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Former local press sports editor dies aged 71

A former local press reporter and sports editor who worked for newspapers in Cornwall for 30 years has died.

Greg Nicholas, left, was 71 when he passed away on Saturday at a residential home in the Cornish town of Helston.

Born and bred in Helston, he was an international rifle shot with the 1st Cadet Battalion of the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry.

On leaving the Army, he worked the former Helston railway station and in the building trade but suffered from a health condition so left to study English.

Despite no formal training, Greg started his journalism career freelancing in the early 1970s, covering local sport football and cricket in the Helston area.

He was handed an apprenticeship with the Packet Series where he qualified as a reporter and then later joined The Cornishman and the West Briton.

Among the roles he performed on the papers were chief reporter, sub-editor and sports editor of both the Packet Series and The Cornishman and his weekly Spectator column was particularly well read.

Greg retired in the late 1990s but continued to work as a freelancer for The West Briton.

His wife of 40 years Irene died in 2004 and Greg suffered a debilitating stroke in 2006.

  • You can leave your memories of Greg at Lasting Tribute.
  • Comments

    Stephen Ivall (12/10/2009 10:50:52)
    I was sorry to hear about the death of Greg.
    I worked with him on the Packet series for many years.
    I was at that time a district reporter in Helston when he began freelancing for the Packet and then joined the staff full time.
    I used to enjoy our lunchtime pints in the Red Lion – in those days there was time for reporters to pick up all sorts of stories across the bar.
    Greg loved his home town of Helston and certainly knew many of its residents. We were never short of a contact or two.
    He loved sport and even helped organise a number of special cricket matches which involved the press in west Cornwall playing against a number of test and county players.
    All good fun. Cheers Greg.
    Steve