Affectionate tributes have been paid to an “effortlessly witty writer, who wore his knowledge lightly and could cover just about anything” who began his rich and varied career at the Watford Observer.

Patrick Stoddart joined this newspaper as a school leaver and went on to have a successful career in Fleet Street, radio and TV before becoming a senior lecturer in journalism at the University of Westminster where hundreds of students benefited from his knowledge and experience.

“Patrick said he never expected to find something he enjoyed as much as journalism but with teaching it was like he’d found a second love,” his friend and former university colleague Jim McClellan said. “He once said that when he started teaching, it felt like he’d been born again.

“He was a brilliant teacher - he had so much professional experience and wove it into his lessons with skill, humour and modesty. He was also incredibly creative, always coming up with scenarios and games to help the students learn. He made his classes fun as well as informative.

“But he also cared so much about his students. He wanted them to do well and, if they were struggling, he wanted to do everything he could to help and support them.

“More generally, he was just a wonderful man, a complete gentleman who loved being part of the university at Westminster and loved to talk and listen to everyone there.”

Patrick played rugby for Fullerians All Stars veteransPatrick played rugby for Fullerians All Stars veterans (Image: Family collection)

The son of carpenter Thomas Stoddart and Anne Stoddart (nee Power), Patrick was born in Watford on November 23, 1944 and educated at Watford Grammar School for Boys.

University of Westminster senior lecturer and friend David Lancaster recalled: “Patrick started his career on the Watford Observer in the mid-1960s – covering, as he would say, ‘everything from bus stops to The Zombies’. This set a course for the career as one of most respected, most liked and admired professionals in the media. A very rare combination.

“In his writing - and in his work as an educator – Patrick’s output was always a lesson in colour, brevity and beautifully wry humour.

“It was a gift from the get-go, as this first line from an early piece by him on life in his hometown in the Watford Observer of 1964 shows: 'It was not long ago that when darkness fell over Watford, the population took to its homes and television sets searching for something to break the monotony.’

The Zombies were best known for the 1964 smash She’s Not There and Patrick, who lived in Oxhey, contacted this newspaper in 2016 to explain the part he played in setting them on the path to stardom.

He said: “I was a young reporter on the paper when the whole '60s music scene erupted and in the wave of enthusiasm for the Mersey Beat I wrote a feature headlined ‘Is there a Watford Sound?’

“The Town Hall’s entertainment manager launched a beat contest to find out. There were eight bands competing on consecutive Sundays, with judges including minor pop stars, people from record companies and me.

“Easily the best band – we called them groups back then – were these five very young lads from St Albans, The Zombies. They were all about 17 or 18 and wondering whether to go to university or try their luck at music.

“As it happened I’d just written a feature about a recording studio in Rickmansworth run by two brothers, John and Malcolm Jackson, the sons of a then famous DJ called Jack Jackson. They had asked me to keep an ear out for anyone a bit special so even before the contest was over I invited The Zombies to put down some tracks, one of which was She’s Not There, which in true rock and roll fashion they finished off in the back of the van on the way to the studio.”

Patrick moved on to the Evening Echo after leaving the Watford Observer before joining the Evening News, which was then London’s biggest-selling newspaper. He went on to become media editor and lead TV critic for the Sunday Times, featured on BBC and ITV shows, co-presented a Radio 4 travel programme and became a media consultant before moving into academia.

A keen rugby player for Fullerians All Stars veterans and cricketer for the Fleet Street Strollers, Patrick was a trustee of the Watford Palace Theatre charity and a member of its board of directors between December 2013 and November 2023.

“A few years back, to the surprise (and perhaps alarm) of staff and students we took to the stage at the University of Westminster, with Patrick on vocals, and delivered some basic blues from our shared musical hero, Jimmy Reed,” David recalled. “Patrick's look of relief, yet deep pride, on us getting through the set will stay with me forever.”

Patrick Stoddart died on July 24, 2024 aged 79. He is survived by his wife Nicki.