Former newspaper executive Alfred Jenner has died aged 90.

During his long and illustrious career Alfred became group editor-in-chief and director of Eastern Counties Newspapers.

He started his 44-year journalism career back in 1935 when he joined the Norwich Mercury as an apprentice.

Four years later he moved to the Yarmouth Mercury but his career was interrupted by the Second World War.

Alfred served in the RAF Bomber Command but his war was cut short after he was shot down over Berlin in 1941.

He spent four years in prison during which time he met other experienced journalists who he interviewed for a newspaper – the Daily Recco – which had to be handwritten as they had no access to a typewriter.

Alfred Jenner in 1979

After the war ended, he joined the Eastern Evening News (now the Norwich Evening News) as a sub-editor and later became chief sub-editor. Alfred was then made editor-in-chief of Eastern Counties Newspapers, in 1964.

The company was undergoing changes at the time and Alfred masterminded moving the Norwich print operation in a single weekend and the corporate merger of the East Anglian Daily Times into the group.

His achievements laid many of the foundations for the publishing group that became Archant.

In 1968, he was elected president of the British Guild of Newspaper Editors – now the Society of Editors – and was a member of the Press Council, the forerunner to the Press Complaints Commission.

Away from the newsroom Alfred was governor of the US 2nd Air Division Memorial Trust in 1974 and an active Norwich Rotarian for many years.

He was also well-known in Norwich rowing circles and a keen bowls player.

In his later years, Alfred was involved in putting together editions of Chatterbox, the talking newspaper for the blind.

He is survived by his son Richard, daughter Tina, six grandchildren and a great-granddaughter.