Humphrey Sims Moore was the founder of Peace News

Peace News

Peace News is a pacifist magazine first published on 6 June 1936 to serve the peace movement in the United Kingdom. From later in 1936 to April 1961 it was the official paper of the Peace Pledge Union , and from 1990 to 2004 was co-published with War Resisters' International.-History:Peace News was...

, the British pacifist magazine.

Moore was a Quaker who had been born in Samoa

Samoa

Samoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in...

 where his father had been teaching. He joined the No More War Movement

No More War Movement

The No More War Movement was a pacifist and socialist organisation in the United Kingdom.The Movement was founded in 1921 as a successor to the No-Conscription Fellowship. It became the British section of War Resisters International. Chaired by Fenner Brockway, it asked members to strive for...

 and embraced various socialist causes, while working as a journalist. In 1933 he became editor of the National Peace Council

National Peace Council

The National Peace Council, founded in 1908, and disbanded in 2000, acted as the co-ordinating body for almost 200 groups across Britain, with a membership ranging from small village peace groups to national trade unions and local authorities...

's publications.

Working with a peace group in Wood Green

Wood Green

Wood Green is a district in north London, England, located in the London Borough of Haringey. It is situated north of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of the metropolitan centres in Greater London.-History:...

, London, Moore and his wife, Kathleen (playing the role of business manager), launched Peace News with a free trial issue in June 1936. With good distribution possible through Moore’s contacts through the National Peace Council, the new magazine rapidly attracted attention. Within six weeks, Dick Sheppard

Hugh Richard Lawrie Sheppard

Hugh Richard Lawrie "Dick" Sheppard was an English Anglican priest, Dean of Canterbury and pacifist....

, founder of the Peace Pledge Union

Peace Pledge Union

The Peace Pledge Union is a British pacifist non-governmental organization. It is open to everyone who can sign the PPU pledge: "I renounce war, and am therefore determined not to support any kind of war...

 proposed to Moore that Peace News should become the PPU’s paper. Early contributors to this new organ of the PPU included Gandhi, George Lansbury

George Lansbury

George Lansbury was a British politician, socialist, Christian pacifist and newspaper editor. He was a Member of Parliament from 1910 to 1912 and from 1922 to 1940, and leader of the Labour Party from 1932 to 1935....

, and cartoonist Arthur Wragg

Arthur Wragg

Arthur Wragg was a British illustrator.His stark poster-like artwork often dealt with themes of social alienation and spiritual emptiness. All his work was done for publication, rather than in 'fine art' media such as paintings or series of prints...

.

Sales of Peace News peaked at around 40,000 during the so-called Phoney War following the German invasion of Poland in September 1939 and before major land battles in Europe.
In May 1940, in the face of demands in parliament for the banning of the paper, the printer and distributors stopped working with Peace News. However, together with the typographer Eric Gill

Eric Gill

Arthur Eric Rowton Gill was a British sculptor, typeface designer, stonecutter and printmaker, who was associated with the Arts and Crafts movement...

, Hugh Brock

Hugh Brock

Hugh Brock was a lifelong British pacifist, editor of Peace News between 1955 and 1964, a promoter of non-violent direct action and a founder of the Direct Action Committee, a forerunner of the Committee of 100....

 and his brother Ashley, and many others, Moore continued to publish Peace News and arrange for distribution around the UK. At more or less the same time Moore faced a conscientious objector's tribunal at which he was exempted from war service.

Humphrey Moore’s emphasis on Peace News having a single-minded anti-war policy was increasingly being challenged as the war went on. Others wanted greater emphasis on building a peaceful society once hostilities ended. The PPU appointed John Middleton Murry

John Middleton Murry

John Middleton Murry was an English writer. He was prolific, producing more than 60 books and thousands of essays and reviews on literature, social issues, politics, and religion during his lifetime...

 to edit the paper, asking Moore to stay on as assistant editor. Moore eventually resigned to join the News Chronicle

News Chronicle

The News Chronicle was a British daily newspaper. It ceased publication on 17 October 1960, being absorbed into the Daily Mail. Its offices were in Bouverie Street, off Fleet Street, London, EC4Y 8DP, England.-Daily Chronicle:...

in 1944. He later worked on newspapers in Birmingham .