Tributes have been paid to much-loved Kent journalist and author Garry Barker following his death on Friday.

Garry, 61, was the KM Group’s former production editor, managing the team of sub-editors responsible for producing the company’s newspapers across the county.

He had been appointed to one of the most senior positions at the KM in 2010, the culmination of a relationship with the company that had started in 1985 after switching from his first job at the rival Whitstable Times.

He initially worked as a news reporter on the Kentish Gazette in Canterbury before being appointed chief reporter on the Faversham News.

He left the KM in 1995 to pursue other interests, including writing an authorised book on his beloved punk band The Clash.

Three years later he returned to the fold, joining the production desk and rising through the ranks to the top position. He stayed until 2016, having helped steer the KM through one of the most turbulent periods in its history as the rise of digital media put the company’s very survival in doubt.

Garry was known throughout the company for his calm, unflappable presence at the helm of a department working, at times, under extreme pressure. He was also known for being inseparable from his Clash mug, which he refused to replace even after the handle broke off.

Crispin Whiting worked alongside Garry as his deputy for a number of years at the KM’s then-headquarters at Wraik Hill in Whitstable.

He recalled: "Calm in a crisis, a wicked sense of humour and unfailingly kind. It's interesting to see how many times the term 'laid back' has been used by my former colleagues in their tributes, because it's not a term usually associated with team-leading journalists working under pressure.

"But that is just what Garry was. 'They want to do 27 more change pages this morning, we're two hours off deadline and three staff members short - what shall I tell them, Garry?'

"Questions like this were unfailingly met with a wry Garry grin, a shrug, and a promise that we'd have a go. And we almost always managed to do it, most of us, apart from Garry, tearing out our hair and swearing.

"Why? Because he was such a thoroughly likeable, lovely bloke and had the ability to bring everyone along into a world where anything was possible. Kind and good humoured, he was one of the few people I can think of who was not only respected but loved by the entire team he led. He will be deeply missed by so many. But I can imagine Garry just pushing his hands into his linen jacket pockets and saying: Yeah, don't worry - it'll all be fine..."

Former Kentish Gazette editor Leo Whitlock, now head of communications at Canterbury City Council, said: "Everyone who had the pleasure and privilege of working with Garry in a newsroom has lost someone very, very special.

"Garry was a local newspaper journalist to his very core and you could tell he had done his time on the frontline as a reporter because he had a worldly-wise glint in his eye and a sense of humour that was drier than dry.

"He could spot the short one paragraph story that should have been the front-page lead and could sense when a reporter or editor was in danger of overplaying their hand.

"He knew every story had to be accurate because the readers would spot it if not - often chiding him down his favourite local or at the cricket.

"That made him one of those characters every newsroom needs and thrives on.

"He also understood and was an exponent of the craft of making newspapers and every single one of us learned something from him.

"He was cool, calm and collected in every crisis and they came thick and fast with almost every deadline Garry had to guide both the production desk and news desks through almost every day of every week.

"The fact so many newspapers got out on time to such a high standard with so few people was down to Garry's steely determination and quiet drive.

"When the pressure was on, Garry was a man of few words absorbing the stress so his team could get on with their jobs.

"Garry was generous, warm and a true gentleman. We are all the poorer for his passing."

Ian Carter, editorial director of KM’s parent company Iliffe Media, said: “Garry was appointed to run the production desk at probably the most difficult time imaginable. Demands were high, staffing levels less so, and that led to periods of pressure that would have had lesser characters wilting.

“But to simply describe Garry as laid back would be to belie the fierce passion he retained for local journalism.

“Many were the times he would close my office door, drop a pile of proofs on my desk and point out everything that was wrong - the too-long column, the reporter who had confused ‘its’ with ‘it’s’ for the second time that week or the story lurking on page 54 that could have landed us in a spot of legal bother.

“He was an invaluable member of the management team, a great journalist - and a lovely bloke.”

Friend and former KM colleague Simon Finlay said: "Garry was a lovely man - a kind, funny and generous friend. He was also a first-class journalist who was well-respected by industry colleagues. News of his death came as a terrible shock and he will be truly missed by many. Our thoughts are with Claire."

Garry lived in Canterbury with his partner of more than 30 years, Claire Stevens, also a journalist.

In addition to his love of music and his dogs, he was an avid reader and real ale fan.

He was born in Chatham and went to St Michael's Primary and Gillingham Grammar School.

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