Reginald William Foster (July 23, 1904 – December 29, 1999) was a British journalist who specialised in crime reporting and, because he covered fires as well, was known as "Fireman Foster". He was the first reporter to arrive at the scene of the fire that destroyed

the Crystal Palace The Crystal Palace was a cast iron and plate glass structure, originally built in Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park, London, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. The exhibition took place from 1 May to 15 October 1851, and more than 14,000 exhibit ...

in 1936.Williams, Betty
"Reg Foster".
''The Guardian''. Retrieved 27 October 2017. In 1963, Foster, then a freelance reporter for the ''

Daily Sketch The ''Daily Sketch'' was a British national tabloid newspaper, founded in Manchester in 1909 by Sir Edward Hulton. It was bought in 1920 by Lord Rothermere's Daily Mirror Newspapers, but in 1925 Rothermere sold it to William and Gomer Berry ...

'', and fellow reporter Brendan Mulholland, of the ''

Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper and news websitePeter Wilb"Paul Dacre of the Daily Mail: The man who hates liberal Britain", ''New Statesman'', 19 December 2013 (online version: 2 January 2014) publish ...

'', known as the 'Silent Journalists', were sentenced to prison terms for refusing to reveal their sources to the

Vassall Tribunal The Vassall Tribunal was a public inquiry undertaken in 1963 by the British government in the wake of the John Vassall affair. Vassall, a civil servant working in the Admiralty, had been revealed the previous year to be a Soviet spy, and considera ...

. After training at the ''

South London Press The ''South London Press, London Weekly News and Mercury (formerly South London Press)'' is a weekly newspaper currently based in Catford, South London. The newspaper covers the latest news, sports and features within the south, central and west ...

'', he joined the staff at the ''

'' (1924 to 1932) before going on to join the ''

Daily Herald Daily or The Daily may refer to: Journalism * Daily newspaper, newspaper issued on five to seven day of most weeks * ''The Daily'' (podcast), a podcast by ''The New York Times'' * ''The Daily'' (News Corporation), a defunct US-based iPad new ...

'', where, on 31 May 1940, he broke the news of "one of the most glorious feats of British arms", the

Dunkirk evacuation The Dunkirk evacuation, codenamed Operation Dynamo and also known as the Miracle of Dunkirk, or just Dunkirk, was the evacuation of more than 338,000 Allied soldiers during the Second World War from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk, in the ...

. While at the ''Herald'', he also wrote ''Dover Front'' (1941), published by

Searchlight Books Searchlight Books was a series of essays published as hardback books, edited by T. R. Fyvel and George Orwell. The series was published by Secker & Warburg. The series was projected for 17 titles, of which ten were published during 1941-42, but ...

, the short-lived imprint of

Secker & Warburg Harvill Secker is a British publishing company formed in 2005 from the merger of Secker & Warburg and the Harvill Press. History Secker & Warburg Secker & Warburg was formed in 1935 from a takeover of Martin Secker, which was in receivership, ...

co-ordinated by

T. R. Fyvel Raphael Joseph Feiwel (1907 – 22 June 1985), better known as Tosco R. Fyvel or T. R. Fyvel (), was an writer, journalist and literary editor. In 1936–1937, he was active in the Zionist movement in Palestine, then under the control of the Briti ...

and

George Orwell Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950), better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English novelist, essayist, journalist, and critic. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to totalitar ...

. He later served as a corporal at the

South East Asia Command South East Asia Command (SEAC) was the body set up to be in overall charge of Allies of World War II, Allied operations in the South-East Asian theatre of World War II, South-East Asian Theatre during the World War II, Second World War. Histo ...

(SEAC). After the war, Foster joined the ''

News Chronicle The ''News Chronicle'' was a British daily newspaper. Formed by the merger of '' The Daily News'' and the ''Daily Chronicle'' in 1930, it ceased publication on 17 October 1960,''Liberal Democrat News'' 15 October 2010, accessed 15 October 2010 be ...

'', covering notorious criminal cases such as those of the acid bath murderer

John George Haigh John George Haigh (; 24 July 1909 – 10 August 1949), commonly known as the Acid Bath Murderer, was an English serial killer convicted for the murder of six people, although he claimed to have killed nine. Haigh battered to death or shot his ...

(1949), the serial killer John Christie and the

Derek Bentley case Derek William Bentley (30 June 1933 – 28 January 1953) was a British man who was hanged for the murder of a policeman during a burglary attempt. Christopher Craig, then aged 16, a friend and accomplice of Bentley, was accused of the murde ...

(1952). Following the closure of the ''Chronicle'' in 1960, Foster freelanced for a while at the ''

Sunday Dispatch The ''Sunday Dispatch'' was a prominent British newspaper, published between 27 September 1801 and 18 June 1961. It was ultimately discontinued due to its merger with the ''Sunday Express''. History The newspaper was first published as the ''Wee ...

'', ''

Sunday Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first published as a broadsheet i ...

'', ''

Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was simply ''The Mirror''. It had an average daily print ...

'' and the ''Daily Sketch'' in 1963. In 1963, after covering the Vassall spy trial as a freelance reporter for the ''Sketch'', Foster, then 58, was jailed for 3 months for refusing to disclose his source, and subsequently released after 61 days. At the same trial, Brendan Mulholland, of the ''

'', was given a six-month sentence.Wilson, John
''Understanding Journalism: A Guide to Issues''. Routledge, 2006.
En Google Books. Retrieved 27 October 2017.Wilkinson, Nicholas John
''Secrecy and the Media: The Official History of the United Kingdom's D-Notice System'', p. 203. Routledge, 2009.
At Google Books. Retrieved 27 October 2017. Foster then worked at the London office of the ''

Yorkshire Evening Post The ''Yorkshire Evening Post'' is a daily evening publication (delivered to newsagents every morning) published by Yorkshire Post Newspapers in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The paper provides a regional slant on the day's news, and traditio ...

'' before retiring.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Foster, Reg 1904 births 1999 deaths 20th-century British journalists