Hugh Massingberd

Hugh Massingberd (December 30, 1946 – December 25, 2007), also known as Hugh Montgomery-Massingberd or Hugh John Montgomery, was a journalist and genealogist.

Massingberd was most revered for his work as obituaries editor for "The Daily Telegraph" of London from 1986 to 1994, during which time he drastically altered the style of the modern British obituary from a dry recital of biographical data to an often sly, witty, yet deadpan narrative on the decedent's life.

Personal life

Massingberd was born Hugh John Montgomery at Cookham Dean, Berkshire, England, in 1946. His father, John Montgomery, was a member of the Colonial Service. His mother, Marsali Seal de Winlaw, was a schoolmistress who married John Montgomery after her first husband Roger de Winton Kelsall Winlaw died in 1942 in the service of the Royal Air Force. Hugh was the first child of her union with John Montgomery. Through his father, Massingberd was the great great grandson of Charlotte Langton (née Wedgwood), sister of Emma Darwin (Charles Darwin's wife) and granddaughter of the potter and philanthropist Josiah Wedgwood I [Obituary, "Daily Telegraph", 27th December, 2007. See also, Darwin-Wedgwood family.] .

John and Hugh Montgomery took the name Montgomery-Massingberd in 1963 so that they might take a tenancy at Gunby. Hugh Montgomery-Massingberd later changed his name to Hugh Massingberd during the early 1990s.

He was extremely proud of his reputation as a gourmand and a trencherman, posing at one time for a portrait with a garland of sausages. Often retold was the story of his having eaten the largest breakfast ever served at the Connaught Hotel in 1972; the head waiter reported to his table that the previous record holder had been King Farouk I of Egypt. [ [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/12/27/nmassing127.xml Hugh Massingberd, obituaries master, dies] ]

Massingberd was known for his wit in his private life as well as in his public life as a writer. A friend once asked him, during one of Massingberd's low moods, what would cheer him up; after some thought, Massingberd replied, "To sing patriotic songs in drag before an appreciative audience." [ [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/12/27/nmassing127.xml Hugh Massingberd, obituaries master, dies] ]

Massingberd married Christine Martinoni in 1972, with whom he had a daughter, Harriet, and a son, Luke. He divorced Martinoni in 1979 and married Caroline Ripley in 1983.

Massingberd was diagnosed with cancer in 2004, and died on Christmas Day, 2007.

Career

After leaving school at Harrow, Massingberd discarded initial plans to attend the University of Cambridge, instead choosing to work as a law clerk. He then moved to an assistantship at "Burke's Peerage", the historical and genealogical listing of the United Kingdom's titled families. He was chief editor of "Burke's Peerage" from 1971 to 1983. Massingberd then worked as a freelance columnist for "The Spectator" and "The Field" until assuming his position with "The Daily Telegraph" in 1986.

As obituaries editor at "The Daily Telegraph", Massingberd entirely altered the reverential but otherwise factual style of the obituary. He replaced the traditional tone of respect with one of adroitly subtle humor, and quickly drew readership. "The New York Times" reported that "cataclysmic understatement and carefully coded euphemism were the stylistic hallmarks of his page." [ [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/30/nyregion/30massingberd.html Hugh Massingberd, 60, Laureate for the Departed, Dies] ]

Massingberd famously referred to the 6th Earl of Carnarvon, a deceased man with a habit of indecent exposure, as "an uncompromisingly direct ladies' man." [" [http://news.independent.co.uk/media/article340477.ece My Mentor: Andrew McKie On Hugh Massingberd] ", "The Independent", 23 January 2006] He termed the late maverick Dead Sea Scrolls academician John Allegro, who later argued for Judeo-Christian cultism regarding mushrooms and sexual intercourse, the "Liberace of biblical scholarship." [ [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/30/nyregion/30massingberd.html Hugh Massingberd, 60, Laureate for the Departed, Dies] ] Massingberd's sphere of influence was large. Following his editorship tenure, obituaries in not only "The Daily Telegraph" but in many other British publications, such as "The Times" of London, took on the dryly impish character for which his writings had become famous.

A severe heart attack in 1994 forced Massingberd to undergo quadruple bypass surgery. During his recovery period, he wrote as "The Daily Telegraph"'s television critic, but resigned in 1996.

After his resignation, Massingberd continued to write, authoring book reviews for "The Daily Telegraph" as well as several theatrical works. When one of his theatre pieces, "Love and Art", was produced at the Wallace Collection in 2005, Massingberd played one of the roles on stage.

Massingberd left behind a considerable body of written work, both as author and as editor.

Works

As author

* The Monarchy (1979);
* The British Aristocracy (with Mark Bence-Jones, 1979);
* The London Ritz (with David Watkin, 1980);
* The Country Life Book of Royal Palaces, Castles and Homes (with Patrick Montague-Smith, 1981);
* (1982);
* Heritage of Royal Britain (1983);
* Royal Palaces of Europe (1984);
* Blenheim Revisited (1985);
* Her Majesty The Queen (1986);
* Debrett's Great British Families (1987);
* (1988);
* Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother (1999);
* the autobiographical (2001);
* Ancestral Voices (2002);
* Love and Art (2005)

Four books with photographs by Christopher Simon Sykes:
* Great Houses of England and Wales (1994);
* Great Houses of Scotland (1997);
* Great Houses of Ireland (1999);
* English Manor Houses (2001)

As editor

* Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage (1971-1983; assistant editor, 1968-1971);
* Burke's Guide to the Royal Family (1973);
* Burke's Royal Families of the World, Vols. 1 and 2 (1977 and 1980);
* Burke's Guide to Country Houses, Vols. 1-3 (1978, 1980 and 1981);
* The Daily Telegraph Record of the Second World War (1989);
* A Guide to the Country Houses of the North-West (1991);
* 1979-1992 (1993);
* The Daily Telegraph Book of Obituaries, Vols. 1-6;
* The Very Best of the Daily Telegraph Books of Obituaries (2001)

ee also

* The Daily Telegraph
* Max Hastings
* Obituary

References

External links

* [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/12/27/db2701.xml Obituary: Hugh Massingberd: The Daily Telegraph]
* [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/12/27/nmassing127.xml Hugh Massingberd, obituaries master, dies]
* [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/30/nyregion/30massingberd.html Hugh Massingberd, 60, Laureate for the Departed, Dies – New York Times–]
* [http://books.guardian.co.uk/news/articles/0,,2233624,00.html Hugh Massingberd: The Guardian]
* [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article3100894.ece Obituary: Hugh Massingberd: The Times (UK)]