obituaries
Derek Ingram
Derek Ingram, founder of the Commonwealth Journalists’ Association, was known to many as Mr Commonwealth. Awarded an OBE for his services to journalism, he will be remembered as one of the key British media figures to help topple all-white rule in Rhodesia and apartheid in South Africa. Sonny Ramphal, the secretary general of the
Commonwealth during 1975-90, said: “I came to regard him as a member of the extended family of the Commonwealth secretariat. I thought he never lost his journalistic independence or his ability to question.” Ingram attended all the Commonwealth heads
of government meetings from the first in Singapore (1971) until problems with his back, leg and breathing prevented him from attending the Malta meeting in 2015. He was regarded by leading journalists in
Britain as a man with an almost encyclopaedic knowledge of the ‘club’ of nations. Many regret that he never finished a long-awaited biography charting his course from Daily Mail assistant editor in the 1950s and part of the 1960s to when he founded Gemini News Service in 1967, which did so much to cement ties between journalists and politicians in the UK and those in countries freshly freed from colonialism. Derek Ingram was born at Westcliffe–on–Sea on June 20, 1925, the only son of a two Londoners. His mother Amy Clara was a concert singer and cabaret artiste and his father Stanley ran a small publishing company. He left school at 16 to become a trainee reporter and, at the age of 18, was laying out the front page of the Daily Sketch. After service with the Royal Navy in Malta and Italy, he joined first the Daily Express then the Daily Mail, leaving that paper to found Gemini. For many young reporters in the developing
world, an internship at Gemini in London shaped their lives and careers. Well into his 70s, Ingram was still travelling
the world, monitoring developments in the Commonwealth for the Commonwealth secretariat in London.
Trevor Grundy Nigel Fisher 24 | theJournalist Nick Cole
Veteran Lincolnshire journalist Nick Cole – an NUJ branch and chapel official for many years – has died aged 72. Tributes were paid by local councillors,
Scunthorpe’s MP and many former colleagues. Nick’s newspaper, the Scunthorpe Telegraph,
carried a two-page spread, noting his dedication and ability to track down front-page scoops. Most of these were obtained by talking to a huge range of contacts in local pubs and clubs, scribbling notes on scraps of paper or beer mats. Nick started out in the 1960s on the Scunthorpe
Star. He also worked on papers in Lancashire and the Midlands. He was best-known for his work on the Scunthorpe Telegraph, which he joined in 1976. Up to the week before his death he was bringing in notable stories and a host of tip-offs. For decades, Nick penned popular columns on the local music scene and North Lincolnshire’s pubs and clubs. He championed the cause of Scunthorpe’s main heavy industry – steelmaking – of which he had extensive knowledge. Scunthorpe MP Nic Dakin said: “Nick was
Scunthorpe through and through; he loved the place and the people. He celebrated our area and was a talented journalist with a great nose for news.” Nick was NUJ father of the chapel for many
years, leading negotiations to better the lot of members. He was also branch chairman and area representative on the federated chapel. He supported young journalists, some of whom
gained high-ranking positions. One of them, Peter Barron MBE, former editor of the Northern Echo, called Nick his first journalistic hero. He said: “Nick was a kind of Claude Greengrass of local newspapers, and certainly the heartbeat of the Scunthorpe Evening Telegraph. Rough round the edges, fiery at times but mostly kind and gentle.” Following Nick’s funeral in Scunthorpe, family,
friends and former colleagues gathered at a hotel he often visited. On display were some of his articles and pictures of him at work – several at licensed premises.
Alex Main
A Highland personality who was a life member of the NUJ has died at the age of 86. Alex Main was the doyen of the Highland
press world and won 15 trophies as manager of former Highland League side, Caledonian. Married to Ella, he had two sons, Alan and
Richard and two grandchildren, Nicolas and Leah.
From Inverness, Alex began his career in
journalism in 1947 with the Inverness Courier and went on to work for the Highland News, Football Times, Press and Journal, Daily Mail, Daily Express, the Scotsman and before finally returning to the Inverness Courier. He retired on April 25, 1997.
Along with being made a life member of the
NUJ, he also won the Barron Trophy, which recognises lifetime achievement in journalism. He was also a keen golfer and was a former captain of Fortrose and Rosemarkie Golf Club. He was probably best known for his football exploits. He was a member of the Caledonian FC committee before emerging as manager of the club. He went on to win an impressive haul of trophies, including four Highland League titles. With his writing skills, he wrote a history of Caledonian FC in 1986 – Caley All The Way – The First Hundred Years. John Ross, chairman of the Highlands and Islands Press Ball and former Highlands and Islands correspondent with The Scotsman, said: “Alex was one of the finest journalists in an era of fierce competitiveness in the newspaper industry. He was hugely respected, not only by his colleagues but also those he wrote about. “Such was his contribution to journalism in the Highlands and Islands that he was made an honorary member of the Press Ball. There is also a trophy presented annually in his honour to encourage and reward young journalists and promote the high standards of accuracy, fairness and balance for which Alex was known.”
Gordon Fyfe
More obituaries are on the NUJ website –
www.nuj.org.uk
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