Rest easy big fella

Richard Wyatt

I lost someone this week who l had worked alongside professionally for many years.

When l joined HTV West – back in 1971 –  Ken Rees was already a well-known local reporter on the team.

Eventually, l went behind the desk to join ‘Uncle Bruce’ as a presenter and Ken went off to Independent Television News to become their man in Washington.

Some years later he came back as our Head of News and, through him, l was to able to explore many parts of the world to reflect on news events – past and present.

I went with the RAF from Lyneham to Ethiopia during the terrible famine, flew down to the Falklands to reflect on life after the conflict with Argentina and even stood in line at the Oscars in Los Angeles when some of our local hopefuls were up for one of those golden statuettes.

Ken stood tall in his journalistic achievements but also physically.

I once lived in a cottage with low ceilings and held a party in which Mr Rees managed to take out two of our light fittings in the hallway with his head!

Not only do l feel for his wife and family but l think l also sigh for a special time when local news really was about the area in which the station operated and when us tv people were considered ‘friends’ who brought families and the community together.

My thanks to Tom Page for coming up with this little gem he found on YouTube.

An edition of Report Weston from 1977 – fronted by myself and Graham Miller – in which l link to a news piece Ken had covered that day.

Rest easy big fella.

Published by Richard Wyatt

Freelance Journalist, broadcaster, columnist and local historian. Director of Bath Newseum. Married and lives in Bath. Interested in local history, architecture and visual display in museums and urban spaces.

3 Comments

  1. Graham Miller’s jacket and tie – 1970s’ fashion at its finest!

  2. I remember ken and loved his news reports, one in particular I remember. He obviously had a slot of about a minute to do an outside report for ITN I believe about something important going on in the United Nations. He did this brilliant report which told us he saw delegates going in and refusing to say anything about what they were going to discuss. He then told us that he saw the same delegates leaving and still refusing to say anything about what they discussed or any decisions made. So he had nothing to tell us but still he managed to give us the impression that what he had to say was serious and important things were going on. Its easy to do a report when you have loads to say but really difficult when you have nothing, that was his strength.
    I loved his almost Monty Pythonesque delivery. Although he has not been seen for years this is very sad news.

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