In the newspaper business, when a workmate retires, there is a time-honoured tradition called “banging out’’.

As the colleague leaves the building for the last time, everyone bangs their desks, thumps filing cabinets, bashes waste-paper bins and hits anything that will make a din.

In fact the louder, and more deafening, the commotion, the better the send-off.

So today it is going to be extremely noisy in the Daily Echo office at Redbridge as we say goodbye and send our best wishes to two long-standing, and highly regarded, colleagues as they start well deserved retirements.

Photographer Malcolm Nethersole and Duncan Eaton, chief reporter at the newspaper’s Eastleigh office, have between them clocked up more than 80 years of experience and expertise covering the news and events that shape our area.

They started together on May 31, 1965 and have built up a deep knowledge and understanding of the area and – most importantly – its people.

Malcolm and Duncan have met thousands of people, some wanting to be pictured and interviewed, others – for some reason or other – not quite so keen. But, whatever the circumstances, all were treated with courtesy and honesty.

Malcolm’s skills have won him many plaudits, especially from fellow professionals. He has the talent to make people relax, as well as an unerring eye that has resulted in some remarkable photographs.

Duncan has a disarming but tenacious approach to getting a story and produces stories that, whether serious or light-hearted, show there is always a human side to every newsworthy event.

For me, coming to work in the future is not going to be quite the same knowing Malcolm and Duncan won’t be around. No more opportunities to exchange the latest gossip, swap paperbacks and share a laugh. Nor will we be going out on jobs together as we did countless times since the 1960s.

Over the years, Malcolm and I have met up in the middle of the night surrounded by blackened debris after being called out to a fire, and recorded occasions such as the state funeral of Lord Mount-batten. We reported on royal visits and shipyard launches, and even travelled together on what seemed like a neverending journey to the Falkland Islands in an aircraft with a decidedly dodgy engine.

Duncan helped me out when I started out as a raw trainee reporter, explained a few trade secrets and shared his skill on how to talk to people and obtain those nuggets of information that make or break a story.

For years, before moving to Redbridge, we all worked side-by-side in the warren of corridors, offices, staircases, and basement rooms that were the Daily Echo’s premises at 45 Above Bar. The building smelled of newspaper and ink and the floors vibrated when the printing presses were running at full speed.

Malcolm will always be a photographer. But before he tackles retirement he is off to enjoy his other passion – travelling the world on a cruise ship.

Meanwhile, Scotland beckons for Duncan, who will now have the time to head north with his family to enjoy the Highlands, lochs and historic cities.

If you listen carefully, you can probably hear the banging now...