Fifer George marks a golden career in newspapers

George Duncan, pictured centre with his wife Margaret, celebrated 50 years' service with current and former staff at the Fife Free Press office.

But that’s the astonishing service clocked up by one man who has had a hand in all of Fife’s weeklies, and many others around the country.

George Duncan has been one of the foundations that has enabled newspapers to continue operating through all the technological changes. From story creation to print to online updates, his skills have helped make it all possible.

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George has been with Strachan & Livingston, then Johnston Press and latterly JPI Media.

The IT divisional field engineer toasted his half century last week at a surprise celebration thrown by current and former colleagues.

He started working for Strachan & Livingston in January 1969 as an apprentice compositor at the Fife Free Press offices in Kirk Wynd, attending Napier College in Edinburgh to gain qualifications in print and design.

The production side of the newspapers then moved to larger premises at Mitchelston Industrial Estate, Kirkcaldy, and George’s career saw him having to quickly adapt from metal type to Linotype, to photo-typesetting then into the digital age.

That saw him moving from the mastery of type to mastering the computer world.

“I was involved with all the new hardware and, in 1989, was appointed systems supervisor, with responsibility for supporting and maintaining all the hardware which had been installed in the Fife offices,” he explained.

“At this time, each office had its own ‘stand-alone’ system – and I was also still very involved as part of the pre-press team.”

The printing operation ceased at Kirkcaldy in the late ’90s and the Fife Free Press Group’s Fife titles were then printed in Falkirk.

He was appointed assistant production manager and, when Johnston Press bought over The Scotsman, George was appointed IT divisional field engineer.

That role saw him offer support to around 40 offices across Scotland.

Today his time is split mainly between his base at the Fife Free Press in Kirkcaldy and The Scotsman in Edinburgh and on-site support at satellite offices.

In his spare time George enjoys travel, is an able photographer and a modest golfer.