Few journalists can toast to have interviewed Martin Luther King, or to have followed one of the ‘Kennedy’ clan, Robert ‘Bobby’ Kennedy on the famous American presidential campaign trail of 1968, but Tim Glover, a former journalist, now based in Hampshire told Stuart Appleby all about it in a career packed with interest and intrigue.

Tim’s journey in journalism started off like many others, in newspapers. He trained as a young reporter at the Western Mail, Cardiff, covering news in Newport and the Monmouthshire valleys from 1961 to 1965, before journalistic fate took him to British Columbia, Canada. Here, he edited the Cariboo Observer, a weekly newspaper, before moving on to the Daily Colonist based in Victoria.

It was here where Tim’s interest in political journalism started to develop even more, as he began freelancing a year later, specializing on political issues – taking his career to the United States until 1969.

As he describes in the interview below, Tim witnessed and reported on an influential period in American politics, following Robert Kennedy throughout his campaign trail until his death in June 1968. In America, he also (modestly) mentioned how he once interviewed the great, Martin Luther King. The prominent leader, who led the African-American Civil Rights Movement, heard Tim’s English accent in the midst of a scrum of newspaper reporters calling at him, and remarked how nice it was to hear a British accent, before engaging in a one to one interview.

Following this, a family bereavement necessitated his return to the UK where he joined Southampton’s local newspaper, the Southern Daily Echo. Tim worked there as a senior law court reporter, but did cover general news such as the two Isle of Wight pop festivals and politics both locally and nationally, particularly the start of the Ulster ‘troubles’. During his time covering politics, Tim also interviewed many British Prime Ministers, including Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.

Moving on and Tim, simultaneously, combined his reporting duties alongside representing Hampshire, Dorset and the Isle of Wight on the national executive council of the National Union of Journalists.

From 1971 until his retirement in 2003, Tim freelanced covering a variety of assignments based mainly on defence contacts (Northern Ireland), politics and law court reporting, centered in Winchester.

Since retiring, Tim has involved himself in social housing, representing residents as a First Wessex board member and chair of the Hampshire and District Residents Forum – which lobbies on behalf of 90,000 social housing residents in the county. Tim currently resides in Chandlers Ford, Hampshire.

Stuart would like to thank Tim for his generous time, a fascinating interview and to congratulate him on an outstanding career in journalism.