Updated: Found! – John Mead – the ‘young man’ in the photo above has called the PPHP office to tell us – “it’s me!” – he was contacted by David Ofield the current picture editor of the Evening Standard to say he was online! – John then went on to fill in more details about the image…. It was his first job on a picture desk. In the photo the Picture Editor looks across at Picture Editor Jeff Snelling with back to us – Phil Grume dep picture editor. John went on to be Picture Editor of the Express for 7 years leaving in 1985 going to the Mirror as Deputy Picture editor promoted to Executive Picture Editor working with the picture editor Ron Morgan he was at the Mirror for 23 years retiring from the business three years ago.
John has helped us update the desk and photographer list below and will be speaking with Sarah very soon! If you would like to contact John Mead please contact [email protected] and I will pass the message on.
“I have a attached a picture of what I presume is the Evening Standard picture desk at Shoe Lane. His name was Charles Gwilliam – nickname ‘Gwill’. The original is not in brilliant condition as you will see from the condition of the scan but I’m sure you will agree it is a great picture! He is the older man on the left with a cigarette. We think the young chap sat next to him is ‘Young John’ who my mum says was a junior who worked with him on the picture desk.”
The photograph above has been sent in by Sarah Wickens who has contacted the PPHP trying to find out more information about her Grandfather – George Charles Gwilliam – better known as Charles or Charlie Gwilliam who worked at the Evening Standard on the picture desk from the 1930’s to 1966. His nickname at the Evening Standard was Gwil.
Sarah pick’s up the story so far:
Hi Will
It was really good to talk to you – I hope I didn’t take up too much of your time! I have just had a chat to my mum and she is happy for the photo to go on your site with a call out for information. However, she has now told me she thinks she knows who the other two men at the desk are although is not 100% sure! She thinks the man with the dark hair with his back to the camera is Clive Rimmer (the picture desk editor) and the bald man with glasses is Phil Grune. Regarding the call out, my grandfather was actually George Charles Gwilliam but was known as Charles or Charlie Gwilliam. His nickname at the Evening Standard was Gwil. Another memory I forgot to share is that he used to go in to the Evening Standard on a Saturday to read the football results (apparently on account of his nice speaking voice!) and my uncle Robert (Bob) Gwilliam would go with him and work as a Saturday boy. My mum also remembers her Dad borrowing a camera from the Evening Standard to take pictures at the weekend – I guess in the days when having a camera was a luxury.
My mum has also just checked the staff list and run through the names so I could email them to you in advance of us being able to show you the original. It is A3 size so difficult for us to scan and the document is a bit fragile as it is on newspaper print.
Evening Standard Standby Arrangements
In the event of damage to 47 Shoe Lane arrangements have been made to produce the paper in conjunction with The Times or Daily Express.
Revised May 1966 Fleet Street
Picture Desk
Cleland Rimmer (Photographer later Picture Editor)
P (Phil) Grune – deputy Picture Editor
G C Gwilliam ( deceased)
D (Dennis) Lodge (deceased)
John Mead (number three on the dask
(names in brackets are the full name that my mum remembers)
Photographers
W H Alden
W. Breeze
F R Bunt (High Court Photographer)
R Chauen
H V Drees (Vic)
Aubury Hart – twin brother Dennis a photographer on The Evening News
A H Jones (sports)
R Jones (fashion)
F W Mott
S O’Meara
H Thompson
Dark Room and Picture Library staff are also listed as well as all other departments. The document includes their home addresses and phone numbers – Charles Wintour is listed as he was editor at the time. I assume because these are all the staff who would have to be contacted to go in.
– ENDS –
Sarah would like to hear from anyone who knew or worked with her Grandfather at the Evening Standard, SO, if you knew Gwil or any other members of the Evening Standard Picture desk in photo please get in touch with us – [email protected] or call me on 07802437827 – The Press Photo History Project will be scanning and cataloging Gwil’s archive of Evening Standard memorabilia and interviewing his Daughter who has some fantastic memories of the life of a picture editor during the 40’s 50’s & 60’s!
above: Gwil’s NATSOPA delegate card dated 1936
This in from Peter Francis on the 28 Nov 2022
Hello Will,
My daughter has passed on this site (PPHP) to myself recently. The photograph showing Jeff Snelling Picture Editor of the Evening Standard is very nostalgic to me. I was a lowly messenger aged 15 straight out of school with a fascination for photography spending some time on the picture desk with journalist close by, names including, Science journo Peter Farley, Fashion desk, Maureen Cleave & sports ex footballer Bernard Joy. Clee Rimmer, I remember him as a photographer, I worked my way up into the Darkroom the names of photographers are all etched into my psyche some 60 years later, Sid O’Meara , Harry Thompson a Yorkshire man, Aubery Hart, The Darkroom staff I can remember names George Bennett (Manager) Ron Brayley? also Harry ? Apprentice Harold & Jim ? Infact Jeff Snelling helped my career by recommending me to fashion Photographer John Cowan Studio, whom I worked for in 1964. But much preferred news photography and spent 35 years at Tom Blau’s Camera Press Agency.
The Daily Express the sister paper in Fleet Street a few hundred yards from Shoe Lane, which had a wire room so pictures were beamed back from events over phone lines, one of my jobs was to catch the wet prints lowered from an upper window in the Daily Express building on a string complete with bulldog clip to the street below and then dash back to the Evening Standard picture desk to hand over the image for publication. Events such as The Epsom Derby for example.
Names Of Photographers at Evening Standard 1963… I was the tea boy! But learnt so much!
Dick Chain.
Victor Drees.
Freddie Mott.
Bunting (court).
Harry Thompson.
Sid O’Meara.
Clee Rimmer.
Aubery Hart.
1963 Quite a Year for news pictures:
Cassius Clay v Henry Cooper.
Great Train Robbery.
Profumo affair.
Stephen Ward’s Death (Albery Hart scoop).
Kennady Assassination.
