The first editor of Courier

Peter Davies was the first editor of Courier in 1966. In an interview for the October 2006 edition, he said:

"It was 1 May 1964 when I joined the Post Office, charged with starting a staff newspaper. I thought I’d have it up and running by October. I did. October 1966!

What a task! The tender document we created for the printing contract had to be seen to be believed! I was warned that if I wanted to alter it later, we would have to go out to tender again. This was, after all, HM Civil Service.

I took this seriously.  We knew we needed a tabloid newspaper with 12 UK-wide editions, but how many pages? How many of them would change for the various editions? Where would the colour be used, etc, etc? I covered all the permutations!

My suggestion for a title – Courier – had a mixed reception, but no-one came up with anything better.  Then there was the masthead, with dotted type inspired by some eminent Post Office designers [see Typography of the Courier masthead]. Referred to by a senior Post Office PR man as “those damn dots” the dotty Courier title lasted probably longer than it should have.

The other task was to lure 17 'outside' journalists into 'industrial' journalism to create the editorial team.Together we learned – sometimes the hard way – of the differences between industrial and outside journalism.Today’s modern Courier, with 40 years of growth behind it, has built on that tradition – covering what matters to its readers."

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