Brian Horton

For many years I have had a soft spot for Brian Horton, going back to late 1970 when I was in a serious car crash in Singapore and ended up for several months in hospital. Reuters flew my mother out to Singapore from Canada as there was some danger that I might end up prematurely in the Great Newsroom in the Sky. Brian himself would send me hand-written and cheerful letters at intervals, passing on tidbits of Reuters gossip, and also providing on-the-ground reports of events in Vietnam where I had been posted. His brother was a military doctor serving in central Vietnam at the time, and Brian would relay his impressions on events there. He also posted me to Japan following my convalescence where I was lucky enough to meet my wife. ■