Patrick Bishop
Encyclopedia
For the 19th-century baseball player, see Frank Bishop (baseball)
.
Sir (Frank) Patrick Bishop, MBE
(7 March 1900 – 5 October 1972) was a British
advertising copywriter, Barrister, businessman, and Conservative Party
politician.
and went to Tottenham Grammar School. At the age of 17 he became an assistant copywriter in the advertising department of The Times
, but soon left for war service in the Royal Flying Corps
in France. On demobilisation in 1919, he rejoined The Times while studying law in his spare time at King's College London
. He was called to the Bar by Gray's Inn
in 1924.
he was often on the roof, putting out incendiary device
s dropped by the Luftwaffe
. He joined the Home Guard
and became second in command of its 'press battalion', for which he was awarded the MBE
in December 1944. He wrote further books about the ethics of advertising in the late 1940s.
, and he became a Director of Rediffusion. From 1947 he was also general manager of the Newsprint Supply Company. This was a company jointly set up by the newspaper industry to manage the supply of paper, then still in short supply due to rationing; the company was in an uneasy position between the government, who controlled rationing, and the newspapers, who were seeking to sell more copies and so increase their print run. He was at the company for ten years.
after its 1945 election defeat
, Bishop was asked to stand for Parliament. At the 1950 general election
Bishop was elected as Conservative
Member of Parliament
for Harrow Central
.
), who often sought to balance competing interests. When a Labour MP put forward a Bill to establish a General Council of the Press, Bishop put the case for a voluntary system of regulation, which he was able to inform the House was close to agreement. However he was strongly offended by the way the "Red Cross Society of China" (a body unrelated to the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement
) inserted Communist propaganda in letters sent home by British forces taken prisoner in the Korean War
.
, the consumer electrical company in 1957. He supported the Public Bodies (Admission of the Press to Meetings) Bill promoted by Margaret Thatcher
in 1960, a Bill prompted by the decision of some Labour-controlled councils to refuse admission to the press where the newspapers involved were in the middle of an industrial dispute. Morphy Richards were taken over by EMI
in 1960, a move opposed by Bishop and which led to his resignation that December.
Bishop was advised in 1962 to end his Parliamentary career on medical grounds, and therefore announced that he would stand down. He was given a Knighthood in the New Years' Honours list of 1964. He finally left the Rediffusion Board in 1970.
Frank Bishop (baseball)
Frank H. Bishop was a 19th-century professional baseball infielder. He played for the Chicago Browns in the Union Association in May 1884. After his brief stint in the Majors, he played in the Southern League in 1885, the Northwestern League in 1886-1887, the Central Interstate League in 1888...
.
Sir (Frank) Patrick Bishop, MBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(7 March 1900 – 5 October 1972) was a British
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...
advertising copywriter, Barrister, businessman, and Conservative Party
Conservative 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...
politician.
Early career
Bishop was born in TottenhamTottenham
Tottenham is an area of the London Borough of Haringey, England, situated north north east of Charing Cross.-Toponymy:Tottenham is believed to have been named after Tota, a farmer, whose hamlet was mentioned in the Domesday Book; hence Tota's hamlet became Tottenham...
and went to Tottenham Grammar School. At the age of 17 he became an assistant copywriter in the advertising department of The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, but soon left for war service in the Royal Flying Corps
Royal Flying Corps
The Royal Flying Corps was the over-land air arm of the British military during most of the First World War. During the early part of the war, the RFC's responsibilities were centred on support of the British Army, via artillery co-operation and photographic reconnaissance...
in France. On demobilisation in 1919, he rejoined The Times while studying law in his spare time at King's College London
King's College London
King's College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. King's has a claim to being the third oldest university in England, having been founded by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington in 1829, and...
. He was called to the Bar by Gray's Inn
Gray's Inn
The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court in London. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wales, an individual must belong to one of these Inns...
in 1924.
