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Journalist who spent career in county town dies aged 79

imgID48803742.jpg-pwrt3A former weekly journalist who also worked for a now-defunct daily title has died aged 79.

John Palamountain, left, spent his entire career in the town of Hereford having started his career in the 1950s when there were no fewer than three newspapers in the county town.

He joined the then Hereford Citizen and Bulletin, which had its offices in St Owen Street, as the office junior in September 1952.

The paper’s owners, Berrows, then decided to launch the Hereford Evening News in 1959 after converting a local flour mill into its offices.

John joined the now-defunct paper as a sports reporter, but left the following year to join the Hereford Times as a news reporter.

He later became deputy chief reporter and chief reporter before moving to the subs desk in 1979 where he remained until his retirement in 2000.

John, who passed away at Hereford County Hospital last week, lived in Tupsley with his wife, Eileen, who he married at Holmer Church in 1957.

The couple had two children, Linda and Nigel, and several grandchildren and great grandhchildren.

John’s funeral service will be held at Hereford Crematorium on Wednesday, December 16 at 12pm.

Donations if desired to Midlands Air Ambulance to Bayley Brothers (Hereford) Ltd, 17/19 Cotterell Street, Hereford.