My father, Nick Cater, who has died aged 69 shortly after suffering a stroke, lived a life dedicated to journalism – both at the Guardian and as a freelance – focusing on African humanitarian crises and environmental issues.
Nick was the chief media officer for the charity event Sport Aid, held in 1986 and 1988, and wrote at length on Sudanese and Ugandan humanitarian issues in the 1980s and 90s.
Born in London, and raised in Kent, Nick was the middle of three children born to Joyce (nee Simcox) and Bill Cater. Nick chose journalism and decided to follow in the footsteps of his father, who was an assistant editor at the Sunday Times; his mother was a social worker. After Sevenoaks school, Nick studied social sciences at York University.
As a junior in the late 70s and 80s, Nick started his career at the Newcastle Chronicle and the Bristol Gazette, and was on staff from 1983 at the Guardian, where he quickly established himself as a dedicated and articulate journalist.
In 1986, Nick decided to move on from the Guardian. His first independent job was as chief media officer for Sport Aid, led by Bob Geldof. The centrepiece of Sport Aid that year was a worldwide Race Against Time 10km run held in May simultaneously across roughly 80 countries, which drew around 20 million participants and raised £27m for African famine relief.
By now Nick had started to travel extensively to Africa to cover humanitarian crises. While on one press trip with Unicef in 1981, Nick and a colleague were ambushed at gun point in Sudan (now South Sudan) by rebel forces loosely aligned to the exiled Idi Amin.
During the ambush, Nick was transported across the Nile into Uganda and held overnight. He later liked to tell the tale of how he negotiated for his life by offering the rebels the equivalent of 68p in local currency and convincing them the paracetamol he had could cure gonorrhoea. The following day it was concluded that the prisoners were harmless and Nick and his colleague were released.
Nick continued to contribute to humanitarian and charitable causes until his retirement in 2023. He worked as a journalist with institutes big and small, from the International Red Cross, the World Bank and UN agencies to Oxfam, Médecins Sans Frontières and the Royal National Institute of Blind People. Nick’s career spanned over 40 years and took him to 45 countries.
My father met my mother, Margaret Burton, at a party in London and they married in 1986. Nick is survived by her and their three children, Alexander, Henry and me.
