Advertiser's Maggie dies, 75 (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Advertiser's Maggie dies, 75

FORMER Evening Advertiser copytaker Margaret Mercer has died aged 75. Mrs Mercer, known to all the Adver staff in Victoria Road as Maggie, spent 18 years typing copy phoned in by reporters working on the stories of the day.

She joined the firm back in 1970 after moving from Edinburgh when her husband Robert retired from his job as a police officer.

She was a prominent figure in a busy newsroom and wasn't averse to putting a young reporter in his or her place.

Colleague Alan Johnson, who was chief sub-editor at the time, said: "She was very conscientious and quite a character."

Fellow copytaker Joan Bishop, who kept in touch after they retired, remembered how the editor once threatened to install a glass partition around the table they shared with Ivy Curzon, the Adver correspondent whose obituary appeared last month, because they were so noisy.

Mrs Mercer, who lost her husband 12 years ago, suffered from multiple sclerosis for a long time, but didn't let it bother her, added Mrs Bishop.

Her son Ian Mercer said: "She was very happy-go-lucky and she loved having a joke."

The former policewoman, who lived in Upper Stratton, was also a regular at Christ Church.

She leaves four sons, a daughter and five grandchildren.

Her funeral is due to take place at Kingsdown Cremator-ium on Monday at 10.30am.