Edward Francis Williams, Baron Francis-Williams (10 March 1903 – 5 June 1970), known as Frank Williams, was a British newspaper editor, political advisor and author.
Early life Born in St Martin's, Shropshire,"Current Reading", News and Courier, 20 December 1970 Williams studied at Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Middleton, before entering journalism.Dod's Parliamentary Companion, Vol.134, p.104 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.Max Laidlaw, "A Prairie Bookshelf", Leader-Post, 29 August 1970
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. 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.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 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.
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.Chris Cook et al, The Longman guide to sources in contemporary British history: Volume 2, p.132
Books He wrote several books, including a biography of Ernest Bevin, and he co-authored Clement Attlee's autobiography.Dod's Parliamentary Companion, Vol.137, p.108 His The Triple Challenge: The Future of Socialist Britain (1948) explains the main Labour programs started under Attlee. or 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.
External links
The Papers of Lord Francis-Williams held at Churchill Archives Centre
References