Colin Coote
Member of Parliament for Wisbech | |
---|---|
In office 14 December 1917 – 25 November 1918 | |
Preceded by | Neil Primrose |
Succeeded by | Constituency abolished |
Personal details | |
Born | Fenstanton, Huntingdonshire, England | 19 October 1893
Died | 8 June 1979 London, England | (aged 85)
Political party | Liberal |
Spouses | Marguerite Doris Wellstead
(m. 1916; div. 1925)Denise Dethoor
(m. 1925; died 1945)Amalie Lewkowitz (m. 1946) |
Education | First World War |
Awards | Distinguished Service Order |
Sir Colin Reith Coote, DSO (19 October 1893 – 8 June 1979) was a British journalist and Liberal politician. For fourteen years he was the editor of The Daily Telegraph.[1]
Biography
He was born in
In November 1917, the sitting Liberal
A general election was held in 1918. Constituencies were completely reorganised by the Representation of the People Act 1918, and the Wisbech seat became part of the new Isle of Ely division. Coote was elected as MP for the Isle of Ely, again unopposed.[2][3]
At the subsequent general election in 1922 his differences with the Conservatives saw them running a candidate against him. Coote, running as a National Liberal, was defeated by Colonel Norman Coates. With hindsight, Coote described his defeat as the "crowning mercy" of his career, as it allowed him to pursue journalism.[1]
Whilst a Member of Parliament, Coote had gained a reputation as a freelance writer. On leaving the Commons, he was appointed Rome correspondent of
By the time of the
Coote died at his London home on 8 June 1979, aged 85.[1][2]
Family
Coote married three times. In 1916, he married Marguerite Doris Wellstead, of Hessle, East Riding of Yorkshire and they had two daughters before divorcing in 1925. He subsequently married Denise Dethoor, of Doulieu, France. She died in 1945, and he married Amalie Lewkowitz in the following year.[2]
References
Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Obituary: Sir Colin Coote - Politics from the editor's chair". The Times. 23 November 1979. p. VI.
- ^ required.)
- ^ a b "General Election, 1918- Unopposed Returns". The Times. 5 December 1918. p. 14.
- ^ "The Wisbech Vacancy". The Times. 8 December 1917. p. 5.
- ^ Honeytrap by Anthony Summers & Stephen Dorril, Coronet Books, 1987. P.108.)
- ^ "No. 42599". The London Gazette. 16 February 1962. p. 1285.