JIMMY Boal, a former general manager of the Newtownards Chronicle, has passed away suddenly.
Born in Newtownards on May 11, 1942, Jimmy died in hospital on Tuesday, February 17. He retired in 2007, having been with the Chronicle for almost 50 years.
Jimmy began his career with the newspaper in 1958, having studied for his senior certificate at Newtownards Technical College, and began his printing apprenticeship the following year.
When the Chronicle celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2023, Jimmy recalled his long service with the paper, and revealed how his career began.
He told deputy editor, Ismay Woods: “When you were young, it was nearly always your father who decided what work you should do.
“I fancied being a draughtsman; my [older] brother, Billy, was a draughtsman, and I used to watch him work.
“When it was coming up near the time for me to leave tech, my dad saw a job advertised in the Chronicle for an apprentice printer. I applied; I still have the letter offering me the job, and saying that in the meantime, I should polish up on my spelling.”
Having been offered the position, Jimmy spoke to Dick Cunningham, who was the manager at that time: “He asked me when did I finish my exams, and I went back on a Friday to say I had done them. Mr Cunnigham said ‘I want you to start on Monday’ – I was expecting to start after the summer – so there were no holidays for me that year,” Jimmy said.
His printing apprenticeship didn’t start right away; initially, his job was to deliver printing jobs, using a butcher’s-type bicycle: “I fell off a few times; there was a box on the front for the parcels, and when you turned the handlebar, the box didn’t move. So you thought the bike wasn’t turning, and you turned the handlebar again, making the bike fall over.”
By 1959, Jimmy had begun his apprenticeship as a printer, and was a member of the Typographical Association (the forerunner of the printers’ union, the National Graphical Association, later the Society of Graphical and Allied Trades): “I had a blazer with a badge on it; I wore it with pride,” Jimmy remembered.
The young apprentice joined journeymen Wesley McClements and Gordon Orr in the printroom in Frances Street; the team was overseen by Norman Boal, who was eventually to become editor.
The printers worked on a Heidelberg press, and in those days everything was done using hot metal.
Jimmy remembered vividly the methodology used, including how it took 10 to 15 minutes to process one photograph for printing.
It wasn’t just processing the photographs which took up a lot of time – Jimmy recollected: “When we printed in letter press, the Newtownards Spectator [the former sister paper of the Chronicle and County Down Spectator] was printed on Thursday; we came on after tea to start printing the Chronicle, which was delivered on Fridays. The highest number of copies the Cossar machine could print at one time was 3,500 – it took four hours, and we didn’t finish until 11.30pm.”
Not surprisingly, Jimmy saw many changes and advancements in printing in a career spanning almost 50 years, from a young apprentice to overseeing the general running of the printing department.
He said: “Everything became more computerised, and everything came on in leaps and bounds. When computers came along, typesetters became graphic artists, and were able to use their skills and imagination.”
By the time of his retirement, Jimmy was general manager of Spectator Newspapers, the company which owns both the Newtownards Chronicle and County Down Spectator.
Outside work, Jimmy was a devoted husband to Nan, and loving father to daughter Lynda; in retirement he became a doting grandfather to Harry and Emily, Lynda’s children with husband Dave.
On Tuesday, February 24, following a private burial at Movilla Cemetery, a thanksgiving service to celebrate Jimmy’s life was held at St Clarke & Son funeral home.
The management and staff of Spectator Newspapers, and particularly those who worked with Jimmy at the Chronicle offices in Frances Street, extend sincere condolences to Nan, Lynda, her husband Dave, Harry and Emily,
and Jimmy’s sisters, Elizabeth and Wilma.
