Peter Howard (journalist)
Encyclopedia
Peter Dunsmore Howard was a British journalist
, playwright
, captain of the England national rugby union team
and the head of the spiritual movement Moral Re-Armament
from 1961 to 1965.
, England
, Howard was educated at Mill Hill School
. A graduate of the University of Oxford
and journalist, Howard captained the England national rugby union team
while working with Oswald Mosley
during his New Party period. He represented Oxford University RFC
in The Varsity Match
in 1929 and 1930 and made his England debut against Wales in January 1930 while still at Oxford. He played eight times for England, playing in all four matches in the Five Nations Championship in both 1930 and 1931. He captained England against Ireland at Twickenham in 1931, Ireland winning 6-5.
Later, he joined the Conservative party and became a political correspondent and investigative reporter for the Daily Express
. In 1940 he worked with fellow Beaverbrook journalists Michael Foot
and Frank Owen
to write Guilty Men
, a political polemic about appeasement and the politicians behind it.
Meanwhile, Howard had been assigned by Lord Beaverbrook
to investigate the 1930s evangelical work of American religious leader Frank Buchman in England, particularly in Oxford. Howard met, interviewed, and fell in with Buchman, eventually leaving the Daily Express and joining the inner circle of what became known as the Moral Re-Armament (MRA
) movement. In 1941 he published a book entitled Innocent men, in which he took a different view of the politicians he had lambasted in Guilty Men a year earlier, still sharply questioning the relationship between press and government in wartime Britain, but also expressing his views about the role Moral Re-Armament could play. During and after World War II
, as MRA made the fight against what it considered to be the worldwide Communist
threat on peace and religious freedom one of its highest priorities, Howard wrote seventeen plays on the themes of cooperation and dialogue in industrial relations, politics or personal life, most of them perceived as both extremely didactic and anti-communist
.
After Buchman
's death in 1961, Howard took his place as the chosen successor to leadership of the worldwide MRA
movement. In this work Howard himself traveled extensively. He died in Lima, Peru, in 1965.
Howard married 1932 Wimbledon ladies doubles champion Doris Metaxa
and they had three children: Anne, Anthony, and The Times
journalist Philip Howard. Doë (Doris) Metaxa Howard was born in Greece
on 12 June 1911, but she was raised in Marseilles
and represented France
at Wimbledon; she died on 7 September 2007, aged 96.
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
, playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
, captain of the England national rugby union team
England national rugby union team
The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. They have won this championship on 26 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam, making them the most successful team in...
and the head of the spiritual movement Moral Re-Armament
Moral Re-Armament
Moral Re-Armament was an international Christian moral and spiritual movement that, in 1938, developed from the American minister Frank Buchman's Oxford Group. Buchman, a Lutheran, headed MRA for 23 years, from 1938 until his death in 1961...
from 1961 to 1965.
Biography
Born in MaidenheadMaidenhead
Maidenhead is a town and unparished area within the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, in Berkshire, England. It lies on the River Thames and is situated west of Charing Cross in London.-History:...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, Howard was educated at Mill Hill School
Mill Hill School
Mill Hill School, in Mill Hill, London, is a coeducational independent school for boarding and day pupils aged 13–18. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference, an organisation of public schools in the United Kingdom....
. A graduate of the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
and journalist, Howard captained the England national rugby union team
England national rugby union team
The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. They have won this championship on 26 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam, making them the most successful team in...
while working with Oswald Mosley
Oswald Mosley
Sir Oswald Ernald Mosley, 6th Baronet, of Ancoats, was an English politician, known principally as the founder of the British Union of Fascists...
during his New Party period. He represented Oxford University RFC
Oxford University RFC
The Oxford University Rugby Football Club is the rugby union club of the University of Oxford. The club contests The Varsity Match every year against Cambridge University at Twickenham.-History:...
in The Varsity Match
The Varsity Match
The Varsity Match is an annual rugby union fixture played between the universities of Oxford and Cambridge in England. By tradition, the match is held on the second Tuesday of December. In 2005, however, this changed, and the match was on Tuesday 6 December. In 2007, it was held on a Thursday for...
in 1929 and 1930 and made his England debut against Wales in January 1930 while still at Oxford. He played eight times for England, playing in all four matches in the Five Nations Championship in both 1930 and 1931. He captained England against Ireland at Twickenham in 1931, Ireland winning 6-5.
