James Wentworth Day
Encyclopedia
James Wentworth Day was a British
writer and occasional broadcaster, firmly of the Agrarian Right school and essentially a High Tory
. He lived for most of his life in East Anglia
, an area which would always be his first love; he had a particular interest in wildfowling, and at one stage owned Adventurers' Fen, a piece of marshland in Cambridgeshire
. He was also a ghost
hunter, and wrote several books about this interest. He is possibly most famous for his journey around the farms of East Anglia on horseback during World War II
, as detailed in his book Farming Adventure (later reprinted under the title Wartime Ride), while for many years he was closely associated with the East Anglian magazine.
, Suffolk
he was educated at Newton College, Newton Abbot
and Cambridge
before seeing active service in World War I
. He became a journalist after his war service, notably on the Express
newspapers and Country Life
(as well as other sporting papers). He edited the Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News
. He also became personal assistant to Lucy, Lady Houston
and for a time shared some of her extreme ideas in supporting Benito Mussolini
, although he was highly suspicious of Adolf Hitler
. He became a propaganda adviser to the Egyptian government
in 1938 and spent the Second World War as a correspondent in France
and as Near East correspondent of the BBC
until he was invalided in 1943.
candidate for the constituency of Hornchurch
, now in Greater London
but then in Essex
, and often spoke on behalf of the Tory cause at elections. He worked for a number of British newspapers, held senior positions at The Field
and Country Life
, and was both owner and editor of the Saturday Review.
Wentworth Day had a confrontation with Labour
chairman Harold Laski
in 1945, putting questions to him at a meeting in Newark
which led to Laski seemingly endorsing socialism
through violent revolution. As such he was an important witness in the Laski libel action of 1946.
On the 6th November 1968 he addressed the Conservative Monday Club
on several issues commencing with a defence of the House of Lords
following Harold Wilson
's White Paper for its reform. He also attacked "unrealistically high" Death Duties and condemned land speculators, saying that it was to the shame of the Conservative Party that they had never implemented an Agricultural Charter. He condemned the Labour Government's Agricultural Training Board which, he said was "vehemently opposed by the majority of farmers" and which contained on its board of twelve, three men from Transport House. "What", he asked, "was their knowledge of agriculture and what was their purpose on the board".
"rent-a-quote" (to use a term coined more recently) in Daniel Farson
's Associated-Rediffusion
series, most famously Out of Step and People in Trouble. Farson made it clear that he did not agree with the sentiments, which were often perceived as racist
and xenophobic
even in the 1950s (in the People in Trouble programme on mixed marriages Wentworth Day referred to "coffee-coloured little imps" and claimed that black people must be "inferior" because "a couple of generations ago they were eating each other"), but he usually chuckled along with them and ended them with a remark along the lines of "I completely disagree with you, but at least you say what you really feel".
However, Wentworth Day was soon dropped from Farson's programmes after he claimed, while contributing to a programme on transvestism
, that all homosexuals should be hanged. Farson, himself a homosexual, was afraid Wentworth Day would land him in prison and insisted that the programme on transvestism should be scrapped, theoretically because the Independent Television Authority would ban it anyway.
Despite his increasingly outmoded views on racial matters, Wentworth Day continued to write until shortly before his death, which came very soon after two Daniel Farson programmes in which he expressed his opinions had been repeated on the fledgling Channel 4
(clips of Wentworth Day's comments were later shown in Victor Lewis-Smith
's Buygones strand in Club X
and TV Offal
). Wentworth Day also held a set of views in support of traditional farming methods and in opposition to pesticides; these were expressed in his 1957 book Poison On The Land.
(1936-1943). He married New Zealander Marion McLean in 1943 and the couple had one daughter together, remaining married until his death.
He died in Ingatestone
, Essex
aged 83.
, less or none of modern art
and little of modern literature
. I am, of course, an antediluvian, a reactionary, an out-of-date or, as I prefer it, a rural romanticist."
