| Level | Item |
| Ref No | MEM/RSM |
| Title | Memoir by Robert Smithies entitled 'The Photographer's Tale' ,1955-1974 |
| Date | January 2001 |
| Extent | 1 item |
| Creator Name | Smithies; Robert (1934-2006); photographer, TV presenter, and crossword compiler |
| Description | Memoirs of photographer Robert Smithies's time at the Guardian.
Robert had been building up a portfolio of photos through his work for the Manchester Evening News, and was encouraged to apply for Guardian work by photographer Walter Doughty, who had worked at the Guardian for many years.
He describes his initial encounters with the assistant editor, John Anderson, and the editor, A.P. Wadsworth, who liked his pictures but told him to return in a year. After a year of work for a small news agency, he was finally hired by the Guardian. His mentor was Tom Stuttard, for many years the Guardian's only full time staff photographer.
Robert recalls his encounters with Wadsworth, including travelling round the Peak District with him and his daughter to research and take photographs for a book on the Strutts and the Arkwrights. Also included are recollections of other Guardian figures from the time, including news editor Bill Cockburn and political sketchwriter Norman Shrapnell.
He describes a picture he took at a Louis Armstrong concert as "perhaps the most successful picture of my career", and how he ended up spending a drunken weekend with Brendan Behan. Also included are memories of Michael Frayn, at the time a promising new recruit, Roy Perrott. and Wadsworth's successor as editor, Alastair Hetherington. |
| Admin History | Robert Smithies ran errands and filed negatives at the Manchester Evening News darkroom at the age of 16. He joined the Guardian in July 1955 as a photographer and left in July 1974. |
| Custodial History | Part of project by the Guardian to gather material for the archive. |
| Access Status | Open |
| Related Material | OHP/86 Oral history interview with Robert Smithies |
| Format | Typescript |
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