Gillian Sandford

IN recognition of her commitment and interest in foreign affairs, Gillian Sandford, who has died of cancer aged 54, was made foreign editor of the Yorkshire Post – a responsibility created especially for her.

Gillian came to the paper having obtained scholarships which had

enabled her to work in Japan, Iceland, France and Germany.

Her enthusiasm combined profound humanity, friendliness and warmth, such that she was both liked and respected by her colleagues.

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Later in her career she went on to work in the US and covered the Balkans and worked as a war correspondent for Time magazine and The Guardian. From her base in Belgrade, she led a team reporting on the conflict in Kosovo.

In more recent years, she worked as a media expert on behalf of aid agencies in Afghanistan and Darfur.

Brought up in Bath, Gillian joined her first newspaper in Devon and then worked in the North East, and it was at that stage that she secured her travelling scholarships.

Following her five years in Leeds, she joined the now-defunct European newspaper as deputy news editor and spent a year as reporter for Radio Wales.

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Her work overseas began when she joined the reporting staff on a news agency in the States.

Six years ago her career changed direction when she took on the training of Afghan journalists in Kabul on behalf of the Institute for War and Peace Reporting, an international media development charity. She was then taken on as a communications specialist to the director of ACT-Caritas, one of the biggest aid operations in south and west Darfur.

Three years ago Christian Aid appointed her as a regional and churches journalist, but within months she was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer. She continued to work part-time despite surgery and on-going treatments.

Gillian is survived by her brother, John, her sister, Anna, and her stepmother, Christina.