A journalist who was believed to have held the longest-running column in British journalism has died aged 84. Harry Mead was a journalist for 63 years in total before finally hanging up his pen, and latterly keyboard, in 2019.
Mead began his career as a reporter at the Middlesbrough Gazette, straight from grammar school in 1956. He turned down the chance to go to university as he didn’t want to leave the love of his life, Shirley.
In 1969 he transferred to The Northern Echo, where his first column was published on March 22, 1969. The column went on to run until 2019, just nine days short of its 50th anniversary, when it was retired due to what he described at the time as the “economic climate.”
Nigel Burton is the editor of York’s The Press, where Mead’s daughter Helen currently works as a columnist in the finest family tradition. Burton also worked alongside Mead at The Northern Echo and was among those paying tribute to the veteran journalist.
He said: “Harry was a legend at The Northern Echo and his writing was warmly received by readers across North Yorkshire for five decades. In many ways, he was a man ahead of his time. He loved the beautiful Yorkshire countryside and was an active campaigner for the preservation of the environment.
“He will be much missed, and our sincere condolences go out to his family and friends.”
