Peter Dacre

Peter Dacre
Born8 June 1925
Died16 March 2003 (aged 77)
NationalityBritish
EducationBatley Grammar School
OccupationJournalist
Children5, including Paul Dacre
RelativesJames Dacre (grandson)
Dai Jenkins (stepfather)

Peter Dacre (8 June 1925 – 16 March 2003) was a journalist on the Sunday Express whose work included show business features.[1][2] He was a former chairman of the London Press Club.[3]

Early life

Peter Dacre was born 8 June 1925 in Yorkshire, the son of a carpenter and joiner father who died in a building site accident when he was six. His mother later married the Welsh international rugby player Dai Jenkins.[1] He was educated at Batley Grammar School.[1]

Career

Dacre's first job was at the Doncaster Gazette, shortly after leaving school at the age of 16.[1] According to Michael White in The Guardian, Dacre spent World War II writing show business journalism.[4] His obituary in The Times reports him as writing for the News Review at the age of 19,[3] and his obituary in The Daily Telegraph confirms that he worked on the News Review around that time.[1] He worked with the Sunday Express for over forty years, and was the first English journalist to interview Elvis Presley.[5]

Personal life

Dacre was the father of the British journalists Nigel and Paul from his first marriage to Joan Hill.[3] Later, in September 1979, Dacre married Ann Elizabeth Jarvis; both of his wives survived him.[1][6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Peter Dacre". The Daily Telegraph. 25 March 2003. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
  2. ^ Bill Hagerty "Paul Dacre: the zeal thing" Archived 24 December 2012 at archive.today, British Journalism Review, Vol. 13, No. 3, 2002, pp. 11-22. Retrieved 25 May 2007.
  3. ^ a b c "Peter Dacre: Versatile journalist of the old school, with a flair for showbusiness". The Times. 19 March 2003. Retrieved 11 June 2018. (subscription required)
  4. ^ White, Michael (1 October 2013). "Conservative conference diary: what were you doing on D-day?". The Guardian.
  5. ^ Addison, Adrian (2017). Mail Men: The Unauthorized Story of the Daily Mail. United Kingdom: Atlantic Books. p. 216. ISBN 978-1-78239-970-4.
  6. ^ Addison, Adrian (2017). Mail Men: The Unauthorized Story of the Daily Mail - The Paper that Divided and Conquered Britain. London: Atlantic Books. p. 385. ISBN 9781782399711. (paperback edition)