A dapper and spry figure in the JC’s Furnival Street newsroom, Sidney was noted for his signature handlebar moustache, and for his amicable personality. “ I really enjoyed my time on the paper because we covered such a vast area,” he says. “I could do all of this because of my first class education.” He had been a scholarship boy at one of England’s prestigious public schools, Christ’s Hospital.
Sidney also edited the Jewish Travel Guide, published by the JC’s former publishing subsidiary Vallentine, Mitchell. Ever the sharp-nosed journo, Sidney still shakes his head in disbelief when he recalls the VM’s unaccountable rejection of an offer to publish Anne Frank’s Diary. “I can’t understand it,” he says. “Maybe they thought it wasn’t genuine.”
Before the JC Sidney joined the former Jewish Observer and Middle East Review, published by the Zionist Federation, in 1959, sharing an office with the future JC editor Geoffrey Paul. He had already spent several years in Israel, having volunteered to join the Israeli navy during the War of Independence in 1948.
Sidney also proved himself a gifted linguist and began a separate career as a translator into French, German, Ivrit and Yiddish, only retiring at the age of 99. His facility with languages was discovered during his schooldays.
Sidney met his future wife Rachel (Ray) Hajioff at a JNF event in 1955 and they married on December 31, 1957. They lived in Kingsbury for four years before moving to their spacious Golders Green flat in 1961. “We had a wonderful life together for 57 years”, he reminisces. “But sadly, Ray who had been ill for some time, died in March 2016”.
He attributes his longevity to his upbringing and schooling at Christ’s Hospital – “It’s no secret. I did everything I should – I hardly touched alcohol, used sweeteners instead of sugar and took plenty of exercise.”
What about a positive outlook? “Yes, but that’s less important.”
