The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald has said farewell to veteran photographer Colin Kearley, who has retired after 40 years with the paper.

Colin, (62), has captured many famous people on film, including several members of the Royal Family, politicians like Harold Wilson and stars such as Rolf Harris - but he has now decided to hang up his camera.

Colin as he is today

He said: "Would I do it again? Yes. The job is always different and you get to meet a lot of very interesting people."

Originally from Ealing in west London, Colin became hooked on photography when he got his photographer's badge in the Boy Scouts.

Colin moved to Swindon in the late 1950s, and joined the Gazette and Herald in 1963.

He said: "Technologically, it was a backward step. When I was freelancing I was using roll film but at the Gazette they were still using plate cameras."

One of the first bylines he earned on the paper came about when he covered parachuting championships at RAF Netheravon. Two parachutists got their lines tangled and came to earth more quickly than intended.

Colin said: "One chap was called O'Shea and he was lying there with a broken leg while we were taking shots of him. He said, 'I suppose you'll all disappear now you've got the shot you want.' He was right."

One of Colin's most memorable jobs is of taking a photograph of the Queen Mother.

He said: "When she was going to the races at Cheltenham, she used to stay with Captain Frank and Lady Avice Spicer at Spye Park, near Bromham.

"There was a group of photographers waiting for her to arrive. It was absolutely tipping down with rain. Then the Land Rover swept past, not giving us a chance to get a shot in.

"We were about to pack it in when a woman came running out and said, you’ve to go to the house immediately.

"We went up there and the Queen Mother came out, apologised for not giving us a photo opportunity and re-enacted her arrival specially for us."

Another memorable job was his visit to Romanian orphanages in the early 1990s, where during the trip he developed pleurisy.

Colin said: "Some of the children were seriously disturbed while others were dying of cancer. All you could do was sit with them. They didn't know what we were talking about but they were only too glad to get a cuddle."

But his portfolio of pictures from the trip was highly acclaimed and he received an award from the Guild of Editors for his image of a man fighting with a child over a piece of secondhand clothing.

Gazette editor Gary Lawrence said: "Losing Colin from the Gazette staff is far more than just losing a photographer.

"To many people Colin is the Gazette and the knowledge he has built up over his 40 years on the paper is irreplaceable.

"But Colin is also far more than a photographer. He is a man that people respect and admire for his professionalism and dedication.

"I am sure that people throughout the county in all walks of life who have come into contact with him will join me in wishing him the very best for his retirement.

"We are also hoping that we will not have lost Colin completely and he will continue to take the occasional picture and continue contribute to the paper."

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