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Death of former Citizen man

Ted Lacey, a former assistant editor of The Citizen, Gloucester, has died at the age of 92.

He suffered a severe stroke about 10 years ago, but had recovered much of his movement and speech.

Born Edward Lacey, he began work at The Citizen aged 14, working there for 51 years.

He joined the paper in October 1924, after answering an advert for “a boy to take out parcels, and make himself generally useful”, and his duties included scrubbing the front step of the St John’s Lane office.

Within three years he had transferred to the editorial department and became a general reporter, and later, sub-editor and sports editor.

During the Second World War he spent three years in Algiers as part of an RAF supply team.

On his return to The Citizen he was made chief sub-editor and became assistant editor in 1969. He retired in 1975.

Citizen reporter Hugh Worsnip, who worked with Ted for 13 years, said: “Chief sub was then the most stressful job on a newspaper, which was producing four editions a day and could be changed in 20 minutes.

“He had to assess and cope with copy flowing from local, national and international sources and plan all the editions in constantly changing circumstances. Yet he very rarely lost his cool. He was a man completely on top of his job.”

Ted is survived by his wife, Phyllis, daughter, Hilary and two grandchildren.

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