Regarding the John Westwood obituary. Sad news, but he obviously had a good life. There were times when he could be a little trying I know, but he was a man of great integrity and as others have noted, what went on behind closed doors on our behalf in GD I suppose we’ll never know.
Soon after starting in GD, still wet behind the ears and taking over the workload of Tony Garrett, was a daunting task. But I remember JW telling me he’d employed me for what I was capable of, not what others thought I should be doing. That phrase has stood me well many times over the years.
I remember the day in 1973 I was asked to bring in my portfolio to show JW prior to being invited for an interview. Sitting in his room in Atlantic House overlooking Charterhouse Street and Shoe Lane, he was asking me about my choice of typefaces and their suitability for different types of paper, I was spared having to give him an answer, at that very moment the IRA decided to explode a bomb in Hatton Garden just up the road. He hardly flinched, and carried on discussing the merits of Plantin over Times. I still wonder to this day if he had his hearing-aid turned down to avoid listening to my feeble answers, and never heard the explosion.
But he still offered me the job. Thanks for everything John.
Regards, John Hughes