More than 60 former Liverpool Post and Echo staffers have published a book about events spanning the 60s, 70s and 80s, sparked by a series of reunions.
The book, Posts & Echoes, brings together anecdotes and photographs from the team of ex-journalists covering momentous news events and personal memories of the job.
The Liverpoool Post closed in 2013 and was formerly the city’s daily morning newspaper. The daily Echo continues publication.
Events documented include John Lennon’s murder, Liverpool FC’s European football triumphs, Mother Theresa arriving in the city (pictured top) and even an office visit from Steven Spielberg as he searched for film locations.
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Other tales include police battling with pickets, the Toxteth Riots and Sir Paul McCartney covertly asking for advice on opening his Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts.
The 232-page book includes 50 “quick-fire” memories. Among them, one night reporter claims to have been given the story of the Lockerbie bombing disaster first, but had to tell the tipster: “That’s a bit off our patch.”
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Pictures include Steve Shakeshaft’s shot of The Beatles leaving Bangor University on the August Bank Holiday, 1967 (below), that would be one of the last pictures taken of the band just before their manager Brian Epstein was found dead in London.
The Beatles leaving Bangor University. Picture: Steve Shakeshaft
Shakeshaft’s picture of Princess Diana during a tour of the Ford factory at Halewood, when she went off to visit the women in the upholstery section, is also included. The image (below) won him Royal Picture of the Year in 1987.
Princess Diana talking to workers at a Ford factory in Halewood. Picture: Steve Shakeshaft
Staff reunions were co-ordinated by former Post and Echo staffer Andrew Morgan and photographer Richard Williams, and were held every couple of years in Liverpool’s Chinatown.
The pair said: “The book idea was mooted two years ago and it spread around the world, with stories and pictures pouring into Gordon Morris, former Daily Post sub-editor, who had agreed to the Herculean task of editing the book. In the end, a halt was called at 64,000 words.”
Ex-staffers donated more than £2,000 to produce the book, which is printed by Cambrian Printers.
The book has been produced as a private publication for distribution on the Post and Echo network. Out of an initial print run of 200 copies, only 20 are left.
Profits are going to Claire House children’s hospice in Merseyside and All Together No, a newspaper for the disabled edited by former Echo journalist Tom Dowling.
Williams said “sufficient interest” in the book might lead the group to consider producing a commercial version of it for general sale.
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