HIS SUCCESSOR, Mr. Tyerman, was once one of his most
trusted colleagues, as assistant and then deputy editor of The Economist from 1937 to 1944. Mr. Tyerman combined this post for a year; from 1943 to 1944, with that of the deputy editorship of the Observer. He then moved to The Times, where he was an assistant editor until 1948 and has been deputy editor ever since. It is no secret that Mr. Tyerman was well in the running for the editorship of The Times, and many of his friends and admirers were acutely disappointed when he was passed over. Now, however, he receives an appointment which is almost ideally suited to his talents. Mr. Tyerman's most important quality as a serious journalist is his independence. He has displayed this on many occasions. Once, during the war, he resisted very great pressure from the Foreign Office to divulge the source of a story which had appeared in the Observer. On another occasion he sent back a stinging retort to a leading Conservative when this unhappy politician protested against an article appearing in The Times which could be held to be damaging to the Conservative cause. Mr. Tyerman has helped and encouraged many men, some of whom are now well known. to take risks at crucial moments of their careers. Appropriately enough he started his own successful career in journalism by taking just such a risk. He is paralysed from the waist down. and his decision as a young and married man to throw up the security of a teaching post in order to plunge into journalism demanded the courage which he often exhorts others to have. I do not know anyone who will not be glad that this Courage has been rewarded and will not wish him well in his new tasks.
Previous page
