Godfrey Herbert Winn was a British journalist

Journalist

A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...

 known as a columnist, and also a writer

Writer

A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....

 and actor

Actor

An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...

.

Born in Birmingham

Birmingham

Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, he went to King Edward's School, Birmingham

King Edward's School, Birmingham

King Edward's School is an independent secondary school in Birmingham, England, founded by King Edward VI in 1552. It is part of the Foundation of the Schools of King Edward VI in Birmingham, and is widely regarded as one of the most academically successful schools in the country, according to...

. His career as a theatre actor began as a boy actor at the Haymarket Theatre

Haymarket Theatre

The Theatre Royal Haymarket is a West End theatre in the Haymarket in the City of Westminster which dates back to 1720, making it the third-oldest London playhouse still in use...

 and appeared in many plays and films. He went on to write a number of novels and biographical works, and became a star columnist for the Daily Mirror and the Sunday Express newspapers, and in 1939 was the first British war correspondent

War correspondent

A war correspondent is a journalist who covers stories firsthand from a war zone. In the 19th century they were also called Special Correspondents.-Methods:...

 to cross the Maginot Line

Maginot Line

The Maginot Line , named after the French Minister of War André Maginot, was a line of concrete fortifications, tank obstacles, artillery casemates, machine gun posts, and other defences, which France constructed along its borders with Germany and Italy, in light of its experience in World War I,...

. His book PQ17 was an account of his experiences on Convoy PQ 17 during the Second World War. After the war he wrote numerous books and magazine articles, and appeared on radio and television as well as in films. He was a friend of W. Somerset Maugham

W. Somerset Maugham

William Somerset Maugham , CH was an English playwright, novelist and short story writer. He was among the most popular writers of his era and, reputedly, the highest paid author during the 1930s.-Childhood and education:...

 and it is said that the character George Potter in Maugham's 1941 novel Strictly Personal was based on him.

Winn died from a heart attack

Myocardial infarction

Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...

 at the age of 64.

Filmography

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1927	Blighty Blighty (film) Blighty is a 1927 British World War I silent film melodrama, directed by Adrian Brunel and starring Ellaline Terriss, Lillian Hall-Davis and Jameson Thomas...	Robin Villiers
1961	Very Important Person Very Important Person (film) Very Important Person is a 1961 British comedy film, directed by Ken Annakin, and written by Henry Blyth and Jack Davies. In the United States, the film was re-titled A Coming Out Party....	Himself
1963	Billy Liar Billy Liar (film) Billy Liar is a 1963 film based on the novel by Keith Waterhouse. It was directed by John Schlesinger and stars Tom Courtenay as Billy and Julie Christie as Liz, one of his three girlfriends. Mona Washbourne plays Mrs. Fisher, and Wilfred Pickles played Mr. Fisher...	Disc Jockey
1964	The Bargee The Bargee The Bargee is a 1964 British comedy film directed by Duncan Wood, and starring Harry H. Corbett, Hugh Griffith, Eric Sykes and Ronnie Barker. The screenplay was written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson.-Plot:...	Announcer
1966	The Great St Trinian's Train Robbery The Great St Trinian's Train Robbery The Great St. Trinian's Train Robbery is a British comedy film set in the fictional St Trinian's School, released in 1966, three years after the Great Train Robbery had taken place...	Truelove
1971	Up the Chastity Belt Up the Chastity Belt Up the Chastity Belt is a 1971 British film, a spin-off from the TV series Up Pompeii! that starred Frankie Howerd and was directed by Bob Kellett.-Synopsis:...	Archbishop of all England

External links

• Biographical page