Paul Mylrea
George Short
Saturday 05 March 2011
Iain was a correspondent for Reuters from 1982 to 1990, working in Italy, France and London, before he went to Yale University to complete his book on eighteenth-century British art, The Discovery of Painting. He has published a range of fiction works, including the bestseller An Instance of the Fingerpost.
In Stone’s Fall, a historical mystery novel, an early character seems to have been closely inspired by our very own George Short. Here is an excerpt:
“It was George Short who replied, an old man who was the very definition of a hack. He could turn his hand to anything, and was a better reporter blind drunk than any of his fellows – including me – sober. Give him some information and he would write it up, and if you didn’t give him some information, he would make it up so perfectly the result was better than the truth. Which is, in fact, another rule of journalism. Fiction is generally better than reality, is usually more trustworthy, and always more believable.
“George, who dressed so appallingly that he was once arrested for vagrancy, put down his pint – his fourth that morning, and it was only ten o’clock – and wiped his stubbly chin. Like the aristocracy, you can tell a reporter’s status by his clothes and manners. The worse they are, the higher up they are, as only the lowly have to make a good impression. George had to impress no-one. Everyone knew him, from judges down to the criminals themselves, and all called him George, and most would stand him a drink…”
Are there any other examples of Reuters characters appearing in print, in the books of authors who worked for Reuters or otherwise?
Paul Mylrea
Photo: George Short impersonating dead sheep at Mrs Moon’s, a favourite Fleet Street haunt
● Iain Pears’ books
● George Short
● George Short’s account of the closing of Mrs Moon’s
Richard Williams
Wednesday 02 March 2011
The news of Richard Williams’ death – at just 56 – came as a huge shock. As the ’68 song went, “it seems the good, they die young”. It is deeply, deeply sad.
I worked with Richard in the NUJ. His loyalty and commitment to Reuters chapel members was deep and heartfelt. He never worried about the impact on his career of standing up for the chapel and the rights of members – no matter how tough that was.
But he was not just deeply principled, he was fun. He had the hard bitten humour that came with working at Reuters, forged by both the reality of what we reported on and the frequent crassness of the way people were treated.
John Fullerton has asked why so many Reuters people do not seem to live to enjoy what should be an exciting period after the Baron. There are no statistics to back this up, and some people have gone on to rich and fulfilling afterlives. But I agree with John that there do seem to be too many early losses. Maybe we need to do more ourselves. I hadn’t seen Richard for years. I now wish I had.
Richard was someone who was truly of Reuters, not just with Reuters. He will be missed.
Paul Mylrea
I worked with Richard in the NUJ. His loyalty and commitment to Reuters chapel members was deep and heartfelt. He never worried about the impact on his career of standing up for the chapel and the rights of members – no matter how tough that was.
But he was not just deeply principled, he was fun. He had the hard bitten humour that came with working at Reuters, forged by both the reality of what we reported on and the frequent crassness of the way people were treated.
John Fullerton has asked why so many Reuters people do not seem to live to enjoy what should be an exciting period after the Baron. There are no statistics to back this up, and some people have gone on to rich and fulfilling afterlives. But I agree with John that there do seem to be too many early losses. Maybe we need to do more ourselves. I hadn’t seen Richard for years. I now wish I had.
Richard was someone who was truly of Reuters, not just with Reuters. He will be missed.
Paul Mylrea
