This Is Your Life: Arthur Christiansen

Arthur CHRISTIANSEN (1904-1963)

THIS IS YOUR LIFE - Arthur Christiansen, journalist and newspaper editor, was surprised by Eamonn Andrews outside the BBC Television Theatre, having been led to believe he was in Shepherd's Bush for an appointment.

Arthur, who was born in Wallasey, Cheshire, began his career in journalism as a trainee reporter at the age of 16 with the Wallasey Chronicle, where he worked for three years before moving to the Liverpool Daily Courier and Evening Express. He was named the London editor of the Evening Express in 1925, a position he held for a year before moving to the Sunday Express. In his next role as editor of the Northern Daily Express, he built up the readership by producing a front page which led on Manchester or northern-based headlines - a revolutionary act at the time.

He returned to London in 1933 as editor of the Daily Express, where his imagination and artistry set a new standard in British journalism. His innovations, which included introducing a single headline to the front page and employing women reporters during the Second World War, led to a four million sales peak by 1949. Arthur, affectionately known as Chris, retired from the Daily Express in 1957 after 24 years.

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