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Newspaper Picture Editor Keith Ernest Osmond Smith dies – 33 year career at The Times

Image supplied © The Times/News Licensing: 28/02/1985 HM Queen Elizabeth II and The Duke of Edinburgh visit the offices of The Times Newspaper at Grays Inn Road, London to mark the paper’s bicentenary. Queen Elizabeth II was accompanied on her tour of the newspaper by proprietor Rupert Murdoch. The Queen toured the offices and sat in on editorial meetings earlier in the afternoon to see how the newspaper is made. ‘Nothing to be alarmed about’. Keith Smith, picture editor, could be saying as he shows the Queen the 680mm lens which could be used to take long range shots of her, but which The Times uses mainly for cricket

Sad news reaches the PAN office this week, the death of picture editor Keith E.O. Smith who had a long photo career at The Times newspaper in London. His funeral will be on 25 January Midday at Emstrey Crematorium and Cemetery, Shropshire.

Keith was born on 13 September 1929 and worked at the The Times: Pictures: Clerk, 20 December 1959; Assistant Picture Editor (Day), 8 May 1967; Picture News Editor and Deputy to Picture Editor [Norman Hall], 7 November 1971; Picture Editor, 1 April 1975; Picture Manager, 2 April 1986 – 30 June 1992.

Thanks very much to MJ, Allison and Chris at the News UK archives for their help with this article.
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2 comments

  • Just on a point of order…that lens is a 400mm / f3.5, not a 680 ( which Nikon don’t make ) as in the caption….but I think my old boss Keith Smith is probably say to Her Maj….’ and this is the lens that broke my budget last year…’

  • I joined the Times picture desk in 1990 by which time Charlie Garside was the picture editor and Keith had
    become picture manager a role where his organizational skills were fully tested. Following his retirement and move to
    Shropshire we kept in touch, and I was saddened when Brian Forbes who had known Keith for nearly 60 years called me to tell me of Keith’s death.

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