A newspaper ‘legend’ who spent nearly four decades manning a district office for a regional daily has died aged 86.

Gerald Williams served as a Caernarfon reporter for the North Wales Daily Post for 38 years, having previously worked for the Caernarfon & Denbigh Herald and the Western Mail.

Renowned for his immaculate Pitman’s shorthand, Gerald covered many famous Welsh trials and, being a fluent Welsh speaker, also reported from the National Eisteddfod, where he was later invested as a bard.

Gerald, pictured below, passed away peacefully at home on December 29. His described him as a “legend in every sense of the word”.

Veteran North Wales freelance reporter Derek Bellis said: “Gerald belonged to a disappearing breed of reporters who could dictate court stories direct from his notebook. It was a skill he owed to his superb shorthand.

“He was a star during the heyday of the Daily Post.”

John Shone, formerly a BBC reporter, added : “He was of the old school and held in high regard by so many.

“I first met him on a winter’s day in 1968 at a robbery case in Dolgellau assizes.  I was late arriving because of bad weather and Gerald helped me  out by sharing his notes. This was so typical of the man. We worked on many other stories over the years but I could never match his immaculate shorthand. RIP Gerald, a real gent.”

Long-serving Caernarfon Herald and Daily Post photographer Arwyn Roberts said: “Gerald was an old school journalist, people came to him with stories because he was so well respected and trusted by the community.

“In all the time I knew him I never once saw him lose his temper, he was a lovely, courteous gentleman. He was liked by everyone who met him.”

Ceidiog Hughes, a former HTV Wales journalist who now runs the Ceidiog Communications public relations company said: “Gerald’s free flowing shorthand was a joy to behold and I remember being in awe sitting next to him for six weeks during a high profile trial as he took meticulous verbatim note of the evidence, producing a series of fantastic double page spreads in the Daily Post.

“Above all, , he was a lovely man who will be greatly missed.”

Gerald was married to Rita for 62 years and had three children as well as several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Son Gareth said: “Dad would cover all sorts of stories like court cases at the Caernarfon Crown Court, mountain rescue stories, burglaries, arson etc…and because of the deadlines, he would invariably have to work long and hard, even on some Christmas Days to get a story out by the following morning.

“He wrote about the topic or subject at the time and gave the facts as they stood without any hyperbole or conjecture. He was a true professional in every step of the way.

“Every year, in August, he would write about what went on at the Eisteddfod, and although quite a shy and humble man himself he was quite proud to have been inducted to ‘Gorsedd y Beird’ as a Druid himself.”