Life membership for well-loved veterans
JOURNALISTS travelled from all over Scotland for the presentation in Aberdeen of NUJ life membership to two well-loved newspaper veterans, Ted Kidd and Frank Urquhart.
Ted joined the union in 1963 at the Sunday Mail in Aberdeen, later switching to the Daily Record. He has been chair and vice-chair of the Grampian branch and is still its welfare officer.
Frank Urquhart, known as the “Bold FU”, joined the union in 1966 at Aberdeen Journals. He moved to the Edinburgh Evening News in 1973 and became Scotland’s youngest Father of Chapel at the age of 23.
He also worked for the Scottish Daily Express, the Aberdeen Evening Express and, for the last 21 years, as the North-east district man for the Scotsman.
They were presented with their honours by former Grampian branch secretary Bob Dow who said: “These guys are a wonderful inspiration and sum up all that is good about the NUJ.”