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George Woodhouse, one of the founding fathers of The Mail on Sunday, has died after a short illness, aged 84. 

He was hired by the Mail on Sunday’s first editor, Bernard Shrimsley, as managing editor for the paper’s launch at the height of the Falklands War in 1982.

George began his career as a cub reporter on the Lancashire Evening Telegraph in his native Blackburn, where one of his scoops was to interview the first lorry driver on the new M6 around Preston. 

George Woodhouse, one of the founding fathers of The Mail on Sunday , has died after a short illness, aged 84

He later moved south and joined Associated Newspapers in 1976, becoming chief sub editor at London’s Evening News before joining the MoS planning team ten months before the paper’s launch.

George, right, masterminded converting the paper from traditional ‘hot metal’ in Fleet Street to electronic technology at new offices in Kensington and travelled widely to seek out the best systems. 

He became Executive Editor and retired in 1996 to live in Llandudno, Clwyd, where he continued to enjoy his passions for golf and Blackburn Rovers. 

His wife, Valerie, predeceased him. He leaves three children, Philip, Ruth and Heather, and six grandchildren