Charles Wheeler (journalist)
| Sir Charles Wheeler | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
Selwyn Charles Cornelius-Wheeler 15 March 1923 Bremen, Germany |
| Died | 4 July 2008 (aged 85) London, England |
| Education | Cranbrook School, Kent |
| Occupation | BBC News foreign correspondent |
| Notable credit(s) | Newsnight, Dateline London, Panorama |
Sir Selwyn Charles Cornelius-Wheeler CMG (15 March 1923 – 4 July 2008), known as Charles Wheeler, was a British journalist and broadcaster. Having joined the BBC in 1947, he became the corporation's longest serving foreign correspondent, serving in the role until his death. Wheeler also had spells as presenter of several BBC current affairs television programmes including Newsnight and Panorama.
Wheeler was born in Bremen, Germany, in 1923, where his father was working for the British Council. The family later moved to Hamburg, where his father was employed by a shipping company. Educated at the Cranbrook School in Kent, his first job was as an errand boy at the Daily Sketch newspaper at the age of 17. He enlisted in the Royal Marines in 1941, rising to the rank of captain.
As part of 30 Assault Unit, a secret naval intelligence unit assembled by Ian Fleming, he participated in the Normandy landings as second-in-command to Patrick Dalzel-Job.
After leaving the Royal Marines in 1947, Wheeler joined the BBC, initially as a sub-editor at the Latin American division of the World Service. Wheeler's long career as a foreign correspondent began with a three-year posting to Berlin in 1950, partly thanks to his fluency in German. He subsequently returned to the UK, becoming a producer on the fledgling current affairs series Panorama in 1956. As part of Panorama's team, he travelled to Hungary to cover what would become known as the Hungarian Uprising. Taking Panorama's camera into the country, despite being told not to, he filmed the jubilant Hungarian reaction to the rebellion. Just hours after Wheeler returned to Britain, Russia re-entered Hungary and crushed the revolt. Having declined an offer to become the programme's editor, he was later assigned to New Delhi (where he reported extensively on the 1959 Tibetan uprising) and Washington, D.C., where he covered the American Civil Rights Movement and the Watergate scandal between 1965 and 1973. In the later years of his television career he was the American correspondent of Newsnight. He returned to Berlin when the Wall was built and remained there for several years with his Indian-born wife.
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