Allan Reditt: irreverent and humorous

I first came across Allan when he was in Accra, again when he was in Kuala Lumpur and finally when he was on the desk in Nicosia.

I remember Allan for his irreverent and humorous approach to life. This eased the stress of working in some of the difficult environments where he was often posted and made him popular with colleagues and his own staff. Perhaps the irreverence did not always endear him to managers and senior editors, but generally his good humour won through.

Typical of his approach was when he signed off a letter to a junior member of an awkward third-world telecommunications authority with the phrase "we trust that you will attend to this matter with your customary alacrity." It did get results.

After he returned to London from Kuala Lumpur I received a postcard of the British royal family waving to the crowds from the balcony of Buckingham Palace. A speech bubble had been cut out for the Queen to say "Look Philip, the Reditts are back!" On the reverse was a message from Allan: "London is terrible. Please create a post!" ■