It seems no obituary was written for Colin.... No one on the sports team found themselves able to turn one in... it seems John Lavery and Jim Gracey were not available and not contactable. I know too little to do much more than to put up a memory of Colin on the copyboys. One thing from my fading memory banks is I remember who he worked with way back when ....Harry Duff, a wee, well constructed gentleman with a Belfast burr and he, too like Colin was an expert on the turf and the greyhound track. Now both them and their times are over.

Times pass and sadly so do people, friends and acquaintances ....this time we are briefly remembering two more ..... Alastair Hunter who was head of advertising in Sunday Life when I worked there...RIP Alastair who always managed to keep smile on his face, even in difficult situations....The other is Colin McMullan, a stalward of the Belfast Telegraph's sports pages and worked hard under Malcolm Brodie, John Laverty, Steven Beacom, Jim Gracey and others too many to recall. RIP Colin.

Well done ....knew you would work it out. > On 08/09/2023 15:56 BST Typepad wrote: > > > A new comment from "Dbards6537" was received on the post "Mr Hack 200" of the blog "TheCopyboys". If you would like to post a reply to this comment you can do so at the following URL: > > https://graham_mckenzie.typepad.com/thecopyboys/2023/09/mr-hack-200.html?cid=6a00d8341de1f053ef02c8d39d11e8200d#comment-6a00d8341de1f053ef02c8d39d11e8200d > > > Comment: > -------- > Hi, again. I have not been able to log on for some weeks but now, thanks to Twitter, I can join youse. When I was on BT staff it was the NGA guys who were most interested in the new cars. My journalistic colleagues were alll in used cars. That says it all. Yet it was sad to see the grand traditions of type setting, page make-up and the case wiped out by technology. Such is progress and now the very existence of newspapers is a struggle as reading habits change with each generation. Nostalgia is not what it used to be > > > Commenter name: Dbards6537 > Commenter email: Not Shared > Commenter URL: https://profile.typepad.com/dbards6537 > IP address: 81.104.75.102 > Authentication: Approved > > > Comment Actions: > ---------------- > > Unpublish this comment: > > > Delete this comment: > > > Mark this comment as spam: > > > Edit this comment: > > > > Enjoy! > The Typepad Team > > P.S.: Learn more about replying to comments: > //help.typepad.com/replying_to_comments.html

Well done ....knew you would work it out. > On 08/09/2023 15:56 BST Typepad wrote: > > > A new comment from "Dbards6537" was received on the post "Mr Hack 200" of the blog "TheCopyboys". If you would like to post a reply to this comment you can do so at the following URL: > > https://graham_mckenzie.typepad.com/thecopyboys/2023/09/mr-hack-200.html?cid=6a00d8341de1f053ef02c8d39d11e8200d#comment-6a00d8341de1f053ef02c8d39d11e8200d > > > Comment: > -------- > Hi, again. I have not been able to log on for some weeks but now, thanks to Twitter, I can join youse. When I was on BT staff it was the NGA guys who were most interested in the new cars. My journalistic colleagues were alll in used cars. That says it all. Yet it was sad to see the grand traditions of type setting, page make-up and the case wiped out by technology. Such is progress and now the very existence of newspapers is a struggle as reading habits change with each generation. Nostalgia is not what it used to be > > > Commenter name: Dbards6537 > Commenter email: Not Shared > Commenter URL: https://profile.typepad.com/dbards6537 > IP address: 81.104.75.102 > Authentication: Approved > > > Comment Actions: > ---------------- > > Unpublish this comment: > > > Delete this comment: > > > Mark this comment as spam: > > > Edit this comment: > > > > Enjoy! > The Typepad Team > > P.S.: Learn more about replying to comments: > //help.typepad.com/replying_to_comments.html

Good to see someone I know back online and back on copyboys.... Cheers, Derek.

The name of the NGA FoC I couldn't remember was Harry McVeigh who led his colleagues when they had a dispute with management and it was a dispute, I seem to remember, they didn't win in the long run which led eventually to a wholesale change in the way newspapers or at least the Belfast Telegraph was produced for sale to the public....

Well, thank you Tom Savage.... an old friend from the BT and one who knows details about our photos.... The man responsible for taking the photographs was Dennis Garrett, an NGA Man of course and whose father would later become an FoC in the Press Room for a number of years. The man in the second photo is as I remembered George Kennedy, a man I used to travel with on the train to Bangor West. The man standing next to him is Bill Campbell, also an FoC be. At the far end of the photograph and working on a lino is Herbie Patterson, a Bangor man who also ended up with the thankless task of being FoC. Little did they all know at this time what was to become of producing, editing, designing and producing newspapers which would alter dramatically in a few years time with computerisation and journalists taking over newspapers from writing them and producing them.

