It was two months before England won the World Cup and four years before man landed on the moon that Geoff Staddon, a 16-year-old grammar school leaver was offered a job on the old Bideford Gazette.
(Pictured: Geoff Staddon with colleagues and a retirement front page of the Gazette.)
Then produced at the former offices in Grenville Street, the Gazette was still a broadsheet – Torridge’s paid-for newspaper.
It was the time of hot metal, a time when the clickety-clack of the typewriter and the haze of cigarette smoke was the stuff of newsrooms.
The ping of an email alert and the whirr of the air conditioning unit would wait until the next century.
During his long-service to Bideford and the wider North Devon community Geoff has turned stones on local democracy, reported stories of human endeavour and tragedy, and told incredible tales of triumph over adversity.
In later years, he turned his attentions to sports reporting, covering everything from football to model yacht racing.
Long-serving Bideford councillor and local historian Peter Christie said Geoff’s reports were always worth reading and could be relied on for their accuracy and fairness.
He said: “Geoff was always willing to put councillors on the spot in the nicest possible way. His questions were always searching but never leading and you could always be sure his reports were fair and accurate.
“If you saw a report with the name Geoff Staddon on it you knew it was one that was worth reading.”
Editor Andy Keeble said: “You really couldn’t wish for a better colleague than Geoff. His reputation for accuracy and honesty was second to none and will be sorely missed by everyone at the Gazette – not least for his quick wit, friendly manner and calm persona, even during turbulent times on the newsdesk.”
