Neil Mallard - A personal tribute by Bob Fisher

Neil Mallard died three days short of his 87th Birthday. A career in journalism began with the Wembley News in 1946 and was interrupted by National Service two years later. Demobbed, he went to the Paddington Mercury, and from there to the Press Office in Wembley Stadium. At this time he moved frequently but always with personal promotion in mind. Fleet Street was an obvious aim. It came with a move to the Sports Desk of the News Chronicle.

Having made up his mind that the future of sporting coverage lay in film and television, he moved to Paramount Newsreels. Paramount moved out of Britain without Neil who stayed at the studios to assist in the formation of a new consortium. The BBC, together with ABC Australia, CBC Canada, NBC of the United States, the Rank Organisation and shortly after, Reuters, formed the British Commonwealth International News Agency (subsequently Visnews, the largest of its type in the world.) Neil's part in this was to establish bureau throughout the world with camera crews working with local broadcasters. These now form part of Reuters Television and are a lasting tribute to Neil, who became the first Sports Editor of the agency.

He covered every sport, none more so than football, and it was this sport in 1970 that brought me close to Neil. I was sent to Mexico by the BBC to gather promotion material for the forthcoming World Cup. England were the holders and my job was to counter the general feeling that it was going to happen in Wembley. My first need was a film crew and my contact for this was Neil, who, at the time, was busier than a flea on a new dog. I found him (or was it the other way around?) when I was in a police cell reporting the theft of some stills cameras. Neil helped me successfully in that situation and also provided me with a film crew for a week.

The cameraman was one Antonio Halik, who Neil chose because of his wide-ranging contacts (starting with the President of Mexico!) With Halik, I only had to suggest a move and it happened – Neil's choice of man-for-the-job proved perfect. And I was only one of a multitude of short-term film producers with similar needs. Little wonder that Neil had no time to communicate with home – my call to his wife, Ros, when I returned was the first she had had for some time.

Neil and I kept in contact for years after as his career continued to blossom in sports in which I was directly, or indirectly connected. He was into sailing with events ranging from the Whitbread Round the World Race – his Chilean contacts resulting in film of boat rounding Cape Horn — and that in the 1973/4 race – to the Admiral's Cup (and with it the 1979 Fastnet disaster) and the America's Cup, where, in 2013, we met with Stan Honey who explained clearly what the graphics he had devised could do for the television coverage of the Cup. Neil listened carefully and relayed the opportunities to television stations all over the world — the coverage was sensational. He was at it again in Bermuda last year.

Neil's own love of motor racing quickly put him in touch with Bernie Ecclestone and began a friendship and working partnership that lasted until his death. FOCA TV was the result of this liaison — possibly the most watched television sport today.

His first involvement with coverage of the Olympic Games was at Wembley in 1948 and he never missed another together with the spin-offs like the Commonwealth Games, or the Paralympic Games, whose television coverage he pioneered when there was no international interest. That may sound strange today, but Neil had a deliberate campaigning spirit throughout his 73 years in the business.

When Neil said: "Leave it to me." he meant it and one could do just that knowing that an answer would be forthcoming very shortly.

Neil Mallard is survived by his wife Ros and three sons, Tim, Duncan and Giles who all followed their father into broadcasting.