The Harold Evans I remember was a great craftsman, a crusader… and a rival without peer Donald Trelford
almost 5 years in The guardian
A former Observer editor remembers a journalist with energy, imagination and grit
Harold Evans must be the most formidable rival the Observer has ever had. I can vouch for that, having been editor or deputy editor for 12 of the 14 years in which he published a stream of highly publicised investigative stories and campaigns in the Sunday Times.
I remember the day he was appointed in 1967. At the editorial conference, the then editor, David Astor, asked the table: “Does anybody know him?” When I put my hand up, I was asked to describe him. “He’s a crusader,” I said and mentioned his campaigns as editor of the Northern Echo, including the pardon he secured for Timothy Evans, who had been hanged for murders he didn’t commit. Astor looked a bit downcast at this and muttered: “Oh dear! He’ll be wanting to wear our clothes.” Continue reading...
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