Charlotte Meredith obituary

The Guardian

a day ago

My daughter, Charlotte Meredith, who has taken her own life aged 36, was a British journalist who had worked for the past few years in Australia, latterly as deputy social media editor for Daily Mail Australia.
She began her career as a news reporter at the Huffington Post in London in 2013-14. Following a first-class degree in English and an MA in journalism, both from Kingston University in Surrey, she had undertaken a series of internships including at our local paper in Buckinghamshire and at the Daily Express in April 2012.
After HuffPost, Charlotte had a stint at the Independent in 2015 and then moved to Vice Media as a digital editor at Vice News, also working on the launch of the company's TV channel, Viceland UK, in 2016.
Later that year the opportunity arose for her to work in a similar role for Vice in Melbourne, Australia. 'It's only for three months, Mum,' she told me.
So I took her pug, Cloudy, and off she went – not knowing anyone – to the other side of the world, demonstrating her characteristic independence and sense of adventure. Charlotte thrived, and loved Australia – the wildlife, the bush, the beaches, the people and the food. She met her partner, Andrew Davis, and they lived together in Sydney with their three rescue cats, enjoying catching the ferry to Camp Cove for fish and chips at Watsons Bay and trips outside the city to the Blue Mountains.
The three months turned into for ever. She remained with Vice for three years, until in 2019 she became digital head of news at the Special Broadcasting Service in Sydney, before joining Daily Mail Australia in 2021. She was conscientious and hard-working, and popular with the small team she worked with.
Charlotte was born in Torquay, Devon, to me (I am now a retired lecturer) and Michael Mason, a GP. When she was five, we moved to Buckinghamshire, and after primary school she attended Sir William Borlase's grammar school in Marlow, before going to study at Kingston University.
After moving to Australia, she came home every year, except during the Covid restrictions, the last time in September, when she enjoyed British pub food and visiting her favourite haunts. More recently it was clear that her mental health was deteriorating but she successfully hid how dreadful she really felt.
Charlotte was a caring, compassionate, thoughtful, vibrant and opinionated person, and I am immensely proud of her successes and achievements. I am also certain that she had the potential to achieve so much more had she lived.
Michael died in 2010. Charlotte is survived by Andrew and me, and by two half-siblings.