Dear Bill

Spanning seven decades in newspaper work, the career of William Deedes, known to friends as Bill, makes him a figure of great standing among the journalists of the last hundred years. In this account of his life, he looks back on his own story with a light, self-effacing touch, sharp observation and a good deal of humour.

While still a junior reporter, Deedes was dispatched to cover the Abyssinian war. The assignment earned him a name as a daring war correspondent and, by accident, gave Evelyn Waugh a model for Henry Boot, the hero of his novel Scoop.

When the Telegraph merged with another paper, Deedes kept his post and climbed steadily until he became its editor, a role he filled for a number of years. He still writes for the Telegraph and devotes considerable energy to charitable work.