Bob Procter, a former journalist with the Express and Star at Wolverhampton for almost three decades, has died aged 89.
Bob was renowned for never failing to get a story if there was a story to be got, according to former colleagues who worked with him up until his retirement in 2001.
In a mock-up front page presented to Bob on his retirement, a colleague wrote: “A trainee could learn more about news reporting in five minutes of sitting within hearing range of Bob as he interviewed someone on the phone, than on a full term at a training course.
“If there was a story there to be got, then Bob would get it.”
Freelance journalist Jon Griffin, who worked with him at the Express and Star, recalled: “Bob had a reputation as a foot in the door man who you could send out to talk to people in the most difficult circumstances.
“I sat next to Bob in the Express and Star newsroom at Wolverhampton for several years and shared many a laugh with him, often in the pub. He was a great character and unusually in the newspaper world, was universally liked.”
Before joining the Express and Star Bob spent several years with the Birmingham Evening Mail as an industrial reporter, during a period of significant industrial unrest and strikes in the 1970s.
In his youth Bob had once considered becoming an actor and briefly attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. Hence, he was in his element when The Express and Star introduced a ‘Give Bob a Job’ column, in which readers were invited to give Bob an opportunity to try his hand at any role – which included that of a vicar, a holiday camp entertainer and a town crier to name a few.
Tongue in cheek, Bob took on the various roles with gusto, highlighting his flair for also turning out funny, light-hearted copy. He wrote: “There’s a ham actor in all of us – and as someone who tends to go into a routine when the fridge light goes on, I am no exception.”
When he retired a tribute from his colleagues read: “The stage may have lost a star when he switched careers, but the newspaper world certainly gained one.”
Bob began his career with the Beckenham and Penge Times. Other newspapers he worked for included the Manchester Evening News and the Swindon Echo.
Bob was the son of Harry Procter, a well known Fleet Street journalist. He was the eldest of six siblings four of whom also became journalists.
Bob leaves a daughter, Sue, a son, Simon and granddaughters, Leah and Lorna. He had been a widower for many years, following the death of his late wife, Margaret.
A funeral service is to be held at 12.30pm on 30th October at Fradley Crematorium, Lichfield, followed afterwards by a ‘Celebration of Life’ at The Chase pub in Rugeley.
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