A voice no longer ….Lincoln newspaper dies after 150+ years
Farewell to the Lincoln Chronicle, formerly the Lincolnshire Chronicle, which had origins dating back to the 1800’s. (This picture is applicable …please read on!)
In a shock announcement on January 19th 2007 Editor Mike Lyon thanked his readers, contributors and advertisers and confirmed the closure of this venerable Lincoln title, in recent years a giveaway but a paid for weekly for most of its long life.
The paper was vociferous in the typhoid epidemic of 1904/05 and outspoken in various planning battles in the 1960s and 1970s. It is sad to see its voice fall silent.
The closure was a surprise to scores of ex-staff members – myself included – who were helped immeasurably in our media careers by the start we got on the “Chron.”
To name just a few ….. Mike Maloney, who began in the print works, was encouraged to pursue his hobby of photography and the paper printed many of his weekend efforts. He rose to become Chief Photographer of the Daily Mirror and enjoyed friendly terms with Princess Diana and notorious Mirror boss Robert Maxwell.
Tony Brooks and Peter Welbourn graduated to long journalistic careers on the Daily Express – and there were other characters too, like Sean Dooley, genial Liverpudlian who became editor of the Stoke Evening Sentinel. Alan Hardwick eventually went on to a long career as a Yorkshire TV presenter.
Talking of characters Peter Brown – that’s him in the guise of his alter ego, Bimbo — and myself (the good looking one!) first met years ago as junior reporters on the paper.
Peter and I decided that the death of a newspaper should not go unmarked and, with the help of former printer Terry Giles, former photographer Derrick Kent and eventually many others, we held a re-union of former staffers (old Chron-ics?) to mark its passing. There was no fund to facilitate this but Lincoln CIty FC, these days a very community-orientated football club, kindly allowed use of the K.C.Bar in the South Park Stand. We certainly rewarded the Imps with some bar takings as some 80 or 90 Chron-ics showed they could still down the wallop. A decade by decade roll call enabled photographs to be taken of staff from each era. It was pleasing to see some of the staff who were actually losing their jobs through the closure come and join the workers of the past.
In these very special circumstances, people came from as far as London, Manchester and Leeds to re-unite with their old colleagues…and from their current jobs in all sections of the media, including magazines, newspapers,radio and TV. Anthony Robinson, whose family owned the title for many years, was a notable attendee.
On behalf of readers and contributors, Peter Wright OBE JP, made a witty speech before inviting everyone to participate in a toast to the Chronicle.
The title will live on in the bound files from decades past in the Local Studies section of the Lincolnshire Library and many a researcher will still need to scan its musty pages. Photographs of our get together have been deposited in the Local Studies section and all present were encouraged to write a sheet or two of their memories of life on the “Chron.”
Peter Brown recalls that when photographer Derrick Kent went on holiday he, as a junior reporter, was trained to take photos using aged cameras where the image was exposed on to a negative plate of about five inches by three. Peter trudged all the way up the Central Tower of the Cathedral to photograph repair work only to find, back in the office, that all of the plates he took with him had already been exposed on another story!
He and I were told to cycle around Lincoln to call on every pub to get the figures from the pub’s annual Sick and Dividing Club pay-out. The Sick and Dividing Club paid out during the year to anyone who fell ill….and at Christmas everyone shared what was left. This was a community effort that dated back to before the development of Government sick benefit and the Chronicle had long produced an annual “League table” of pay-outs declared. We divided the City into two and I recall quite a merry ride around the hostelries – not a job available to today’s journalists!