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
writer and occasional broadcaster, firmly of the Agrarian Right school and essentially a High Tory
Tory
Toryism is a traditionalist and conservative political philosophy which grew out of the Cavalier faction in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. It is a prominent ideology in the politics of the United Kingdom, but also features in parts of The Commonwealth, particularly in Canada...
. He lived for most of his life in East Anglia
East Anglia
East Anglia is a traditional name for a region of eastern England, named after an ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdom, the Kingdom of the East Angles. The Angles took their name from their homeland Angeln, in northern Germany. East Anglia initially consisted of Norfolk and Suffolk, but upon the marriage of...
, an area which would always be his first love; he had a particular interest in wildfowling, and at one stage owned Adventurers' Fen, a piece of marshland in Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...
. He was also a ghost
Ghost
In traditional belief and fiction, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living. Descriptions of the apparition of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to...
hunter, and wrote several books about this interest. He is possibly most famous for his journey around the farms of East Anglia on horseback during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, as detailed in his book Farming Adventure (later reprinted under the title Wartime Ride), while for many years he was closely associated with the East Anglian magazine.
Early life
Born in ExningExning
Exning is a village in Suffolk, England.It lies just off the A14 trunk road, roughly east-northeast of Cambridge, and south-south-east of Ely...
, Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
he was educated at Newton College, Newton Abbot
Newton Abbot
Newton Abbot is a market town and civil parish in the Teignbridge District of Devon, England on the River Teign, with a population of 23,580....
and Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
before seeing active service in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. He became a journalist after his war service, notably on the Express
Daily Express
The Daily Express switched from broadsheet to tabloid in 1977 and was bought by the construction company Trafalgar House in the same year. Its publishing company, Beaverbrook Newspapers, was renamed Express Newspapers...
newspapers and Country Life
Country Life (magazine)
Country Life is a British weekly magazine, based in London at 110 Southwark Street, and owned by IPC Media, a Time Warner subsidiary.- Topics :The magazine covers the pleasures and joys of rural life, as well as the concerns of rural people...
(as well as other sporting papers). He edited the Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News
Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News
The Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News was an English weekly magazine founded in 1874 and published in London. In 1945 it changed its name to the Sport and Country, and in 1957 to the Farm and Country, before closing in 1970....
. He also became personal assistant to Lucy, Lady Houston
Lucy, Lady Houston
Lucy, Lady Houston, DBE , born Fanny Lucy Radmall, was an English benefactor, philanthropist, adventuress and patriot.-Early life:...
and for a time shared some of her extreme ideas in supporting Benito Mussolini
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
, although he was highly suspicious of Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
. He became a propaganda adviser to the Egyptian government
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
in 1938 and spent the Second World War as a correspondent in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and as Near East correspondent of the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
until he was invalided in 1943.
Post-war activity
In 1950 and 1951 he was an unsuccessful ConservativeConservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
candidate for the constituency of Hornchurch
Hornchurch (UK Parliament constituency)
Hornchurch was a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election...
, now in Greater London
Greater London
Greater London is the top-level administrative division of England covering London. It was created in 1965 and spans the City of London, including Middle Temple and Inner Temple, and the 32 London boroughs. This territory is coterminate with the London Government Office Region and the London...
but then in Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
, and often spoke on behalf of the Tory cause at elections. He worked for a number of British newspapers, held senior positions at The Field
The Field
The Field is a play written by John B. Keane, first performed in 1965. It tells the story of the hardened farmer "Bull" McCabe and his love for the land he rents. The play debuted at Dublin's Olympia Theatre in 1965, with Ray McAnally as "The Bull" and Eamon Keane as "The Bird" O'Donnell. The play...
and Country Life
Country Life (magazine)
Country Life is a British weekly magazine, based in London at 110 Southwark Street, and owned by IPC Media, a Time Warner subsidiary.- Topics :The magazine covers the pleasures and joys of rural life, as well as the concerns of rural people...
