Geoffrey Goodman was a loyal friend and supporter of Aneurin Bevan, the leftwing founder of the NHS, and he remained a Bevanite socialist for the remainder of his life. This translated itself into devoted support for Tribune, the leftwing weekly founded by Bevan in the 1930s, and he was still writing for the paper – unpaid – until a few weeks before his death.
I first met him in 1954, when I was working as industrial reporter for Tribune and Geoffrey was the highly experienced industrial correspondent of the News Chronicle. It was my very first job in journalism, and Geoffrey took me under his wing, introduced me to his vast array of trade-union contacts, and showed me how to write a news story. It was immensely generous of him, and it was done mainly to help Tribune. However, a lifelong friendship grew out of the relationship, which often took us to another of his long-standing enthusiasms – the Gay Hussar restaurant in Soho, London. His picture hangs on the wall of that establishment, along with scores of its other journalistic and political customers, past and present.