Reuters JFK beat

Like Bob Evans [Reuters JFK beat], I have vivid memories of Kennedy’s death but unlike him they are not memories of success. I was the evening leads sub on the old Central Desk when the news broke (at a time when 85 was denuded of quite a number of senior staff attending the annual dinner of Reuters Gardening Society).

An urgent call to Library for the Kennedy file and obituary elicited the disastrous reply that there was no obituary - New York had certainly written one but in pre-Atlantic cable days it was on its way by post.

Cobbling one together from rather sparse files was a lengthy business and we must have been way behind AP.

There is a personal footnote: Sharing a taxi home at 2:00 am with duty editor Jack Henry, he gave me some friendly advice - that I should consider moving on from Reuters as the most influential duty editor would block any promotion. Fortunately that editor quit shortly afterwards. While most of the 4th floor regretted this, Peter Mosley - also in his bad books - and I nipped down to the Cogers for a celebratory drink. ■