User:Ian.meth/sandbox/monty meth

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Monty Meth MBE was born in Bethnal Green East London on 3 March 1926. He is the youngest son of Max and Millie (Nee Epstein). He is a British former journalist. He left school at 14 and joined PhotoPress as a messenger boy and later joined Topical Press for £1 a week - double his wage at PhotPress before joining the Royal Navy in 1944. He served until 1947 and was at that time based then in the Palestinian port of Haifa. Being Jewish the navy was keen to avoid any conflict of interest given the agitation for a Jewish State and he was accordingly demobbed.

Meth went back to Topical Press at a time when few newspapers employed their own photographers. Not only that, but in those days, photographers were responsible for their own captions, giving Meth an early flair and interest in writing professionally. Whilst at Topical Press Monty won the 1951 award Encyclopedia Britannica award for press photography.

Monty Meth became a freelance journalist in 1956 specialising in industrial relations at a time when strikes and industrial unrest were becoming everyday headline news.

In 1965 he joined the Daily Mail recruited as industrial correspondent by his lifelong friend Keith McDowall. McDowall left the Mail in 1967 and Meth became Industrial Editor. In one week in 1966 he had 6 successive front page 'splashes' during the seamen's dispute. Monty Meth won the news reporter of the year award in 1971. The award was given “for his capacity to secure exclusive news in the increasingly important industrial field, and to convey this effectively and vividly.” Monty Meth believes he was the first and only man to 'do the fleet street double' of the Encyclopedia Britannica award for press photography in 1971 and the News Reporter of the year award for journalism in 1971

In 1972 following successive editorial disagreements at the Daily Mail which had lurched dramatically to the right, Meth left the Daily Mail to join the Beecham Group now Glaxo Smith Kline as Group Communications Manager.

He left Beecham in 1989 and returned to working with Keith McDowall in PR consultancy representing organisations such as the Carnegie UK Trust, Kvaerner the Norwegian shipbuilders, the Royal British Legion and defending the co op from a hostile takeover by Andrew Regan.

In 2000 and now retired,Meth took over leadership of the London Borough of Enfield Over-50s Forum, developing it from a group with 70 members to one with 6,000 members, now described as " a significant campaigning group to advocate the interests of seniors in his neighbourhood".

In 2007 Monty Meth was awarded the MBE for services to the youth of Bethnal Green and for older people in Enfield. As well as his work for the forum, he had been a prominent former member and fundraiser for the Cambridge and Bethnal Green Boys' club.

As well as his love of writing Monty, enjoys the theatre, opera and travel. He is a keen supporter of Tottenham Hotspur Football club and was a season ticket holder along with his close friend and fellow industrial journalist Geoffrey Goodman

On 29 September 1956, Monty married Elizabeth (Betty Stewart. They have a son and daughter, 4 grandchildren and 2 great grandchildren.

[1] He is life president of the group.[2]

Meth's life is a case study in an Open University course on "Introducing Ageing".[3]

External links

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