Advertising
From 1927, Bishop was chairman of the Advertising Association's committee on patent medicine advertising standards. He also headed the association's investigation department until 1934. He kept up his work for The Times while working as a Barrister, using the combination of the two to write a definitive book on "Advertising and the Law" which was published in 1928. In the same year he was appointed Advertising Manager of The Times, a demanding post as the newspaper felt its reputation depended on the claims made in the adverts being scrupulously checked.Wartime activities
As Assistant Manager of The Times from 1937, he found himself responsible for making arrangements to continue the publication of the paper during the Second World War. During the BlitzThe Blitz
The Blitz was the sustained strategic bombing of Britain by Nazi Germany between 7 September 1940 and 10 May 1941, during the Second World War. The city of London was bombed by the Luftwaffe for 76 consecutive nights and many towns and cities across the country followed...
he was often on the roof, putting out incendiary device
Incendiary device
Incendiary weapons, incendiary devices or incendiary bombs are bombs designed to start fires or destroy sensitive equipment using materials such as napalm, thermite, chlorine trifluoride, or white phosphorus....
s dropped by the Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
. He joined the Home Guard
British Home Guard
The Home Guard was a defence organisation of the British Army during the Second World War...
and became second in command of its 'press battalion', for which he was awarded the MBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
in December 1944. He wrote further books about the ethics of advertising in the late 1940s.
Business career
Soon after the end of the war, Bishop left The Times to join Broadcast RelayBritish Electric Traction
British Electric Traction Company Limited, renamed BET plc in 1985, was a large British industrial conglomerate. It was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but was acquired by Rentokil in 1996, and the merged company is now known as Rentokil Initial.- Early history :The company was founded as...
, and he became a Director of Rediffusion. From 1947 he was also general manager of the Newsprint Supply Company. This was a company jointly set up by the newspaper industry to manage the supply of paper, then still in short supply due to rationing; the company was in an uneasy position between the government, who controlled rationing, and the newspapers, who were seeking to sell more copies and so increase their print run. He was at the company for ten years.
Politics
Having been active in local politics, and assisting in the rebuilding of the Conservative PartyConservative 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...
after its 1945 election defeat
United Kingdom general election, 1945
The United Kingdom general election of 1945 was a general election held on 5 July 1945, with polls in some constituencies delayed until 12 July and in Nelson and Colne until 19 July, due to local wakes weeks. The results were counted and declared on 26 July, due in part to the time it took to...
, Bishop was asked to stand for Parliament. At the 1950 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1950
The 1950 United Kingdom general election was the first general election ever after a full term of a Labour government. Despite polling over one and a half million votes more than the Conservatives, the election, held on 23 February 1950 resulted in Labour receiving a slim majority of just five...
Bishop was elected as Conservative
Conservative 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...
Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Harrow Central
Harrow Central (UK Parliament constituency)
Harrow Central was a parliamentary constituency in Harrow, London, which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1950 until it was abolished for the 1983 general election.-Members of Parliament:...
.
Parliament
He proved a moderate MP (he supported a coalition between the Conservative Party and the LiberalsLiberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
), who often sought to balance competing interests. When a Labour MP put forward a Bill to establish a General Council of the Press, Bishop put the case for a voluntary system of regulation, which he was able to inform the House was close to agreement. However he was strongly offended by the way the "Red Cross Society of China" (a body unrelated to the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement
International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is an international humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and staff worldwide which was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, and to prevent and alleviate human...
) inserted Communist propaganda in letters sent home by British forces taken prisoner in the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
.
Later career
When newsprint rationing ended, Bishop became Chairman of Morphy RichardsMorphy Richards
Morphy Richards is a business located in the Swinton Meadows Industrial Estate, Swinton, near Mexborough, South Yorkshire.-Product range:It specialises in the manufacture of toasters, hairdryers, bread makers, kettles and sandwich toasters and other appliances. In its early stage it also made...
, the consumer electrical company in 1957. He supported the Public Bodies (Admission of the Press to Meetings) Bill promoted by Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
in 1960, a Bill prompted by the decision of some Labour-controlled councils to refuse admission to the press where the newspapers involved were in the middle of an industrial dispute. Morphy Richards were taken over by EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
in 1960, a move opposed by Bishop and which led to his resignation that December.
Bishop was advised in 1962 to end his Parliamentary career on medical grounds, and therefore announced that he would stand down. He was given a Knighthood in the New Years' Honours list of 1964. He finally left the Rediffusion Board in 1970.