IN June 1982 the great Glasgow Herald writer, William Hunter, travelled to Tobermory to report on an attempt to salvage cargo from the sunken Spanish Armada galleon in the bay. As part of the story he also posed for a photograph on a bronze galleon from the ship that now sat outside Inveraray Castle. The subsequent article contained all of his deft and economical turns of phrase.
Hunter was, said his obituary in The Herald in June 2004, an original, a disciplined wordsmith: “He could be quirky and sometimes perverse as well as extremely funny, and it all made him a joy to read. What some of his readers didn’t notice was the sheer professionalism of his writing.”
Hunter, a Paisley man and lifelong St Mirren fan, spent 31years on the paper as columnist - he wrote the Samuel Hunter column - diarist and business editor, and he was remembered for his contributions to the sports pages. Successive editors despatched him about the highways and by-ways of the country, appreciating “that he could conjure an observational gem out of the most unpromising material.” From sundry football grounds he also graced, now and then, the airwaves. The obituary said he was once asked for a detailed report of a comprehensive Morton victory. His reply in full? ‘’Andy Ritchie was the man.’’
Read more: Herald Diary
One enduring (and endearing) Hunter anecdote concerns the time he was sent to Dumfries to report a Tam O’ Shanter recitation competition. Having fortified himself for the trip, he nodded off in the train - and woke up at Euston. Most journalists would have drawn a veil over such a misfortune, but not Willie. His report took the form of an open letter to the editor. It began: ‘’Sir, I confess. This time, I have gone too far.’’
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