Former Herald journalist
Born: December 3, 1955;
Died: May 3, 2019
BILL Tinning, who has died aged 63, was employed by The Herald for nearly forty years, initially as a skilled compositor and then a highly regarded journalist before becoming a civil servant with the Department of Work and Pensions for the past eleven years.
After joining The Glasgow Herald as a 15-year-old ‘post boy’, he trained as a compositor before accepting the opportunity to switch to journalism. This entailed undertaking a course at Edinburgh’s Napier University, after which he joined this paper’s news room, where he remained and reported on a wide range of topics over many years. He also occasionally contributed on sport and briefly to the Sunday Standard.
His career began in Mitchell Street then took in moves to Albion Street and finally to Renfield Street. After taking voluntary redundancy in 2008, he joined the Department of Work and Pensions, processing claims firstly at Paisley and latterly Springburn. His equable, patient temperament and courtesy with the public equipped him well for the job making him a popular figure with colleagues and public alike.
William Tinning was born and raised in Kirkintilloch, the fourth of five children to Grace née Connelly and Bill, a foundry worker, and was educated at Townhead Primary School and Lenzie Academy. His sporting ability first came to prominence at primary school where he won the sports championship; at secondary school he enjoyed success as a cross-country runner at Glasgow Schools level. He continued running but gave up before resuming in his twenties to complete the Glasgow Marathon twice, once in an excellent 2hrs. 49 mins. An enthusiast of most sports, he especially enjoyed football and regularly watched Kirkintilloch Rob Roy. He indulged a broad taste in music and loved travelling, visiting the USA, Australia, South Africa, Dubai and Hong Kong, amongst other locations.
In 1980 he married Eileen Gordon, a nurse, with whom he went on to enjoy almost 40 happy years in Bishopbriggs. They had two children, Wendy and Alan. ‘The apple of his eye’ was grandson Oliver, whom he taught to ride a bike and in whom he sparked an interest in football.
Barclay McBain, the Herald’s Executive Editor, paid this tribute: “As the move to new technology gathered pace Bill was one of the printers who made the transition from the case room to the print room. He did so with aplomb.
“He promptly settled in to editorial and became a valued and popular member of the news team. He had an inbuilt thirst for knowledge and was diligent in pursuit of stories, taking care always to check the facts before submitting copy which he turned round at pace and was always ‘clean’, ensuring he never missed a deadline.
“He had a wry sense of humour that served him and his colleagues well in the heat of a busy night in the news room. He was the epitome of what it took to be a hard-working, straight-down-the-middle Herald reporter. I know I speak for all of my colleagues past and present when I say I was greatly saddened to learn of Bill’s death. His family were very important to him and we think of them now.”
Bill Tinning is survived by his wife, children, grandson, and brothers Jim and Robin and sister Lesley.
JACK DAVIDSON
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