Ronald Farquhar

Ronnie was, far and away, the best bureau chief I ever had. Although self-effacing himself, he inspired by example, doing the routine stuff as well as the big pieces, all with a meticulous eye for detail and balance. He was generous with praise if you did well, and never shouted at you if you didn't, though his face alone told you he was not entirely happy. Although he was good friends personally with several senior Reuters people, he was generally suspicious of management, making it quite clear that his heart lay with the pit-face workers. His reluctance to keep in touch with Head Office meant that he was often overlooked by them. During one of his rare visits to London it suddenly dawned on staff, pressed by the union, that he was at least two grades lower than he should have been, and was immediately upgraded by three. He kept his many talents hidden, including one for languages. I well remember an incident in Vienna when we could not get hold of the Belgrade bureau during a sudden banking crisis, Ronnie got on the phone to one of his old contacts and, in Serbo-Croat, a language he probably hadn't spoken for at least two decades, got the story. There won't be many more like him. ■