Tributes paid to fearless columnist and respected journalist of the 'old school'
Tributes have been paid to Ron Nicholas, one of the last of a generation of Shropshire journalists who honed their craft in the 1950s.
Ron went on to write a hard-hitting weekly column in the Shrewsbury Chronicle which for years was a must-read in the county town, often taking councils to task.
After retirement in January 1984 he became press officer for Shrewsbury Flower Show and continued in the role up to and including the millennium show, after which he stood down. However he continued his involvement, where his experience in the local press helped him secure cost-effective campaigns to promote the event.
Ron lived in Shrewsbury, and was married to Joan, who died last year. A private family funeral has been held.
Former Shrewsbury mayor Phil Gillam, who worked at the Shrewsbury Chronicle as a young reporter in the late 1970s, said: "He was quite an outspoken and controversial columnist who for many years wrote a very well read column in the Shrewsbury Chronicle. Of course he was chief reporter there for a long, long time.
"He was something of an institution really. A lot of local councillors were quite frightened of him, I think. He was certainly not backwards in coming forwards and in his column he was quite critical of the local council in those days."
Friend and former colleague Pat Smith said Ron started his career as a junior reporter on the Shrewsbury Midweek Advertiser in 1952, moving to the Shrewsbury Chronicle as a senior reporter – he later became news editor – in 1968 when the Midweek Advertiser was bought by the Powysland Newspaper Group, which became Shropshire Newspapers when it was acquired in turn by the Midland News Association.
