HE was a writer, artist and renowned Newport headmaster who wrote over 800 articles in the South Wales Argus and several books about his beloved Gwent.

Fred Hando is still fondly-remembered by many for his weekly column, illustrated with his own line drawings, which delighted generations of Argus readers with his depictions of places in our county.

Fred began to write his columns for the Argus in the 1920s. He wrote to the then editor William Collins asking if he would be interested in an illustrated article on local places of interest. The editor agreed, but said: “I’ll have 15”.

And so under the title 'Rambles in Gwent' he began his weekly column, which told of the history of unexplored corners of the county. He continued writing for the Argus until 1970, just four weeks before he died.

From later this week, we will publish his columns again, giving you the chance to enjoy his evocative prose which captured, as another Argus editor, Kenneth Loveland, said: "The shy beauty of this delectable county".