Hilda Swinney - Honorary Member

Hilda Swinney

It was a pleasure to welcome Hilda tonight and particularly so to present her with honorary membership of Portland Rotary, one of the highest distinctions that a club can bestow.

We all know her a as journalist and her career started whilst she was still living in Scotland when she met with a group of photographers who needed the words to go with their work and she wrote for the Abroath Herald.

Back in those days she was community spirited and she had a concert group and wrote plays and raised money for charity

1974 Erlestoke near Devizes. Worked as Court Usher and Jury Bailiff. A role she found extremely boring and often spent time counting window panes and floor tiles. When she found hand on her shoulder and a large policeman towering over her who said that the Judge would prefer her to stay awake as everybody in the court could hear her snoring she decides a change of career was needed

She wrote features as Local Correspondent for the Wiltshire Times, although when asked she would say she worked for “The Times”!

She raised money for charities as an auctioneer

1978 moved to Dorset as her husband was working in the prison service having retired from the Navy.

She became a freelance journalist for the Western Gazette and then later after being introduced by the photographer the Late Reg Vincent she worked also as freelance for the ECHO

She has supported Portland Rotary steadfastly over the last 35 years with articles in the ECHO and FPN, always highlighting what Rotary does and advocating the Rotary movement.

She is one of the few reporters to consistently champion the Community of Portland in her articles

She has also covered many events whilst I was working – in fact the last one being my retirement

She has supported the local Portland community over many years. She has written directed and produced pantomimes over a period of 18 years. She used the proceeds to support local charities. Indeed she would like to do a murder mystery for us.

She was awarded the Rotary Community award in 1988

For her work in the community she was awarded an MBE in 2004 by Prince Charles

Awarded the Weymouth and Portland Borough award for Journalism

She is a Paul Harris Fellow.She was a school governor

Was still writing for the ECHO till age 86