'Dad was always so proud of his Leicester roots - his scrapbooks and diaries are a snapshot of this wonderful time'

Peter’s own career also developed into music and television journalism.

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HE story of a late Leicester Mercury journalist's career from the regional press to the national stage in music and television journalism has been told in a new book.

The two-volume publication, The Events and Happenings in the Life of Peter Robert Cresswell, was taken from the writings of the man himself and edited by his son, Michael.

“Dad left a collection of artefacts and family heirlooms,” says Michael.

“There were daily accounts from 1952 to 1953. I saw that he had started to do this and it’s all in his own writing.

“The role I played in the creation of this book was really to give him a voice. I didn’t edit the contents, I just gave it all a bit of context.”

Peter joined the Mercury while still a teenager at Wyggeston Boys Grammar School.

In 1952, he wrote a letter to the newspaper saying he would like to be a journalist.

This led to a meeting with a senior editor, and shortly after he was taken on as a junior reporter.

His early diaries capture a key period - the death of King George VI in 1952, Queen Elizabeth II's accession to the throne, the end of rationing and terrible flooding in 1953.

“It's like a time capsule,” says Michael. “You can see him transform from a devout Catholic schoolboy to a working reporter out in the real world.”

One of Peter's most memorable bylines in the early stages of his career was on the 1953 floods, and the impact of the Mercury's crucial fundraising during that time.

The diaries also describe the “family atmosphere” of the Mercury newsroom of the 1950s, with a tight-knit team shaping the careers of ambitious young reporters.