwise Conservative views of the paper. He was knighted in 1962.
Coote married three times: in 1916 he married Marguerite Doris Wellstead, of Hessle
Hessle
Hessle is a town and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, situated west of Kingston upon Hull city centre. Geographically it is part of a larger urban area which consists of the city of Kingston upon Hull, the town of Hessle and a number of other villages but is not part of the...
, East Riding of Yorkshire
East Riding of Yorkshire
The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Yorkshire, is a local government district with unitary authority status, and a ceremonial county of England. For ceremonial purposes the county also includes the city of Kingston upon Hull, which is a separate unitary authority...
and they had two daughters before divorcing in 1925. He subsequently married Denis Dethoor, of Doulieu, France. She died in 1945, and he married Amalie Lewkowitz, of Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
in the following year.
He died at his London home in June 1979, aged 85.