Nesta Roberts (10 January 1913 – 16 January 2009) was a Welsh journalist and author, the first woman to be in charge of the news desk on a British national newspaper. She served as Paris correspondent of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' from 1965 to 1972.

Early life

The daughter of a merchant seaman, Roberts grew up in North Wales, speaking both English and Welsh, and was educated at St Winifred's School,

Llanfairfechan Llanfairfechan ("Little St Mary's Parish") is a town and community in the Conwy County Borough, Wales. It is known as a seaside resort and had a population at the 2001 Census of 3,755, reducing to 3,637 at the 2011 Census. The history of the ...

.Geoffrey Taylor, "Nesta Roberts: The first woman to run the news desk on a national newspaper", ''

'', 18 January 2009, accessed 14 August 2021

Career

Roberts began work as a journalist on a weekly newspaper in South Wales and pursued her career in

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-we ...

. At the age of nineteen, she made her first contributions to what was then ''

The Manchester Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', writing articles called "backpagers" at three

guineas The guinea (; commonly abbreviated gn., or gns. in plural) was a coin, minted in Great Britain between 1663 and 1814, that contained approximately one-quarter of an ounce of gold. The name came from the Guinea region in West Africa, from where m ...

each. In 1937, Roberts’s first book appeared, a history of the first fifty years of her old school, St Winifred's. An article called "Single to Manchester" led to Roberts joining the staff of ''The Manchester Guardian'' in May 1947. She later joined the news room staff in Manchester, remaining there for eleven years and becoming deputy news editor. When the newspaper began to be printed in London in 1961, Roberts was appointed as its first news editor there, becoming the first woman to hold such a position on a British national newspaper. However, as she had no experience of organizing specialist reporters, she saw herself as an odd choice by the editor, Alastair Hetherington who was to go on working in Manchester. After two years, she was succeeded as news editor by John Cole and went back to writing articles on health and welfare. She also wrote books on healthcare. In 1965, Roberts was sent to Paris to cover for the sickness of the Paris correspondent Darsie Gillie. She soon became the permanent post-holder and held the job for seven years, which proved to be her last with ''The Guardian''. In April 1968, Roberts raised concerns about a marked fall in the birth-rate in France, proposing that higher family allowances would encourage larger families.''Aryan Path'', Vol. 39 (1968), p. 287, citing Nesta Roberts, ''The Guardian'', 4 April 1968. During the

May 68 Beginning in May 1968, a period of civil unrest occurred throughout France, lasting some seven weeks and punctuated by demonstrations, general strikes, as well as the occupation of universities and factories. At the height of events, which h ...

upheavals, her radical political instincts led her to support the students. After retiring from working for ''The Guardian'' full-time, Roberts stayed in France, contributing an occasional column called "Letters from Paris". She called the French "the least boring people in Europe", and was the author of ''The Face of France'' (1976) and ''Companion Guide to Normandy'' (1980).

Retirement

On her return from France, Roberts retired to live in

Louth Louth may refer to: Australia *Hundred of Louth, a cadastral unit in South Australia * Louth, New South Wales, a town * Louth Bay, a bay in South Australia **Louth Bay, South Australia, a town and locality Canada * Louth, Ontario Ireland * Cou ...

, in Lincolnshire, attracted by the High Anglicanism of its

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

. Conservative in everything except politics, she loved medieval churches, travelled everywhere by train and bus, and never married, dying in 2009 at the age of ninety-six. An obituary noted that "She was full of exuberance, seriousness, good judgment and wit."

Selected publications

*''S. Winifred's, Llanfairfechan. The story of fifty years, 1887–1937'' (Shrewsbury: Wilding & Son, 1937) *''In Search of a Quiet Holiday'' (Manchester Guardian & Evening News, 1960) *''Everybody's Business: The 1959 Mental Health Act and the Community'' (National Association for Mental Health, 1960) *''"Not in My Perfect Mind": The Care of Mentally Frail Old People'' (National Association for Mental Health, 1963) *''To Tell the Truth: Mental Hospitals Today'' (National Association for Mental Health, 1966) *''Mental Health and Mental Illness'' (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1967) *''Cheadle Royal Hospital: A bicentenary history'' (1967) *''Our Future Selves: Care of the Elderly'' (London: Allen & Unwin, 2 April 1970) *''A Doctor in Practice'', with Geoffrey Hale (London, Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1974, ) *''The Face of France'' (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1976) *''Le tour de la France par une anglaise'' (Paris: Buchet/Chastel, 1979) *''The Companion Guide to Normandy'' (Prentice-Hall, 1983)

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Nesta 1913 births 2009 deaths People educated at St Winifred's School The Guardian people Welsh journalists