Well now we know....Huw Edwards. Hands up all who did not expect that name to appear, thanks to his wife's action in publishing it to end the agony for the man and his children in the hurricane of speculation and abuse. His name was never in my mind's eye....never. Find it hard to believe, too, but then again complaints and allegations continue to arrive daily from the man's colleagues so the story goes on. The BBC investigation into what has happened has restarted after the Met declared that no crime he been committed and it did not in a remarkable speedy time.

Thanks again to Keith Baker who attended the funeral and filed me this report which fills in the gaps in my knowledge about this wonderful human being and good friend: Chris Harbinson funeral The notice in Funeral Times had asked that bright colours should be worn and so it was that we arrived at Mulholland Funeral Directors’ establishment in Larne, suitably attired (although a few men in dark suits hadn’t got the memo), to say farewell to Chris Harbinson, a scholar and a gentleman. Chris began his newspaper career on the Larne Times, then joined the Telegraph as a news sub, a role in which he excelled. Later he became Chief Sub at the News Letter before being appointed Editor of Sunday News. Unfortunately the paper was in decline and this role was to be short-lived. He returned to the News Letter for a period but then came an opportunity from the Sunday Mirror to indulge his passion for graphic design. At the funeral, a Humanist one, we heard about his other passions from his son Alan. First of all there was his family. He and his wife Hazel were married for 53 years and there were memories of their social activism in Rathcoole during difficult years – self-help initiatives, musician and writer groups, street theatre. There were other memories: his love of cricket, jazz, the flute, Zen Buddhism, cooking, books of all kinds. There were quotations from the gospels according to Terry Pratchett and James Joyce. And there was music: Neil Young’s Heart of Gold and a final flourish to send us on our way with a smile – Wang Dang Doodle. A nice touch, old friend.…………..

Thanks to help from Rick I can now put up the names of the good friends and old colleagues of Charlie's who attended his funeral were Trevor Martin, Trevor Dickson, Michael Cooper, Martin Lindsay, Fred Hoare, Rick Hewitt, Danny Kerr and Lorraine Green, Gerry Fitzgerald, Bobby Ingram, Louis McConnell and Alan Lewis. Charlie had a life well lived and now remembered here.

More sad news. Former popular Belfast Telegraph photograph Charlie Cockcroft has sadly died. Charlie was regarded as one of the leading photographers of his era, capturing some of the most iconic photographs of The Troubles many of which were printed and shared across the world. Charlie lived in Lurgan and was a regular visitor at Kinnego Marina, where he was a popular member of the club and attended many regattas and competitions. Charlie's funeral service was at in Queen Street Methodist Church, Lurgan. Sadly his wife Marion pre-deceased him just over two years ago. Our condolences to go his daughter Dianne and son Michael. The following appeared in today's News Letter: *Troubles-era photographer Charles Cockcroft praised as a 'true gentleman' following his death at the weekend One of Northern Ireland’s best known Troubles photographers has been praised as a ‘true gentleman’ following his death on Sunday. Former Lurgan Mail and Belfast Telegraph photographer Charles ‘Charlie’ Cockcroft captured many iconic images – including one of SDLP leader Gerry Fitt holding a pistol after republicans attacked his Belfast home in 1976. He was widely regarded as one of the leading photographers of the time, with his work winning awards and being featured in publications around the world. The Lurgan man is also being remembered for his pleasant temperament and contribution the sailing community. One of Charlie’s great passions was his involvement with the Lough Neagh Sailing Club where he was its Commodore for many years. He would often be found at Kinnego Marina, and was a popular figure at the many regattas and competitions. In a statement, Lough Neagh Sailing Club said: “The Commodore, committee and members of Lough Neagh Sailing Club are saddened to hear of the passing of Charles (Charlie) Cockcroft on Sunday, April 16..

