Elizabeth Bower: Quick, fluent, with impressive style

When I first toiled on the old Central Desk in 85 Fleet Street in late 1959 after starting with Reuters in Bonn, Liz Bower was in full flow as a so-called Quick Sub. That was a sort of intermediate role between the top two (copytaster and filing editor) and the rest of us. Liz and fellow quick subs Ian Macdowall and Peter Mosley plus occasional others handled the major stories of the day, especially fast-breaking series. My abiding memory of her is the speed and fluency of her writing. She lived up to her title, really was “quick” with impressive style, and was greatly missed on the desk when she left Reuters after a short career. ■