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]

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)

Early life

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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

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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

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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

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  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)