Later, he joined the Conservative party and became a political correspondent and investigative reporter for the Daily 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...
. In 1940 he worked with fellow Beaverbrook journalists Michael Foot
Michael Foot
Michael Mackintosh Foot, FRSL, PC was a British Labour Party politician, journalist and author, who was a Member of Parliament from 1945 to 1955 and from 1960 until 1992...
and Frank Owen
Frank Owen (politician)
Humphrey Frank Owen was a British journalist and Liberal Member of Parliament. He was a Lloyd Georgite Liberal MP for Hereford between 1929 and 1931...
to write Guilty Men
Guilty Men
Guilty Men was a book published in Great Britain in 1940 that attacked British public figures for their appeasement of Nazi Germany in the 1930s...
, a political polemic about appeasement and the politicians behind it.
Meanwhile, Howard had been assigned by Lord Beaverbrook
Max Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook
William Maxwell "Max" Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook, Bt, PC, was a Canadian-British business tycoon, politician, and writer.-Early career in Canada:...
to investigate the 1930s evangelical work of American religious leader Frank Buchman in England, particularly in Oxford. Howard met, interviewed, and fell in with Buchman, eventually leaving the Daily Express and joining the inner circle of what became known as the Moral Re-Armament (MRA
MRA
MRA may refer to:* Magnetic resonance angiography* Mail retrieval agent* Mandibular repositioning appliance or mandibular advancement splint for sleep apnea* Market Reduction Approach* Marketing Research Association* Marin Rowing Association...
) movement. In 1941 he published a book entitled Innocent men, in which he took a different view of the politicians he had lambasted in Guilty Men a year earlier, still sharply questioning the relationship between press and government in wartime Britain, but also expressing his views about the role Moral Re-Armament could play. During and after 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 MRA made the fight against what it considered to be the worldwide Communist
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
threat on peace and religious freedom one of its highest priorities, Howard wrote seventeen plays on the themes of cooperation and dialogue in industrial relations, politics or personal life, most of them perceived as both extremely didactic and anti-communist
Anti-communism
Anti-communism is opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed in reaction to the rise of communism, especially after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia and the beginning of the Cold War in 1947.-Objections to communist theory:...
.
After Buchman
Buchman
Buchman is the surname of:* Alex Buchman , American activist* Alexander Buchmann, Norwegian Handball player* Christian Buchmann, Austrian politician* Dana Buchman, American fashion designer* Frank N. D...
's death in 1961, Howard took his place as the chosen successor to leadership of the worldwide MRA
MRA
MRA may refer to:* Magnetic resonance angiography* Mail retrieval agent* Mandibular repositioning appliance or mandibular advancement splint for sleep apnea* Market Reduction Approach* Marketing Research Association* Marin Rowing Association...
movement. In this work Howard himself traveled extensively. He died in Lima, Peru, in 1965.
Howard married 1932 Wimbledon ladies doubles champion Doris Metaxa
Doris Metaxa
Doris Metaxa , was a French tennis player of the 1930s.In 1932, she won Wimbledon in the women's doubles with the Belgian Josane Sigart against Elizabeth Ryan and Helen Jacobs, one year after a finals defeat with the same partner.Two weeks after this success, she married the British rugby player...
and they had three children: Anne, Anthony, and 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...
journalist Philip Howard. Doë (Doris) Metaxa Howard was born in Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
on 12 June 1911, but she was raised in Marseilles
Marseille
Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...
and represented 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...
at Wimbledon; she died on 7 September 2007, aged 96.