Did you work for The Star in the 70/80's

[Redfyre]

Sharrovian, I was hoping you might come back and throw in some names of composing room folk on nights from the mid-1960s. Like Arthur Smith, Tom Docherty...add some more for me!

[sharrovian]

Hello Redfyre, the two you mention I remember well and as I put my brain into gear here goes: Bryan Daly, Dick Smith, Larry Edson, Ken Nixon, Don Vick, Dan Cummings, Dave Fridlington, George West, Mick Stork, Bob Madigan, Ken Savage, Norman Randle, Dick Wake, Ray Shaw, Peter Mathews, Jimmy Burrows, Don Buckley, Harry Ford, Eric Scattergood, Tom Seaton, Ken Tivey, Jim Walker, George Wilks, Dick Shirt, Harry Farnell, Jack Marsh, Reg Cutting, Alan Woods, Alan Nunn, Ernest Ward, Arnold Ford, Ron Hanstock, Jack Crosby, Jim Crowther ~ Enough ? ? ? ~ my head is hurting, but the memories come flooding back.

Among the Editorial staff I remember Dave Mastin, David Hand, Derek Fish, Peter Markie, Ian Vickers, Ian Dempsey, Trevor Lovatt, Bill Auckland, John Winter, phew! ~ all for now.

[sharrovian]

Just thought of two more, what characters, how could I forget Jimmy Dunn and John Piper, Bryan Daly and I once met them on Chapel Walk and we left it in an hilarious uproar.

[hazel]

Hi Hazel Sorry not to have contacted you earlier, but yours must have been one of the last posting that I intended replying to before I ‘disappeared’ until quite recently.

 

Derek. His surname rings a bell but my first choice for Derek — and believe me my memory has played many an old trick on me since I was hospitalised — would be in the dispatch department. Very pleasant guy. Took life even easier than I did, but being considerably older than me I would have thought that by now he might well have passed away.

 

The only other Derek of that era was an impatient but nevertheless good worker as head of circulation

 

Hi Peter,

As far as I know Derek was in charge of getting the paper printed so he would have been the impatient one. He was sent to Blackpool to work on the paper there, I think as abit of a trouble shooter. His brother Brian worked as a compiler?

Lost contact with him throughout the years but he was a very likable man.

hazel

[Redfyre]

Just thought of two more, what characters, how could I forget Jimmy Dunn and John Piper, Bryan Daly and I once met them on Chapel Walk and we left it in an hilarious uproar.

 

Yes, there were some great characters on both the day and night shifts, on The Star and Telegraph editorials. Most of the editorial people you mention were Star folk, though one or two were on the Telegraph before switching. Jimmy Dunn was certainly a huge character in every way, and John Piper was always Mr Rotherham --I still have an image in my mind's eye of him riding through the centre of Rotherham on his bike, waving to people and acknowledging their greetings!

Many of ther Composing Room names are familiar. One that caught my eye was George West --a grand lad. There were a few characters on the night staff whose names I have now forgotten. Do you remember a lad, fairly young really, who used to come to work on a bike? As I recall, he was a little bit eccentric, but likeable for all that, and, long after I had left York Street, I did hear that he had had a bad accident on his way to or from work.

[sierraman]

Many of ther Composing Room names are familiar. One that caught my eye was George West --a grand lad. There were a few characters on the night staff whose names I have now forgotten. Do you remember a lad, fairly young really, who used to come to work on a bike? As I recall, he was a little bit eccentric, but likeable for all that, and, long after I had left York Street, I did hear that he had had a bad accident on his way to or from work.

Jeffrey Kay is the most likely person you mean. Lived at Wadsley.

[sharrovian]

Yes I remember Geoffrey or Jeffrey Kay and you're probably correct, in later years he had a car and parked at the back of Woolworths in the car park there but always removed the Rotor arm before he left for work, I did hear some years ago that he had passed away.

[sierraman]

I heard he'd passed away too! What ever happened to Brian Bradbury, Sharrovian? Is Arthur Smith still going strong?

[Redfyre]

Yes, Geoffrey was the guy. What a character. On the stone it was quite a job keeping him happy when he was in one of his moods, but we all loved him!

I, too, would love to hear if anyone knows anything about Arthur Smith.

[sierraman]

Yes, Geoffrey was the guy. What a character. On the stone it was quite a job keeping him happy when he was in one of his moods, but we all loved him!

I, too, would love to hear if anyone knows anything about Arthur Smith.

Hi Redfyre, PM me and give me a hint as to who you are? I bet we know each other!