A new email sent by Alastair McQueen contains a copy of the obituary tribute to Roy Lilley in today's edition of The Times. Here it is: Roy Lilley obituary: Unflappable editor of the Belfast Telegraph who stood his ground against IRA terrorists Saturday March 18 2023, 12.01am, The Times On September 17, 1976, several members of the Provisional IRA drove a hijacked van packed with explosives into the loading bay of the Belfast Telegraph in the city centre. A member of the paper’s staff, Joseph Patton, lost a foot in the blast and died four days later. Fourteen others were injured. A Telegraph van boy who saw the attack said: “The fellas drove up to the loading bay. A man in the passenger seat jumped out and shot the security man. Then the others jumped and ran. It was all over in minutes.” The building was extensively damaged, but a late-night inspection revealed that one of the four printing presses could still operate. The next day the editor, Roy Lilley, produced a four-page paperthat was quickly nicknamed the Penny Marvel. On the front page it had a defiant editorial headlined “Our Answer”. “This is an emergency edition,” it said. “It shows we are back in business — and that is our answer to the terrorists. We are confident that, day by day, our customary service will be resumed. Within minutes of the first news flash of the attack came offers of help and messages of support from the public. They have continued ever since. We thank all for their response. One reader telephoned the simple message, ‘An attack in the Tele is an attack on us all. Get the paper back on the streets.’ It is in that spirit that this edition has reached the streets.” The continued publication of the Belfast Telegraph, which had a large readership in both the unionist and nationalist communities, underlined the stoicism in a violence-scarred province where the mantra for so many was “business as usual”. The year after the attack Lilley, who was editor from 1974 to 1992, received the Golden Pen of Freedom award from the International Federation of Newspaper Publishers at a ceremony in Japan, to recognise his defence of press freedom and the Belfast Telegraph’s editorial policy during the Troubles. As editor, he sought to nurture political agreement between unionists and nationalists, but it was a struggle. He knew the local situation only too well, and having been Westminster lobby correspondent for Thomson Regional Newspapers from 1965-67 he had many contacts in the corridors of power. His judgment was well regarded and an invitation to a Belfast Telegraph lunch was prized. Guests included the Northern Ireland secretaries Jim Prior and Douglas Hurd, as well as the Dublin Fine Gael leader Dr Garret FitzGerald and the Catholic Bishop of Derry, Edward Daly, who had risen to prominence on television as he tried to rescue a man shot during the violence of “Bloody Sunday” in that city. As Lilley had spent years campaigning for compromise it seemed fitting that he should retire, as editorial director, in 1998, the year of the Good Friday agreement. However, he came to believe that the intransigence and mistrust that had dogged the Northern Ireland political process for so long, unless checked, would threaten power-sharing at Stormont and even devolution itself. His worries were well founded. Robert Hugh Lilley was born in Belfast in 1938, the only son of Hugh, a security guard, and Martha Lilley (née McMeekin). His mother died when he was a toddler and he was brought up by his father and his stepmother Sarah (née Gilbert). He was educated at Larne Grammar School, and in 1957 he joined the Larne Times as a trainee reporter. Two years later he transferred to the Belfast Telegraph and rose to become political correspondent from 1962-64. After his spell in Westminster, he returned to Belfast and climbed the ranks as a leader writer, assistant editor, deputy editor and eventually editor. His contribution to journalism was recognised with an OBE in 1998, shortly after he retired. He had previously declined the offer. “I don’t believe that editors should accept honours because they are in control of the policy of the newspaper and they are expressing opinions about the behaviour of governments and ministers. When you retire, it becomes a very different matter.” Lilley was respected by his contemporaries and by younger journalists who went on to have successful careers. As editor he demanded high standards, but he knew that a few words of praise went a long way and his intense loyalty to his staff was reciprocated. He is survived by Georgie (née Bell), his wife of 57 years whom he met at a dance in Larne, as well as his daughters Claire, the global head of child safety enforcement at Google, and Rozalind, the global head of non-financial risk, security services, at HSBC. When his daughters were growing up, ever the editor, he would spend Sunday afternoons reading their school essays and writing his comments in the margins. His sense of fun was never far away though; according to Claire he did not shy away from a water slide and was a “notoriously terrible” poker player. Lilley remained well versed in current affairs, and regularly travelled with his friends to support the Irish rugby team in Dublin, Paris and Rome. He was an enthusiastic golfer who enjoyed a round at Massereene Golf Club beside Lough Neagh. He would sometimes hover nervously over a 3ft putt at a crucial stage of a game but then — as he demonstrated after the attack on the Belfast Telegraph in 1976 — he remembered his inner steel and resolved to carry on.

This tribute to Roy was paid by Richard Riddle on Facebook: When I became a sub in the Tele in 1989, I had just spent 13 years, the last 5 of them as chief sub, in the News Letter, which was a lawless, even dangerous, chaotic bucket-shop run by morons, one of whom was almost illiterate. In contrast, the Tele under Roy Lilley was superbly organized and a haven of civilization. In my early years at the Tele, I was, to put it politely, suffering from post-traumatic stress, and therefore prone to frequent behavioural errors, for which Roy would give me a good bawling-out. Whenever colleagues suggested that I oughn't to have tolerated 'his wrath, I would reply that I had richly deserved it and, however little he might have thought of me, I considered him to be a first-class operator. Working with him on a page-one splash was a joy. There was no posturing nor pretentiousness about him and he was every bit as alert to libel pitfalls as I was, unlike a colleague whom I decline to name, entirely on compassionate grounds. The fact that nearly one in four citizens of this wretched province bought the Tele on six days out of seven under Roy's aegis speaks volumes about his ability and achievement. His widow and other members of his family must be very proud of him.