Yetty, the tech whizz who discovered how to send Express pictures at a flash

BEARDED WONDER: John Yeates (far right) enjoying a few drinks with club mates at Westcombe Park RFC, south-east London, which has named one of their new pitches after him

By FRANK ‘SCOOP’ BALDWIN

In the days before electronic communications, getting urgent news photographs back to the picture desk, particularly from overseas, was a cumbersome affair. It often involved planes, trains and automobiles (or motorbikes) — a far cry from the present day when we can all send images from our mobile phones in seconds.

One man who was very much a part of the process that revolutionised the speed a photo was available to an editor was John Yeates who was one of the first people to send an image from a major incident electronically to the Daily Express.

John, who was affectionally known as ‘Yetty’, was trained in IT and telecommunications between 1950-52 when he served with the Royal Signals, the British Army’s communications experts. His unit provided cyber and information systems expertise whenever and wherever they were required by British armed forces.

On returning to civvy street, John was employed by the Daily Express where he put the expertise he gained in the Royal Signals to good use. After helping to set up the new system of sending photographs back to Fleet Street, long before the introduction of other electronic communications, John found himself being flown out to Morocco in 1960. His task was to send back photographs of the aftermath of a major earthquake in Agadir which left more than 1,500 dead and 35,000 homeless.

He later carried on his work as a telephoto operator at The Daily Mirror where his skills were called upon to assist in the coverage of other important news stories such as the 1966 tragedy in Aberfan, which claimed the lives of 116 children and 28 adults when heavy rain caused a colliery spoil tip to slide down onto the village school.

John continued to help introduce the advances in technology which made it even easier for photographers to send back images from out in the field with increasing speed, but in the 90s he became one of the victims of the Maxwell years at The Mirror and later found out his pension had been compromised.

By this time, John had already been a regular rugby player at Westcombe Park RFC, and with more time on his hands, he was able to help secure the club’s future at Goddington Park in Orpington. With others on the committee, he worked on a five-year plan for the club to become a major force in the new leagues being established.

During his playing days John also met Val, his wife-to-be, at The Tiger’s Head in Chislehurst where players would meet to discuss their matches over a few drinks.

He plucked up the courage to propose to her on Christmas Eve 1966. As Val sang in her local church’s choir in Mottingham, she went off to midnight mass while John, obviously pleased his proposal had been accepted, continued celebrating.

John later went to the church to collect Val and when he wandered into the service, still in his celebratory mood, he was immediately set upon by the ushers who informed him it was not acceptable to be smoking a cigar in the church!

John died two years ago, three days short of his 93rd birthday, and his role in the introduction of faster telephoto communications for Fleet Street newspapers may never receive the full recognition it deserves.

However, he is still fondly remembered as a stalwart and a legend at Westcombe Park RFC and his legacy, and his name, will now live on. The club has announced it is naming a new junior pitch at the ground after him as a tribute to the outstanding support he gave both as a player and supporter.

25 February 2025