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Tributes paid after former weekly editor dies at 76

A former journalist who worked for a regional daily for more than 40 years and edited its sister weekly has died at the age of 76.

Paul Chambert, left, spent time as editor of the now-defunct Herald of Wales as part of his long-standing career at the South Wales Evening Post, after he joined the paper as a messenger boy in the early 1950s.

After joining the title, he worked as a compositor, fitting letters to print, and worked in the readers’ room before training as a reporter and later becoming district news editor and editing the Herald of Wales.

Paul spent a couple of months in hospital before his death and former colleagues have lined up to pay their tributes.

In an obituary in the Evening Post, former editor George Edwards said: “Paul was at the paper when I arrived in 1983, and he made me feel particularly welcome.

“I was immediately struck by how good he was at his job, he was fastidious about details and was unbelievably enthusiastic.

“He was given quite a challenge to revamp the Herald of Wales from a freesheet to a genuine 56-page paper, and did that almost singlehandedly. He was a top-rate journalist, and a very nice man.”

Former sports writer John Burgum said: “To me, Paul was the archetypal local journalist. He knew his patch, and he loved writing about issues and problems with the city, and digging around for stories.

“His investigative reporting was one of his strengths. He was a perfect fit for the Evening Post.

“He was a true friend, and very loyal and generous. He was also a big Swans fan, and we were both vice-presidents of the club.

“We would go travelling to away matches together all over the country, and he was a great companion to go with. I will miss him greatly, particularly when the new season begins.”

Media consultant Robert Lloyd, a former deputy editor at the Evening Post and editor of the Llanelli Star and Carmarthen Journal, added: “Paul’s death has come as a big shock to his many friends in the world of journalism.

”When I visited him in Morriston Hospital recently, he was his usual bubbly self, delighted with the achievements of the Swans and eager to catch up with all the gossip of the South Wales media world.

“Paul was a journalist of the old school. Always keen to get the story right, he was dogged in his determination to get the facts.”

Paul leaves his daughter Anne who praised him as a “marvellous father who always wanted the best for me” and grandson Thomas.

His funeral will take place on 13 June at Morriston Crematorium at 11.30am.

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  • June 6, 2013 at 2:18 pm
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    I worked with Paul in the late 70s and early 80s. He was the best-connected reporter I knew; local politicians would ring him in the office to find out what was really going on in their own parties. He used his extensive contacts to deliver regular exclusives for the Post.
    Paul thought the gravest sin a reporter could commit was to write a boring story; he was the master of the imaginative connection and the unusual angle.
    Having your story copy-edited by Paul was a gruelling experience for any junior reporter; but he taught more than one generation of them how to write stories that gripped the reader’s attention in the intro and never let it go.
    Many of us owed him a great debt of gratitude for teaching us the craft of news reporting.
    And when he took charge of the Herald, he proved he was a brilliant editor who made the newspaper a must-read.

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