Background
Linacre was born on 23 September 1920 in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England. His father was a steelworks foreman.
Linacre was born on 23 September 1920 in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England. His father was a steelworks foreman.
He was educated at Firth Park Grammar School, a grammar school in Sheffield.
He is credited with starting its school newspaper. Military service With the outbreak of World World War II in 1939, Linacre joined the Royal Air Force as an airman. He trained as a bomber pilot and was promoted to the non-commissioned rank of sergeant.
He was involved in raids over Nazi occupied Europe.
83 Squadron Royal Air Force, he bombed targets in Berlin, Essen, Kiel and Mannheim. On 3 November 1941, he granted an emergency commission in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve as a pilot officer on probation.
On 1 October 1942, he was promoted to flying officer on probation (war substantive). When he was mentioned in despatches in June 1944, he held the acting rank of squadron leader.
At the end of the war, he was offered a regular commission in the Royal Air Force and encouraged to remain in the military, but he turned it down.
Therefore, in 1946 he was demobilised and returned to civilian life. Journalism career Linacre first expressed an interest in becoming a journalist at the age of seven. Ten years later, at the age of 17, he joined The Sheffield Independent.
He left the newspaper in 1939 to serve in the Royal Air Force during World World War World War II Though he was offered a permanent commission to continue serving with the Royal Air Force after the war, he decided to return to journalism.
His first job was as a sub-editor or the Sunday Graphic. He then became assistant editor of The Journal and the Evening Chronicle, both Newcastle based newspapers.
In 1958, he became editor of the Sheffield Star. In 1963, he moved from direct involvement in newspaper production, as a journalist or editor, to a back room job as executive director of Thomson Regional Newspapers.
He was head-hunted by Yorkshire Conservative Newspapers, joining the publisher as managing director in April 1965.
In 1969, Yorkshire Conservative Newspapers merged into United Newspapers. Linacre fought for The Yorkshire Post to maintain its independent under its new publisher. He was chief executive of United Newspapers from 1981 to 1988.
In 1983, he was appointed chairman of the Yorkshire Post Newspapers and deputy chairman of United Newspapers.
In 1985, he negotiated the acquisition of the Daily Express, the Sunday Express and the Daily Star. He retired from his full-time career in 1990.
As a member of Number. This was agreed to and he was also offered a position as a member of its board of directors of United Newspapers.