Celebrations for our own diamond Shirley
She’s a real Shropshire Star - and a special celebration has been held to mark Shirley Tart’s 60 years working in journalism in the county.
Held at the Ironbridge Gorge Museum, invited guests included the county’s Lord Lieutenant Sir Algernon Heber-Percy, as well as colleagues from MNA including Shropshire Star editor Martin Wright and proprietor Alan Graham, whom Shirley has known since she started work.
Shirley said: “It was a wonderful evening and one to remember.”
During the evening she was given a solid-oak engraved bench to mark her milestone, which will now go in her garden.
She added: “I feel very touched that the Graham family and the company in general organised such a wonderful celebration for my 60 years working with them.
“I’ve been very fortunate to enjoy a career, which has all been a fantastic experience.
“But I couldn’t have done any of it, without the support and encouragement of the company and colleagues. For that I’m eternally grateful.
“More than once I’ve stood at the doors of Westminster and felt incredibly privileged, what other job could you be doing that in?
“But at the end of it all, while these are great occasions to be remembered, for me, and many journalists, my feet have always been firmly planted in Shropshire and I truly believe the regional press still has a role in serving our communities, who have and still do support us so well.”
Shropshire-born, Shropshire-bred, and Shropshire-educated, during her time Shirley has told the stories of royalty and the highest in the land, and given voice to ordinary Salopians who have their own fascinating tales to tell.
Shirley was also made an MBE in 2005 for her services to the newspaper industry.
Born at 17 Malinslee, her family moved to Webb Crescent, Dawley, when Shirley was 11 and it was while a pupil at Coalbrookdale High School that her flair for writing began to show itself.
At 14 she began writing to the editors of the local weekly newspapers and she began working at the Wellington Journal on August 12, 1957.
Looking to progress her career, she started applying for a job on the evening paper, the Express & Star – there was no Shropshire Star at the time.
Her first six months there were covering undefended cases at Birmingham Divorce Courts, followed by a little spell in Stourbridge. Her time there was all a preparation for a return to Shropshire joining the brand new Shropshire Star at Ketley.
She came to the office in May 1964, and hasn’t looked back since.