, and was both owner and editor of the Saturday Review.
Wentworth Day had a confrontation with Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
chairman Harold Laski
Harold Laski
Harold Joseph Laski was a British Marxist, political theorist, economist, author, and lecturer, who served as the chairman of the Labour Party during 1945-1946, and was a professor at the LSE from 1926 to 1950....
in 1945, putting questions to him at a meeting in Newark
Newark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
which led to Laski seemingly endorsing socialism
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
through violent revolution. As such he was an important witness in the Laski libel action of 1946.
On the 6th November 1968 he addressed the Conservative Monday Club
Conservative Monday Club
The Conservative Monday Club is a British pressure group "on the right-wing" of the Conservative Party.-Overview:...
on several issues commencing with a defence of the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
following Harold Wilson
Harold Wilson
James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, FSS, PC was a British Labour Member of Parliament, Leader of the Labour Party. He was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the 1960s and 1970s, winning four general elections, including a minority government after the...
's White Paper for its reform. He also attacked "unrealistically high" Death Duties and condemned land speculators, saying that it was to the shame of the Conservative Party that they had never implemented an Agricultural Charter. He condemned the Labour Government's Agricultural Training Board which, he said was "vehemently opposed by the majority of farmers" and which contained on its board of twelve, three men from Transport House. "What", he asked, "was their knowledge of agriculture and what was their purpose on the board".
Television career
Wentworth Day briefly achieved minor fame through television in 1957 and 1958, when he appeared as the resident reactionaryReactionary
The term reactionary refers to viewpoints that seek to return to a previous state in a society. The term is meant to describe one end of a political spectrum whose opposite pole is "radical". While it has not been generally considered a term of praise it has been adopted as a self-description by...
"rent-a-quote" (to use a term coined more recently) in Daniel Farson
Daniel Farson
Daniel Negley Farson a British writer and broadcaster, was a popular television personality and prominent public figure in the late 1950s and early 1960s.-Early life:...
's Associated-Rediffusion
Associated-Rediffusion
Associated-Rediffusion, later Rediffusion, London, was the British ITV contractor for London and parts of the surrounding counties, on weekdays between 1954 and 29 July 1968. Transmissions started on 22 September 1955.-Formation:...
series, most famously Out of Step and People in Trouble. Farson made it clear that he did not agree with the sentiments, which were often perceived as racist
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
and xenophobic
Xenophobia
Xenophobia is defined as "an unreasonable fear of foreigners or strangers or of that which is foreign or strange". It comes from the Greek words ξένος , meaning "stranger," "foreigner" and φόβος , meaning "fear."...
even in the 1950s (in the People in Trouble programme on mixed marriages Wentworth Day referred to "coffee-coloured little imps" and claimed that black people must be "inferior" because "a couple of generations ago they were eating each other"), but he usually chuckled along with them and ended them with a remark along the lines of "I completely disagree with you, but at least you say what you really feel".
However, Wentworth Day was soon dropped from Farson's programmes after he claimed, while contributing to a programme on transvestism
Transvestism
Transvestism is the practice of cross-dressing, which is wearing clothing traditionally associated with the opposite sex. Transvestite refers to a person who cross-dresses; however, the word often has additional connotations. -History:Although the word transvestism was coined as late as the 1910s,...
, that all homosexuals should be hanged. Farson, himself a homosexual, was afraid Wentworth Day would land him in prison and insisted that the programme on transvestism should be scrapped, theoretically because the Independent Television Authority would ban it anyway.
Despite his increasingly outmoded views on racial matters, Wentworth Day continued to write until shortly before his death, which came very soon after two Daniel Farson programmes in which he expressed his opinions had been repeated on the fledgling Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
(clips of Wentworth Day's comments were later shown in Victor Lewis-Smith
Victor Lewis-Smith
Victor Lewis-Smith is a British satirist, producer, critic and prankster. He is known for his sarcasm and biting criticism.-Radio and recordings:...
