Skip to main content
25th January 2021

Guild member Guy Thornton dies

The beer writer and journalist Guy Thornton died suddenly at home on Wednesday 20 January, 2021. Guy was a long-standing and enthusiastic member of both CAMRA and the British Guild of Beer Writers. Resident in Amsterdam, he frequently travelled to the UK for meetings of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ), conferences, beer festivals and holidays with friends and family. He particularly enjoyed the annual dinner of the BGBW and made every effort to attend both that and its AGM.

Originally from Yorkshire, Guy first moved to Copenhagen for work, and then to Amsterdam, where he lived for over 30 years. For several years he jointly ran a real ale import-export business and was a co-founder and long-time office holder of the NUJ Netherlands Branch. He wrote widely on a range of subjects, including food and drink, sport and current affairs in the Netherlands, and was an enthusiastic traveller: seeking out and sampling beers in many European countries.

Over the years Guy had encountered several injuries, including a cycle accident in 2008 which meant he used crutches for walking. However, this was no bar to his journalism and other activities. Guy had just started treatment for cancer at the Netherlands Cancer Institute and, despite the twin blows of Brexit and Covid, was looking forward to the future.

There will be a private cremation in the Netherlands.

Condolences to and information fromĀ kayemas@hotmail.com


A further tribute from the NUJ can be found here: https://www.nuj.org.uk/news/nuj-pays-tribute-to-veteran-activist-guy-thornton/