Brendan Boyle: supreme professional

Shortly before I joined Reuters, I was lucky to have Brendan as a colleague when I was chief Southern Africa correspondent for UPI in the early 1980s. His calmness, charm, insights and enviable contacts book proved invaluable for a busy, understaffed operation covering the slow, violent unravelling of apartheid South Africa. He added real heft to the UPI file with his deep knowledge of Afrikaner politics and his fluent style. Fond memories and respect. ■