Francis Williams, Baron Francis-Williams

Edward Francis Williams, Baron Francis-Williams CBE (10 March 1903 – 5 June 1970), known as Frank Williams, was a British newspaper editor, political advisor and author.

The Right Honourable
The Lord Francis-Williams
CBE
Downing Street Press Secretary
In office
1945–1947
Prime MinisterClement Attlee
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byPhilip Jordan
Personal details
Born
Edward Francis Williams

(1903-03-10)10 March 1903
St Martin's, Shropshire, England
Died5 June 1970(1970-06-05) (aged 67)
EducationQueen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Middleton

Early life

Born in St Martin's, Shropshire,[1] Williams studied at Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Middleton, before entering journalism.[2] He worked on the Bootle Times and then the Liverpool Courier, and was convinced of socialism by the conditions he saw. He moved to London to take up a post as a financial journalist on the Evening Standard, but soon moved to the Daily Herald, a paper with views closer to his own.[3]

Breakout

Editor of the Daily Herald

In 1936, he accepted the editorship of the Daily Herald, serving until 1940.

Political involvement

In 1941, he became Controller of Press Censorship and News at the Ministry of Information, and for his work he was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1945.[4] He then became the public relations advisor to Labour Party Prime Minister Clement Attlee for two years, the first person to hold such a position.[5] From 1951 to 1952, he was a governor of the BBC. On 13 April 1962 he was created a life peer as Baron Francis-Williams, of Abinger in the County of Surrey.[2][6]

Academia

Professorship

Williams served as Regents' Professor at the University of California, Berkeley, in 1961, and Kemper Knapp Visiting Professor at the University of Wisconsin from 1967 until his death.[7]

Books

He wrote several books, including a biography of Ernest Bevin, and he co-authored Clement Attlee's autobiography.[8] For the UNESCO, he wrote Transmitting World News (1953). In 1957, Francis produced a history of the press, entitled Dangerous Estate, part of which was devoted to explaining the rise and fall in the circulation of newspapers.[9]

References
  1. "Current Reading", News and Courier, 20 December 1970
  2. Dod's Parliamentary Companion, Vol.134, p.104
  3. Max Laidlaw, "A Prairie Bookshelf", Leader-Post, 29 August 1970
  4. "No. 36866". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 January 1945. p. 27.
  5. Fielding, Steven. “‘Don’t Know and Don’t Care’: Popular Political Attitudes in Labour’s Britain, 1945-51.” In The Attlee Years, edited by Nick Tiratsoo. London: Continuum International Publishing, 1991, p. 115
  6. "No. 42651". The London Gazette. 17 April 1962. p. 3185.
  7. Chris Cook et al, The Longman guide to sources in contemporary British history: Volume 2, p.132
  8. Dod's Parliamentary Companion, Vol.137, p.108
  9. Angell, Sir Norman (15 March 1957). "Press Review". Times Literary Supplement. p. 162.
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