Allan Maitland

I was saddened to learn of Allan’s death. I worked with him on Reuters World in the late 1980s and got to know him as a friend. He was a Reuters man of the old school, thoroughly professional, unruffled by crises, with prodigious knowledge about the company and its people. It was typical of him to make light of coming under a Viet Cong attack while covering the Vietnam war in 1969 - “one just got on with it”. But for the gentle, self-effacing man that he was, he had a wicked sense of humour when the occasion arose. 

His big passion was sailing and he often crewed for his old Reuters mate Bill Humphries aboard Bill’s vintage wood-and-brass yacht Dorothea on trips across the channel and around the Mediterranean. His other obsession was the, surprisingly, vicious game of croquet and he was an accomplished player at tournaments in the Hurlingham Club. He remained in good spirits during his long illness and even in his final time in hospital was cracking jokes and asking for news about the latest shake-up at Thomson Reuters. Our deep sympathy goes out to Mignonne and all his family. ■