Dermot Morrah

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Dermot Michael Macgregor Morrah (26 April 1896[1] – 30 November 1974) was a British journalist for The Times and an expert on the British royal family.

Education[]

Morrah went to the University of Oxford, where he studied mathematics just before the outbreak of the First World War, where he studied for a year before enlisting in the British Army and fighting in France. 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.[2]

Career[]

Morrah was in the Civil Service for six years before joining the editorial staff of the Daily Mail in 1928.[3] A few years later, he joined the editorial staff of The Times, where he worked for 30 years.[4] During this time, he wrote books on Britain's monarchy and its constitution,[3] and later began writing speeches for George VI during the Second World War.[2] His books have included the History of the Times,[3] The Royal Family: The Illustrated Story of the Royal Family's Service to Britain and the Commonwealth,[5] The Work of the Queen[2] and To Be a King, the last being about the early life of Charles, Prince of Wales.[4]

He was an expert on heraldry and genealogy and a good court historian.[2] His unpaid post of Arundel Herald Extraordinary was given to him on 27 April 1953.[6] He had a friendly relationship with Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother.[4] 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.[2] He was later an aide at the coronation of Elizabeth II.[4]

He was a member of the College of Arms.[4]

Death[]

He died on 30 November 1974, aged 78.[4]

References[]

  1. ^ 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.)
  2. ^ a b c d e Utley, Charles (June 2017). "My grandfather wrote the Princess's speech". The Oldie.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "Dermot Morrah, Royalty Expert, Herald Extraordinary, 78, Dead". The New York Times. Associated Press. 2 October 1974.
  5. ^ Morrah, Dermot (1950). The Royal Family: The Illustrated Story of the Royal Family's Service to Britain and the Commonwealth. Odhams Press.
  6. ^ "No. 39841". The London Gazette. 1 May 1953. p. 2419.
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