Obituary: Richard Taylor, journalist

Richard Taylor, who has died at 81, was a former editor of the Wakefield Express and a stalwart of the Sandal community.

Born in King’s Lynn, Norfolk, Dick Taylor was taken on as a young man by the local newspaper there, before moving to Sudbury in Suffolk as the assistant editor of the Suffolk Free Press, aged just 22.

After a few years, he moved on to the East Anglian Daily Times as news editor before being head-hunted by the news distribution service Central Press in London.

But he missed his life in newspapers and accepted a job as editor of the West Sussex County Times in Horsham.

In 1977 he moved his family to Yorkshire and took the job as editor of the Wakefield Express. A year later he was promoted to editor-in-chief and then editorial director of the parent company, the Yorkshire Weekly Newspaper Group, a position he held until his retirement in 2004.

A keen historian with an interest in collecting and researching naval medals, he was active in Rotary, Probus, the Sandal Community Association and the Friends of Sandal Castle. He also worked closely with the national journalism training body, the NCTJ.

He is survived by Lavinia, his wife of 57 years, daughter Alison, two granddaughters and a great-grandson.