He stayed there for 8 years, transforming the paper from an 8-page 'old-fashioned' format, to a 16-page 'modern design'; and celebrating the newspaper's centenary through publication of a special edition.
[1] In Merseyside, George Withy became synonymous with the Institute of Journalists (IOJ), now the Chartered Institute of Journalists [2] and was for many years the Liverpool District Chairman as well as the Chairman of the National Salaries and Conditions Board, also at one point serving as a Rugby Union reporter for The Daily Telegraph.
He was a former President of the CIOJ (1975–1976) and at their 1975 conference in the Isle of Wight, he warned of "creeping Marxism" in the newspaper and magazine industry.
Apart from Rugby Union, George also spent a great deal of time training journalists and focusing his efforts towards furthering the work of the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) and acting as the CIOJ representative on the main council for some 30 years.
George Withy suffered from Alzheimer's disease during his later years, remaining at home in Irby, UK, throughout his illness and being cared for by his wife, Betty, and their two daughters, Carol and Kay.