When an old Fleet Street hand reminisces about hot-metal print staff – even when there's a tinge of affection and respect – it's usually a war story. So there's something really exceptional about the warmth of the Telegraph's obituary for George Darker, former head printer of the Sunday Times.
He "stood out from the rest of his inky profession like a beacon", we're told, for his "gentlemanliness", his elegant dress sense and his "inexplicable air of serenity". None of which stopped him speaking his mind to Harold Evans. The whole thing is worth reading, as a tribute to two noble crafts: printing, and Telegraph obituary-writing.
Sources: Telegraph; Journalism.co.uk.