's Buygones strand in Club X
Club X
Club X was a short-lived 1989 Channel 4 arts and music magazine programme that is often cited as an example of TV Hell.- Details :The production and presentation team was largely taken from the earlier Channel 4 success Network 7 and had the same editor Charlie Parsons...
and TV Offal
TV Offal
TV Offal was a British television comedy sketch/archive series that ran on Channel 4, from October 1997 to June 1998. It was written and narrated by comedian and writer Victor Lewis-Smith, who shared writing duties with Paul Sparks...
). Wentworth Day also held a set of views in support of traditional farming methods and in opposition to pesticides; these were expressed in his 1957 book Poison On The Land.
Personal life
In his early years Wentworth Day had several unsuccessful engagements as well as two failed marriages to Helen Alexia Gardom (1925-1934) and Nerina ShuteNerina Shute
Nerina Shute was an English writer and journalist, described by the Sunday Times as the amazingly colourful, brilliant and bisexual film critic".-Early life:Shute was born in Prudhoe, Northumberland...
(1936-1943). He married New Zealander Marion McLean in 1943 and the couple had one daughter together, remaining married until his death.
He died in Ingatestone
Ingatestone
Ingatestone is a small town in Essex, England, with a population of about 4500 people. To the immediate north lies the village of Fryerning, and the two form the civil parish of Ingatestone and Fryerning....
, Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
aged 83.
Books
Note: the list below is probably incomplete and some of the dates may be inaccurate, although accuracy has been striven for at all times.- Sporting Adventure (1937)
- Farming Adventure: A Thousand Miles Through England On A Horse (1943)
- The Modern Fowler (1934)
- King George V as a Sportsman (pre 1937)
- The Life of Sir Henry Segrave (pre 1937)
- Speed - the Life of Sir Malcolm Campbell (pre 1937)
- Kaye Don - the Man (pre 1937)
- A Falcon on St Paul's (pre 1937)
- Harvest Adventure (1946)
- Sport in Egypt (date unknown)
- Gamblers' Gallery (date unknown)
- Wild Wings and Some Footsteps (1948)
- Marshland Adventure (1950)
- Broadland Adventure (1951)
- The New Yeomen of England (1952)
- The Modern Shooter (1952)
- Norwich and the Broads (1953)
- A History of the Fens (1954)
- The Wisest Dogs in the World: Some Account of the Longshaw Sheepdog Trials Association (1954)
- Here Are Ghosts And Witches (1954)
- They Walk The Wild Places (1956)
- Poison On The Land: The War On Wild Life, And Some Remedies (1957)
- The Angler's Pocket Book (1957)
- The Dog Lover's Pocket Book (1957)
- A Ghost Hunter's Game Book (1958)
- Lady Houston, DBE (1958)
- British Animals of the Wild Places (1960)
- British Birds of the Wild Places (1961)
- HRH Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent: The First Authentic Life Story (1962)
- Portrait of the Broads (1967)
- The Queen Mother's Family Story (1967)
- In Search of Ghosts (1969)
- History of the Fens (1970)
- Rum Owd Boys (1974)
- Norwich Through The Ages (1976)
- King's Lynn and Sandringham Through The Ages (1977)
- Garland of Hops (1978)
- The James Wentworth Day Book of Essex (1979)
Quote
"I confess it. I do not like modern furniture or much of modern architectureModern architecture
Modern architecture is generally characterized by simplification of form and creation of ornament from the structure and theme of the building. It is a term applied to an overarching movement, with its exact definition and scope varying widely...
, less or none of modern art
Modern art
Modern art includes artistic works produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the style and philosophy of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the traditions of the past have been thrown aside in a spirit of...
and little of modern literature
Modern literature
Modern literature can either refer to*modernist literature *modern literature ....
. I am, of course, an antediluvian, a reactionary, an out-of-date or, as I prefer it, a rural romanticist."