Grimsby Telegraph photographer Dave Tilley, who has been with the paper since 1959 when he joined as a 17-year-old, has retired.
Tilley has taken photographs of the Queen on her visit to the opening of the Humber Bridge in 1981, and her visits to Grimsby and Scunthorpe during her Silver and Golden Jubilees.
He has also snapped politicians such as Harold Wilson, Margaret Thatcher, John Major and Enoch Powell.
Covering Grimsby Town football matches has been a major part of Tilley’s work over the past four decades. He recalled one incident when he wanted a half-time cup of tea to warm himself up during a winter game at Doncaster Rovers.
He told the Telegraph: “The steward wouldn’t let us down the tunnel to get something to drink. A little guy with a cigar – the chairman of the club – said we could go down, but it was too late because the match was starting.
“The chairman must have had a sense of humour, because he sent a man around to us with a tray with china cups and saucers, a milk jug and biscuits and served us on the touch line in front of this crowd of baying yobs. It was quite embarrassing.”
Tilley added: “The job isn’t just about taking pictures, it is the people you meet who make the pictures, the people you talk to, the things they tell you.
“I have been fortunate enough to work with wonderful people all my life. This newspaper is very lucky to have had the photographers that it has had on its staff because they would compare to any photographer on any newspaper in this country. They are first class.”
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