The latest reunion of former Leicester Evening Mail staff is being planned for November.

It will mark 40 years since the publication ceased and the organisers have decided this year's event will be the last.

Former staff had been meeting once every five years, and it was previously thought that the 1998 reunion would be the last.

But there was something special about the atmosphere and character of 37 London Road, the Mail's office, and they couldn't resist marking the 40th anniversary.

But the recent death of former Leicester Evening Mail and later Leicester Mercury stalwart, composing room manager Dennis York - who had never missed a reunion - reminded the organisers that, after 40 years, the numbers were fading.

They have now decided this year's get-together will be the "Late Night Final" edition of the Leicester Evening Mail, the event being held on Friday, November 14, at the Belmont Hotel, Leicester.

The organisers are hoping to bring out the Mail in time-honoured traditional newspaper style to mark the anniversary - in total contrast to the sullen atmosphere of Monday, November 11, 1963, when the paper rolled off the presses for the very last time.

Michael Clarke, the Mail's last apprentice - who helps photographers Neville Chadwick and Geoff Gutteridge to organise the reunions - said Mail staff had remained optimistic about the newspaper's prospects until a decision was taken to turn it into a broadsheet publication at a time when most national newspapers were considering tabloid formats.

The last Mail editor, Ken Clapham, admitted at a previous reunion that he saw it as the final nail in the coffin of the paper.

Do you have a story about the regional press? Ring 0116 227 3122/3121, or
e-mail pastill@nep.co.uk