AB: Gifted pro, not always 'entirely happy'

Allan Barker and I met in Reuters, New York, 55-odd years ago, and over the decades he seemed never to have changed his style. There was always the same cynical chuckle and that trademark, quietly-devastating comment (In Oz accent) on faulty copy, "I'm not ENTIRELY happy with this…"

He may have had a spare-time gaming instinct but he took no chances in editing, always maintaining a fresh, beady-eyed judgment, backed by a built-in bullshit detector. He was in an elite group that kept Reuters standards so high in the world. Now that he has, sadly, joined the melancholy roll call of departed oldtimers, we shall miss him. Entirely. ■