LIVES REMEMBERED
Jo Cox
Jo Cox, who has died aged 41, was a former head of policy and head of humanitarian campaigning for the global charity Oxfam who was elected Labour MP for Batley and Spen at the last general election; she established herself as a rising star of her party, albeit one unlikely to prosper under its current leadership.
Before she entered Parliament, Jo Cox had spent a decade working in some of the world’s most dangerous war zones, and in Parliament she made a name for herself campaigning to find a solution to the conflict in Syria and demanding the government do more to ensure that humanitarian aid reached people who needed it, including calling for RAF airdrops. She also established and became cochairman of a new all-party parliamentary group on Syria.
Jo Cox lived in a converted barge moored at Tower Bridge with her husband Brendan and two young children. Born June 22 1974, died June 16 2016
Donald Carr
Donald Carr, the cricketer, who has died aged 89, was an astute captain of Derbyshire, and in one Test led England; after retiring as a player in 1962 he continued to serve the game as an administrator.
His first-class career began in July 1945 when, only 18, he was invited to play for England (captained by Walter Hammond) at Lord’s in the third “Victory” Test against the Australian Services. Coming into bat after Keith Miller had uprooted the middle stump of Len Hutton, who had scored a century, the teenager was not unnaturally overawed, and soon had his own wicket shattered by Miller.
As captain of Oxford in 1950, Carr inspired a happy team. As a batsman he did even better than in the previous year, while his side, with some help from the rain, managed a draw against what was then an exceptionally powerful Cambridge XI.
He captained Derbyshire from 1955 to 1962, and except in 1956 the county always finished in the top half of the table, the best achievement being fourth in 1957.
Conditions at the Chesterfield ground in the 1950s were spartan. Yet neither the peeling paint nor the inadequate changing facilities prevented visiting teams from enjoying the hospitality of Derbyshire under Carr, who was always played the game in the best spirit.
Unlike many former county players, Carr was keen to carry on playing in club cricket, turning out for Radlett in Hertfordshire, where he lived, well into his fifties. Born December 28 1926, died June 12 2016
Chips Moman
Chips Moman, who has died aged 79, wrote songs for Aretha Franklin and James Carr and produced records for Bobby Womack and Wilson Pickett, among many others; but he was probably best known as the producer responsible for Elvis Presley’s 15th studio album, From Elvis in Memphis (1969). Moman’s recording sessions with Elvis also produced the hit
singles Suspicious Minds, Don’t
Cry Daddy, Kentucky Rain and In the Ghetto and marked a musical renaissance for the singer, who had spent much of the 1960s in the creative doldrums.
To begin with, the recording session had not looked promising. The King had a cold and Moman objected to the size of his entourage (which was obediently reduced). “When I told him he was off pitch,” Moman later recalled, “his whole entourage would nearly faint.” For the first song of the session, a melancholy country morality tale, Long Black Limousine, Elvis’s tone is rasping, coarsened by his cold, but the result, after nine takes, is raw and powerful.
At the session’s end Elvis turned to Moman and said: “We have some hits, don’t we, Chips?” Without missing a beat, Moman replied: “Maybe some of your biggest.” Born June 12 1937, died June 13 2016