William
Connor was born in Muswell Hill in North London. After being educated
at a local elementary school he tried to join the Royal
Navy but was rejected because of his poor eyesight.
Connor found work as a copywriter for J. Walter Thompson. After six
years at the agency he was recruited by H. G.
Bartholomew, the editorial director of the Daily
Mirror.
Bartholomew and Cecil King, the advertising
director, had noted the success of newspapers such as the Daily
News
in New
York. In 1934 Bartholomew and King decided to follow its example
and turn the Daily Mirror into a
tabloid newspaper. Connor, who wrote under the name Cassandra,
had what was described as having a "polished-up barrack room
style" helped to shape this new approach to journalism.
Connor held left-wing political opinions and was a strong opponent
of fascism. In the 1930s he wrote several powerful articles against
Neville Chamberlain and his attempts
to appease Hitler.
On the outbreak of the Second World War, Connor
introduced his friend, Philip Zec, to H.
G. Bartholomew and Cecil Thomas, the editor of the Daily
Mirror. Bartholomew liked Zec's work and commissioned him
to do a daily cartoon. Connor often supplied Zec with the ideas and
captions. On 5th March, 1942, the two men produced a cartoon on the
government's decision to increase the price of petrol. The cartoon
showed a torpedoed sailor with an oil-smeared face lying on a raft.
The message was "Don't waste petrol. It costs lives."
Winston Churchill believed that the
cartoon suggested that the sailor's life had been put at stake to
enhance the profits of the petrol companies. In the House
of Commons, Herbert Morrison, the
Home Secretary, called it a "wicked cartoon" and Ernest
Bevin, the Minister of Labour, argued that Zec's work was lowering
the morale of the armed forces and the general public. The government
considered closing down the Daily Mirror
but eventually decided to let the newspaper off with a severe reprimand.
Soon after the controversial cartoon was published, Connor joined
the British Army. After the war Connor returned
to the Daily Mirror and in 1965,
Harold Wilson, the Labour
prime minister, granted him a knighthood.
The
price of petrol has been increased by one penny." Official
Philip Zec, The
Daily Mirror (5th March, 1942)
(1)
Cassandra, The Daily Mirror (1st
April, 1938)
Before this visit to Germany I always had a sneaking feeling that
there was a strong undercurrent of opposition to Hitler.
I am now certain that I was wrong.
I now know that this man has the absolute unswerving confidence of
the people.
They will do anything for him.
They worship him.
They regard him as a god.
Do not let us deceive ourselves in this country that Hitler may be
dislodged by enemies within his own frontiers.
(2)
Cassandra,
The Daily Mirror (21st March, 1939)
There are two ways of losing a war. One is to be defeated in the field.
The other is to lose the war before it begins.
We have indicated this peril for months past. It is now obvious. It
has to be admitted.
Why is so plain a peril - plainly revealed in Hitler's book - why,
we ask, is it only now recognised by our rulers?
Simply because, even if they have read Hitler (which is still doubtful)
they have not believed what he has said in Mein Kampf.
Not believing him, not knowing the sort of lucid lunatic with whom
they have had to deal, they have believed it possible to disarm him
by smiles, handshakes, pacts and scraps of paper.
(3)
Cassandra,
The Daily Mirror (27th March, 1942)
By 1938 I had graduated from pickle kings to Neville Chamberlain.
I fought hard against him and I fought fiercely against Munich. I
had been in Germany nearly every year from 1929 to 1938 and it seemed
incredible to me that, as it does now, that anybody could possibly
mistake Hitler's preparations as being designed for anything but gigantic
war.
I campaigned for Churchill, and my support was early and violent.
But since he came to power I have distrusted many of his lieutenants
- and I have said so with scant respect either for their position
or their feelings.
Churchill told a former colleague of his that "there are paths
of service open in wartime which are not open in the days of peace,
and some of these paths may be paths to honour."
I, who have not transgressed, am shortly following the Prime Minister's
advice. I am still a comparatively young man and I propose to see
whether the rifle is a better weapon than the printed word.
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