I am pleased to see that Ken Morgan, the former general secretary of the National Union of Journalists, was given a good send-off at a memorial service at Fleet Street’s church, St Brides.
I wish I could have been there because, despite our many clashes in the 1970s, we later became friendly, particularly during the 1990 drama that saw the end of the Press Council and its replacement by the Press Complaints Commission.
Morgan had the difficult job of leading the NUJ for seven years from 1970, a period of intense trade union militancy. It meant that he found himself under attack from both employers on one side and from vitriolic internal opposition by a range of political activists (such as me).
That he managed to do so without losing his sense of humour and without undue rancour towards his many critics was a tribute to him. He was, and I don’t say this unkindly, the pragmatist’s pragmatist.
He could always find a way between two opposing points of view and was the master of solving apparently intractable problems.
I recall several annual delegate meetings in which he was castigated by speakers for a variety of crimes, whether it involved a supposed failure to back a strike or his opposition to aiding an armed insurrection against the government.
But Morgan, who died on 5 August 2015, aged 86, argued his corner without losing his temper and exhibiting a considerable talent for debate.
In her address, the current general secretary, Michelle Stanistreet, rightly spoke of Morgan’s charm, intelligence and negotiating skills.
She also recalled hearing stories about the 1974 Wexford delegate meeting, remembered for “a feast of drinking and highly-charged debates.” It was a remarkable occasion, overshadowed by events in Northern Ireland and the imposition in Ireland of broadcasting censorship (through Section 31).
Yet Morgan managed to steer a middle path in the face of political passion and some extraordinary oratory. None of us who were there will ever forget the ADM to beat all ADMs.
It was fitting that John Bailey, NUJ president during Wexford, should have read one of the poems at the memorial service, which was also attended by so many former NUJ activists and leaders from that era, such as Denis MacShane, Aidan White and Lionel Morrison.
