Dermot Michael Macgregor Morrah (26 April 1896[1] – 30 September 1974) was a British journalist for The Times and an expert on the British royal family.
Dermot Michael Macgregor Morrah | |
|---|---|
| Born | 26 April 1896 |
| Died | 30 September 1974 (aged 78) |
| Occupation | Journalist |
| Alma mater | |
| Subject | British Royal Family |
Education
editMorrah was educated at Winchester College and went to New College, Oxford, where he studied mathematics for a year just before the outbreak of the First World War before enlisting in the British Army and fighting in France.[2] There, he was wounded and returned to Oxford, changed his studies to modern history and gained a first-class degree. He became a Prize Fellow of All Souls College, and shared rooms with T. E. Lawrence. After dating his future wife under the eye of a nun who acted as a chaperone, his marriage forced him to end his Prize Fellowship, as they were required to be single.[3]
Career
editMorrah was in the Civil Service for six years before joining the editorial staff of the Daily Mail in 1928.[4] A few years later, he joined the editorial staff of The Times, where he worked for 30 years.[5] During this time, he wrote books on Britain's monarchy and its constitution,[4] and later began writing speeches for George VI during the Second World War.[3] His books have included the History of the Times,[4] The Royal Family: The Illustrated Story of the Royal Family's Service to Britain and the Commonwealth,[6] The Work of the Queen[3] and To Be a King, the last being about the early life of Charles, Prince of Wales.[5] From 1945 to 1965, he was editor of The Round Table: A Quarterly Review of British Commonwealth Affairs.[7]
He was an expert on heraldry and genealogy and a good court historian.[3] His unpaid post of Arundel Herald Extraordinary was given to him on 27 April 1953.[8] He had a friendly relationship with Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother.[5] In 1947, while Elizabeth II was still a princess, Morrah wrote a famous speech of hers given on her 21st birthday in southern Africa, which had been briefly lost in a bar.[3] He was later an aide at the coronation of Elizabeth II.[5]
He was a member of the College of Arms.[5]
Death
editMorrah died on 30 September 1974, aged 78.[5]
References
edit- ^ Monteith, Charles (3 January 2008). "Morrah, Dermot Michael Macgregor (1896–1974), journalist and herald". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/31466. ISBN 978-0-19-861412-8. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- ^ Foster, Leonie (1986). High Hopes: The Men and Motives of the Australian Round Table. University of Melbourne. p. 253. ISBN 0522843255.
- ^ a b c d e Utley, Charles (June 2017). "My grandfather wrote the Princess's speech". The Oldie.
- ^ a b c "Dermot Michael Macgregor Morrah, Esq., M.Phil., HON. F.S.A. Scot". The Antiquaries Journal. 55 (2): 495. September 1975. doi:10.1017/S000358150000888X. ISSN 1758-5309. S2CID 246060653.
- ^ a b c d e f "Dermot Morrah, Royalty Expert, Herald Extraordinary, 78, Dead". The New York Times. Associated Press. 2 October 1974.
- ^ Morrah, Dermot (1950). The Royal Family: The Illustrated Story of the Royal Family's Service to Britain and the Commonwealth. Odhams Press.
- ^ Alexander May, The Round Table, 1910-66, 1995, University of Oxford
- ^ "No. 39841". The London Gazette. 1 May 1953. p. 2419.