Monty Meth

Meth was born in Bethnal Green,[1] the youngest of three sons of a Jewish family; his mother was from Newcastle and his father immigrated from Austria. He left school at 14 and having studied photography and worked on the newsletter at a local boys' club, became as a messenger at the Photopress agency and then at Topical Press.[2] On turning 18 in 1944, he joined the Royal Navy.[2]

After the end of the Second World War, he was a dark room worker and then a photographer at Topical, wrote and photographed magazine featuresm and won an Encyclopedia Britannica photography award.[2]

In 1954 he became a feature journalist in Leeds, and in 1956, industrial correspondent for the Daily Mail.[2] He was promoted to industrial editor and in 1970 won News Reporter of the Year.[1][2]

In the early 1970s he moved to industry as head of communications at Beecham, then co-ran a private consultancy from 1989 until his retirement in 1999.[2]

In retirement Meth lives with his wife, Betty, in Enfield, where he works in an attic office.[3] He took over leadership of the Enfield Over-50s Forum, developing it from 70 members to more than 6,000 members;[4] it has been described as "a significant campaigning group to advocate the interests of seniors in his neighbourhood".[2] He is life president of the group[5] and writes an associated weekly newspaper column.[3]

Meth is included in Getting a Life: Talking to Older People, published in 2000 by Help the Aged,[1] and his daily routine at the age of 87 is a case study in an Open University course on "Introducing Ageing".[3]

Monty Meth was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2007 Queen's Birthday Honours for services to the communities of Enfield and Bethnal Green.[6]

• Here to Stay: A Study of Good Practices in the Employment of Coloured Workers. Runnymede Trust, 1972. ISBN 978-0902397002[7][8]
• Brothers to all Men? A Report on Trade Union Actions and Attitudes on Race Relations. Runnymede Trust, 1973. ISBN 978-0902397224[9]