Tributes to respected former T&A journalist Malcolm Hartley

Bradford-born Malcolm ‘Malc’ Hartley gave his working life to the T&A, taking on a variety of roles including assistant editor. He also wrote five books on Bradford (Park Avenue) Association Football Club, three in collaboration with local author Tim Clapham.

Malcolm attended Bradford Technical College, the forerunner of the University of Bradford, taking advanced English, French and central and local government. Keen to learn shorthand, he took on a private tutor.

Malcolm began his career in 1951 as a junior reporter covering Bingley before joining the T&A as editorial messenger. His career progressed to junior reporter at head office in Bradford then leading head office reporter.

He was promoted to deputy news editor in January 1962, becoming assistant editor six years later.

For his final nine years before retiring in 1993 Malcolm was supplements and special features editor.

Pinning up images taken by T&A photographers

“A career highlight was the outcome of front page article he wrote about the discovery by two Bradford surgeons of a new treatment for breast cancer,” said his son Giles.

“A reader sent his story to her sister in New Zealand who was suffering from the disease. A year later she wrote to the T&A to say she had contacted Bradford Royal Infirmary, flown over for treatment and had been cured.

“He found the thought that he had played a small part in saving someone's life was very heart-warming.”

Malcolm married Joyce in 1959. The couple had two children, Giles who worked as technical services manager for Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust and is now semi-retired, and Carol, a former IT service delivery manager, now retired.

Malcolm with his baby son Giles

Malcolm with Giles and Carol

After a divorce he met Rosemary, who he married in 1985, becoming a father figure to her son Shawn.

Malcolm loved sport. While doing National Service in the RAF he won the unit table tennis championship. He continued to play for many years in the Bradford League and was the T&A’s columnist on the game through Bradford's record period, with 13 divisions and many international fixtures.

He was a life member of Bradford Table Tennis Association and a life member of the Yorkshire Table Tennis Association.

“As T&A writer he refused to write about his own achievements but after his most enjoyable season in 1969 he agreed to be photographed,” said Giles.

“While deputy news editor he was honoured by the Bradford and District Table Tennis Association when they presented him with the Forrest Memorial Senior Award for outstanding services to the game - the first time the award had gone to a journalist.”

Malcolm was a talented table tennis player and wrote a column about the game in Bradford

Malcolm was deputy football writer on Bradford and Bradford City and also Bradford League Cricket columnist for eight years. His lifelong hobby was the study of football in the 1930s. He was a life member of the Association of Football Statisticians.

He was an active member of the Church. He was confirmed by Bishop Alfred Blunt at his private chapel at Horton Hall and was a choirboy and server at St Columba's in Horton Grange. He went on to worship at St Lukes in Eccleshill, St James the Great in Woodhall, Bradford Cathedral before discovering Bolton St James.

There was a time when Malcolm fulfilled 17 different functions for the Church including crucifer, chorister, lesson reader, deanery representative and church magazine writer.

His love of words led to him becoming a judge for the best Church Magazine in the Bradford Diocese and also for Bradford Writers' Circle.

Malcolm, right, with stepson Shawn, wife Rosemary and Shawn's wife Trisha (Image: public)

Having fun in the park

Malcolm sang in the choir of Scholes Parish Church in addition to Bolton St James and for 15 years was also a member of the Westfield Male Voice Choir.

Former T&A sports journalist David Markham said of Malcolm: “He set high standards for himself and others and was a stickler for accuracy and fairness.

“For many years he worked in the deputy editor's office with the late Ken Oddy looking after readers' letters which were an important feature of the paper in those days.”

Although he never worked in the sports department, Malcolm had a keen interest in sport. “He covered the Bradford Cricket League, but, ironically, it was an off the field topic he initiated that generated as much if not more interest than the sport itself,” said David.

“Teas are an important of any local cricket match and Malcolm decided to rate the teas provided by Bradford League clubs in the form of a tea league. It created lots of interest and there were some protestations from those clubs placed near the bottom.”

Former features editor at the T&A Mike Priestley said: “I worked with Malcolm for quite a few years when he was assistant editor, sharing an office with the then deputy editor Ken Oddy. He was a very pleasant colleague and was very professional and meticulous in the work that he did.”

Tim Clapham, who co-wrote several books with Malcolm, said: “I first met Malc in the early 1980s. He had written a brief history of Bradford (Park Avenue) Football Club which was published by his friend the late Peter Pickup. I contacted Malc at the T&A about his book and told him I had compiled all the club’s statistics. We decided to put our heads together and write a full-blown history of the club, which was published in 1987.

Malcolm, left, with Tim Clapham collaborated on books about Bradford (Park Avenue) AFC

“The book sent a lot of people on a nostalgia trip with more than 2,500 copies sold.” It topped the best-seller list at WH Smith in Bradford at Christmas 1987.

The pair went on to collaborate on two more books about the club.

President of Yorkshire Table Tennis Association Richard Scruton said: "Malcolm was a friend and supporter of Bradford and Yorkshire table tennis for many years. He was a diligent, kindly, meticulous and precise reporter of our sport's county championship matches, county tournaments and county activities; he was awarded a vice presidency of the county association in 1976 and subsequently became a life member. I was introduced to him at a county first team match at Bradford Mechanics Institute in the late 1960s and I know how much some of our leading players were grateful to him for his interest and support."

Malcolm Hartley was a highly-regarded journalist

As well as Rosemary, Giles, Carol and Shawn, Malcolm leaves four granddaughters Isobel, Jenny, Georgia and Erin.

*Malcolm’s funeral service will take place at St Philip & St James Church, Scholes, BD19 3PA on Monday January 22 at 11am, followed by a cremation at Shay Grange Crematorium, Bradford. Family flowers only please, however donations, if so desired, may be made to St Philip & St James and Whitechapel Churches.