A LOCAL figurehead who led the Hexham Courant through the evolution of the print journalism industry will celebrate his 90th birthday next week.

Former chairman and chief executive of the newspaper, Lynne Plummer, has looked back on his time at the Courant ahead of his birthday on Tuesday (April 28).

Lynne explained: “My great grandfather Joseph Catherall founded the newspaper in 1864.

“I had a short spell in the early 1950s before returning in 1959 and worked there until my retirement in 1990. I initially worked as an understudy to my father before taking a lead role.”

The Plummer family is believed to have lived in the local area since 1890.

During his time as chairman and chief executive, the newspaper was the subject of a Tyne Tees TV documentary broadcast as part of the ITV About Britain series in March 1976.

In voice over, former editor Michael Sharman outlined the history of the family-owned newspaper, since it was founded in 1864.

Mr Plummer featured in the documentary and was described as operating most of the advertising and commercial work for the publication.

Recalling his time at the business, he said: “I wasn’t so much involved in the editorial side of the newspaper, but I still had a key role in its operation.”

Wholesale changes throughout print journalism brought newspapers into the modern day, and Mr Plummer was in place to oversee it at the time. He said: “The change from lino machines to computers was a huge move, not just for the newspaper but for print journalism in general.

“The other big change was when we joined the Cumbrian Newspapers Group. Before that, we were an entirely separate entity as an independent local newspaper.”

Born in Hexham in 1930, and despite a brief period teaching in Dorset, Mr Plummer has remained in Tynedale for most of his life. So, how much has Tynedale changed over the years?

“In a way, it’s unchanged,” Mr Plummer said. “Some shops are different and have different owners, but the buildings are still all there. You have the Moot Hall, the Abbey and Hexham House.”

Mr Plummer said he was lucky to have been able to retire at the age 60 with a successful career behind him. But there are some aspects of the working life he misses.

He said: “I miss the people I worked with, but not so much the job and the day to day work.

“Overall, I miss the craic of the work environment and all the different people who worked there.

“The Courant had, and still does have, a powerful presence in the area. Small market towns all over the country rely on newspapers to keep them informed, there’s still an affection for them.

“While our main purpose was to reflect the news and character of the area, we would often receive complaints from locals about something we had not covered or missed out. But that was the nature of it all.

"With new methods of communication, people are not buying newspapers as much.”

Upon his retirement, Mr Plummer has enjoyed spending years of freedom with his wife Caroline at their home near Bardon Mill. He added: “I have been lucky and fortunate my whole life, I have no complaints.”