Gilbert Sedbon

As a chief correspondent in Paris during the 1970s I had the pleasure of working closely with Gilbert and - if I may add my tribute - I do believe he was the best reporter of his generation, certainly among foreign correspondents in France. He was uniquely persistent in lifting the lid, whether on political deals, arms deals, Vietnam peace deals or conflicts that followed. He achieved this, I believe, by personal charm and by staying doggedly close to innumerable contacts on all sides, never forgetting them merely because they might for the moment have fallen from power. They could always come back.

There was no French or Middle Eastern figure of note who did not know Gilbert as the face of Reuters in Paris, especially after Harold King died. When Gilbert was on to something big, he would call the office and say with urgency he would be back “in a jiffy” (one of his many endearing qualities was his use of outdated English slang, such as “Give me a tinkle,” the outcome of his upbringing in colonial Egypt). Back in the office I would wait expectantly and was seldom disappointed, though he himself might be so on edge as to require company in writing his story. All his passion for news agency journalism was in that excitement and engaging humility he carried with him to the end. They really don’t make them like that any more. ■