William Dower, The Courier man who had to “hold the front page” on the night President Kennedy was assassinated, has died aged 94.
The Courier’s print run had already begun when the newsdesk called the pressroom, where William was working, with the historic news.
It was the only time in William’s 35-year working at DC Thomson that the presses were halted entirely because of a major event.
He had joined the firm in April, 1956 and worked on the presses in Bank Street before moving to Kingsway East and retiring in February, 1992.
William, known as Bill, had earlier served in the army in Germany from 1946 and had witnessed a country devastated by war.
He was born in 1928 and grew up with parents Albert and Nettie and brother Jim in a tenement at the corner of Abbotsford Place and Peddie Street in Dundee.
After education at Logie School, Bill started work as a plumber’s mate aged 14 before beginning an apprenticeship as an auto-electrician with Lamb’s garage at the bottom of Trades Lane.
In 1946 Bill was called up to serve his country. His initial training was with the Royal Scots, where he gained a sharpshooter badge for his marksmanship.
He was then posted to the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, in keeping with his trade and sent off to Germany, a long way from his sweetheart, Rena.
The couple married in 1950 and the following year saw the arrival of their daughter, Jacqueline.
Unfortunately, almost immediately after that, the family were split up as Rena contracted tuberculosis and spent almost two years in Ashludie sanatorium, Monifieth, and Little Cairnie in Arbroath.
It wasn’t long after Rena returned home that Bill gained employment with DC Thomson as a printer in Bank Street.
Depending on which shift he was working, Bill printed a range of publications including The Courier, The People’s Journal, The Sunday Post, and on Saturday mornings, Commando magazine.
Later, when the company merged all of its printing in Bank Street, the Evening Telegraph was added to the list.
His daughter, Jacqueline, also liked his new job, as she was a keen reader and loved that her father brought home the Beano, Dandy, Bunty, Judy, Beezer and Topper.
Bill’s son, also Bill, a former journalist said; “On one fateful night in November 1963, my father was working on The Courier shift when the phone in the press room rang.
“Being closest to the phone, he answered it. A news editor on the other end declared, ‘stop the presses, the president has been shot’.
“My father didn’t have to ask which president. This was the only time the presses were actually stopped during his long career at DC Thomson.”
The family was complete when son, Bill, was born in 1957. Throughout the 1960s the family enjoyed many European holidays in Bill’s car, first in Brittany, then in Belgium, the French Riviera and Spain.
Worldwide
As the 1970s dawned, Spain and Paris became a regular destinations before Australia was added in the 1980s.
Australia proved such a draw that on his retiral, Bill left work on the Friday, packed his bags on the Saturday and he and Rena flew to Australia on the Sunday morning.
In total, the couple visited Australia 17 times and travelled around the world six times. On one of these round-the-world trips they even visited Nuku Hiva, a Pacific island, six days’ sailing from Australia’s east coast.
Bill enjoyed more than 20 years of retirement with Rena by his side, travelling to far-flung places and all over Scotland by car before tragedy struck on Christmas Eve, 2013, and his beloved wife died.
It was a devastating blow for a man of 86 but Bill faced a challenging future with fortitude.
He immediately set about learning to cook for himself, quickly becoming the go-to man in the family for home-made steak pie or, in autumn, apple pie.
Independence
However, in the last few years, with his mobility failing and his eyesight causing problems, Bill fought hard to maintain his independence, living in his own home and still cooking occasional meals.
Bill junior said: “He knew time was short and, having always enjoyed family celebrations, was determined to have one last blast with a 94th birthday party involving the whole family including his cousin Helen, and nephew Kevin and his wife, Diane.
“His last two weeks were spent in St Ronan’s nursing home, surrounded by pictures of his family.”
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