October 22, 2012

Which? editor Martyn Hocking dies aged 48: ‘Consumers in the UK have lost a tireless champion’

Martyn Hocking, the award-winning editor of Which? magazine, has died of cancer aged 48.

Hocking has a long association with the company, having joined the group in the 1990s as deputy editor of Which Gardening, before rejoining Which? in 2006 after a stint as editor of Location, Location, Location magazine.

He became acting editor of Which in October 2008, having been made editor of Which Money magazine from February 2007, and became editor in January 2009 when he replaced Neil Fowler.

In 2011 he won the British Society of Magazine Editors’ Editor of the Year award – for which he is again shortlisted this year – and editor of the year for Special Interest and Hobbies Magazines at the British Society of Magazine Editors awards.

Peter Vicary-Smith, chief executive of Which?, said: “This has come as a great shock to us all at Which?. Martyn was extremely well liked and respected by his friends and colleagues and we will all miss him hugely. Consumers in the UK have lost a tireless champion whose brilliant work helped make countless people more powerful in their everyday lives.

“Martyn would often say that being Editor of Which? was his dream job, and he showed that every day with his extraordinary creativity, his determination to make everything we do as good as it could be, and his drive to make our publications have as much impact as possible. Martyn played a huge part in the success of Which? and the growth of our membership over several years.

“Our thoughts are with his wife Frances, family and many friends at this very sad time.”

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