T. E. UTLEY, Peter to his many friends, graced these pages as The Times's Obituaries Editor from 1987 until 1988. It was the final chapter in a great journalistic life, marked by nobility of thought, precision of style and honesty in writing.
T. E. Utley was, however, much more than a writer of grace. He was, in the words of Margaret Thatcher, "a man of immense intellectual generosity". That generosity extended from giving freely of his time to help those who govern us to think more deeply, to devoting considerable energies to help young journalists embarking on their careers.
The course of Utley's own career took him from the The Daily Telegraph to The Times with occasional sojourns in the pages of The Spectator. In everything he wrote he displayed what Baroness Thatcher called "a complete understanding of the central tenets and principles of Toryism".
He also displayed an understanding of human motivation, history, faith and politics, which led Enoch Powell to rank him next to Samuel Johnson, William Cobbett and Walter Bagehot.
His memory is cherished by the many friends who worked with him and the many more who benefited from his generous spirit. It is also kept alive by the work of the T. E. Utley Memorial Fund, whose trustees award a prize every year to help a young journalist at the hopeful dawn of his or her career.
This year's prize has been awarded to Catherine Allen, of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, who proposes to use the award to help to secure a wider audience for her radio documentary on slave labour in the Third Reich.
Miss Allen's 45-minute documentary will investigate how memories of the Holocaust are kept alive by the survivors of the Langenstein-Zweiberge "extermination through work" camp outside Buchenwald. The camp, which serviced the Junker aircraft firm, is now the site of an annual pilgrimage of remembrance for a dwindling number of French survivors and their families. They have helped to maintain an awareness, in Miss Allen's words, "of the horrors, and the heroes, of the Holocaust".
There could be few more appropriate areas for a young journalist to explore at a time when continental Europe is coming to terms with the dissolution of the postwar order. Miss Allen's work will involve interviews with some who were involved in the Resistance, figures whose voices have been overwhelmed by more strident French tones, as well as conversations with younger Germans whose reckoning with their nation's past is vital for its future.
Miss Allen will be awarded her prize at lunch today in Corpus Christi by Alistair B. Cooke, on behalf of the Memorial Fund.
The fund's ability to continue supporting young journalists in the fulfilment of their ambitions depends upon the continued generosity of others.
The proprietors of both The Times and The Daily Telegraph have been open-handed in their support. Others who cherish T. E. Utley's memory and example may wish to buy tickets for a fundraising party to be held on June 21, the anniversary of his death.
Tickets are available from the fund's secretary, Ginda Utley, at 111 Sugden Road, London SW11 5ED, tel 020-7228 3900.