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Tributes to photographer with "great joie de vivre"

The first provincial press photographer to win the Encyclopaedia Britannica Picture of The Year award has died.

Cyril Blackman, left, from the Swindon Advertiser, excelled at covering the fast-paced sport of speedway and it was his shot of a rider a split second before crashing which won him the prize.

Away from work, 77-year-old Cyril was a free spirit who loved world travelling and died following a heart attack while in America hoping to visit Alaska, the one state missing off his list.

A friend of Cyril’s who does expeditions in Alaska has promised to sprinkle some of his ashes there.

His daughter Jaine, features editor at the Swindon Advertiser, said: “My father had a great joie de vivre.

“He lived an interesting life which led to a great store of anecdotes and he could be charming, interesting, entertaining and totally infuriating.

“Above all he loved to make people think. Cyril would often be deliberately provocative to start a discussion but once he had got it going he never judged or reviled anyone’s opinion.

“He was a real one off and Karen, my sister Nicola and brothers Craig and John are going to miss him a lot. In his obituary we put ‘he lived life to the full’ and that just about sums him up.”

  • Cyril up close at Blunsdon Stadium, Swindon, where
    he covered speedway in the 1950s.
  • Cyril, who was a sports fanatic much of his life, was educated in Swindon and had designs on studying law at Cambridge before his mother packed him off to work at Newspaper House in the town aged 16.

    He later moved to London and worked as a press officer for the Australian High Commission before retiring to focus on fatherhood and more travelling.

    Jaine added: “Cyril was a real old school news man and never lost his sense of adventure or enthusiasm for a good story – preferably told over a few drinks in a smoky bar.

    “He had great tales of his own to tell and was always interested in what others had to say.”

    Cyril is survived by his wife of 40 years Karen, four children and six grandchildren.

  • Funeral plans are yet to be confirmed and donations are requested on behalf of the Injured Jockeys’ Fund.
  • Comments

    GERRY RYAN (10/02/2009 01:07:53)
    I am proud to have been a long time friend of Cyril and was shocked to hear of his demise but he passed doing what he loved doing best going to the races.May you rest in peace dear friend. gerry