Level | Item |
Ref No | OHP/20 |
Title | Gerard Fay |
Date | 12 February 2002 |
Extent | 1 minidisc, cds, 1 file, 6 AIFF files (688.8 MB) |
Creator Name | Fay; Stephen; journalist |
Description | Interview with Stephen Fay, discussing his father Gerard Fay, London editor of the Manchester Guardian. Conducted by Leslie Plommer on 12 February 2002. Also includes a data sheet containing biographical details about the subject and information about the recording.
Summary contents of interview (with rough timings):
Disc 1: Track 1 01.09 Story of Gerard Fay's early years 02.44 Rochdale Observer 03.29 Joined Oldham Chronicle as leader writer 03.59 Wrote to the features editor of the Manchester Guardian asking if he could write for them 04.50 Meeting with WP Crozier 05.24 Given a job as reporter 1939
Track 2 00.15 John Midgely, John Douglas Pringle 01.09 Joined the Army 01.26 Wounded after D Day - In hospital for six months then went back to Guardian 02.20 Wadsworth as editor 02.43 Sent to London in 1946 04.07 Winnipeg Free Press 04.33 Covered the Linskey tribunal 05.38 He had wonderful conversational style 05.46 Wrote 2 books, semi autobiographical 06.25 Good companion and he drank a lot 06.30 Louis Heren 07.25 John Midgely 07.36 Research for the 1949 Royal Commision, survey of graduates on Fleet Street 08.51 Phillip Hope Wallace, drama critic and a great chum of Gerard
11.30 Francis Boyd wanted to be London editor 11.50 Was in Tokyo, when offered the job, he loved being the London editor. He was 'innocently proud' of the pape 13.16 Became a director of the company 13.31 In charge of syndication, international representative of the Guardian
Track 3 00.47 By 1959 Hetherington had become the editor 01.24 Gerard was doing the diary, and the quality was variable, depending on what people gave him 02.11 Manchester no longer the great economic capital it once was, it was inevitable that the paper would move 03.33 The move to London in 1961 was something he took very seriously and he organised it as well as he could 04.52 First stirrings of new technology in the late 1950s
Track 4 00.27 Editing the paper during the Profumo affair 02.04 This was a period of growing unhappiness 02.40 Hetherington became more critical and Gerard became more discontented 02.52 Involved in the run up to the great financial crisis of 64-66 when the directors were in talks with the Times. 03.38 Resigned in November 1966 04.03 Brian Redhead was the features editor 04.30 Gerard didn't resign, he was sacked by the board 05.49 He died eighteen months later [in 1968]
Track 5 00.18 He was only 54, when he died. Mourned by many of his colleagues. 00.45 He had a whimsical column called 'the university of Saturday'. He had whimsical sense of humour 01.36 He was one of the past generation of Guardian people 02.45 His wife felt that his loyalty to the Guardian had been betrayed 03.14 Drink and Fleet Street in that period went together. 03.43 Didn't like sport 04.36 Had to take all his money when he left as his pension 05.41 He hoped to write some books and wrote some freelance pieces for the UK Press Gazette 07.39 Wasn't until he became London editor that he got £1,000 a year
Track 6 02.00 Should never expect loyalty from an institution. 03.34 Was such a good writer, could have gone on writing for another 15 years 04.38 He seemed to have so much fun with his chums, whilst doing interesting work 06.00 Wadsworth's purge in the 40s
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Access Status | Open |
Access Conditions | Access to recording via GNM Digital Repository |
Format | Electronic record |
CD recording |
Printed document |
Minidisc recording |
Copyright | Guardian News & Media Ltd and Stephen Fay |
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