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Press Releases
Radio Norfolk presenter John Taylor dies
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Britain's oldest 91Èȱ¬ local radio presenter, John Taylor, died peacefully in his sleep ealier today, aged 85.
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John presented a popular weekly Sunday programme on 91Èȱ¬ Radio Norfolk called Radio Times, playing songs from a bygone age.
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Radio Norfolk Editor David Clayton paid tribute to John Taylor: "It really is an end of a era for us. John was a real character who could talk with knowledge and passion about Norwich and Norfolk from his own special perspective of 85 years.
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"He loved coming into Radio Norfolk and it won't be the same without him. We are all very sad here and share the loss with his family."
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The 91Èȱ¬'s Head of Region, Tim Bishop, adds: "John was a unique Norfolk character. A man with a well of stories and a deep love and knowledge of the county and the music and characters he grew up with.
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"If there's a comfort in his passing it's that he goes still able to say proudly, right until the end, that he was almost certainly Britain's oldest radio producer and presenter - something recognised by both the Queen and his colleagues.
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"And you just know if there is a Music Hall to be found somewhere, preferably with Marie Lloyd on the bill, John will find it and be blissfully happy."
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This Sunday, in what was John Taylor's regular programme slot (2-4pm), Radio Norfolk will be paying tribute to the veteran broadcaster.
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Many of those who worked with him over the years on the radio will be sharing memories, anecdotes and will be joined by John's son - author D.J. (David) Taylor.
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They will also replay John's favourite programme, which he made about his Father - known as T.T. Taylor the Popular Comedian.
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Listeners can pay tribute online at bbc.co.uk/radionorfolk and there will be a book of condolence in Radio Norfolk's Reception at The Forum, Norwich from tomorrow, 9 November.
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John Taylor
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John was born in 1921 in Norwich. He lived on the then new Earlham Estate and won a scholorship to the Norwich School in 1932.
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He said he was always proud to be the only lad walking home to the estate in the prized uniform of the school.
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He joined Norwich Union in 1937, after leaving school, and worked there until his retirement in 1981.
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In that time, he took a keen interest in playing amateur football - for which he won medals.
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He joined the RAF at 19 and saw active service towards the end of the Second World War in Poland; then, later, Palestine.
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He married Elizabeth in 1959 and they had three children, David, Judith and Michael.
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John joined Radio Norfolk when it started broadcasting in 1980 as the local bowls correspondent.
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As a man born and bred in Norwich, he was full of pre-war anecdotes about the city and the county in which he grew up, and gradually these stories found their way into the mid-morning show, The Norfolk Airline, when it began in 1983.
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They proved so popular that he became a regular fixture on the award-winning programme.
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In 1986 John was offered a Sunday afternoon show playing the music of his life - the pre and post-war orchestras and singers - and so Melodies from the Golden Years established itself as a hugely popular programme for not only people of John's age but listeners of all ages.
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John also made several documentaries for Radio Norfolk where he explored the Norwich he remembered.
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His favourite was a programme about his father, T.T. Taylor the Popular Comedian, who played around the halls and theatres in Norfolk in the Thirties.
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John's own Sunday programme changed to reflect the golden age of radio and so John Taylor's Radio Times took to the Sunday afternoon airwaves.
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John would draw on his own experience of listening to, and even seeing, some of radio's best-loved entertainers from the Thirties, Forties and Fifties.
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Despite his advancing years, John had a real passion for radio and spent many hours each week compiling his show.
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It is believed that he was the oldest producer and presenter working in 91Èȱ¬ local radio.
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Only a couple of years ago, he travelled back to Normandy to record a special programme.
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He was awarded the MBE in 2000 for services to broadcasting, as his radio career had actually begun back in 1957 - when he joined the Hospital Sports Commentary Service providing live coverage of Norwich City's matches for hospital patients.
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