Robert Kee
| Robert Kee CBE | |
|---|---|
| Born |
5 October 1919 Calcutta, British India |
| Died | 11 January 2013 (aged 93) |
| Nationality | British |
| Education | Stowe School, Magdalen College, Oxford |
| Occupation | Journalist, news and TV presenter and author |
| Employer | BBC, ITV, Channel 4 |
| Spouse(s) | Janetta Woolley (1948–1950; divorced) Cynthia Judah (1960–1989; divorced) Catherine Trevelyan (1990–2013; his death) |
| Children | 3 (1 deceased) |
Robert Kee, CBE (5 October 1919 – 11 January 2013) was a British broadcaster, journalist and writer, known for his historical works on World War II and Ireland.
He was educated at Stowe School, Buckingham, and read history at Magdalen College, Oxford, where he was a pupil, then a friend, of the historian A.J.P. Taylor.
During World War II he served in the Royal Air Force as a bomber pilot. His Hampden was shot down by flak one night while on a mine-laying operation off the coast of German-occupied Holland. He was imprisoned and spent three years in a German POW camp. This gave him material for his first book A Crowd Is Not Company. It was first published as a novel in 1947 but was later revealed to be an autobiography. It recounts his experiences as a prisoner of war and his various escapes from the Nazi camp. The Times describes it as "arguably the best POW book ever written."
His career in journalism began immediately after the Second World War. He worked for the Picture Post, then later became a special correspondent for The Sunday Times and The Observer. He was also literary editor of The Spectator. In 1949 Kee was a witness at the marriage of his friend George Orwell to Sonia Brownell.
In 1958 he moved to television. He appeared for many years on both the BBC and ITV as reporter, interviewer and presenter. He presented many current affairs programmes including Panorama, ITN's First Report and Channel 4's Seven Days. He was awarded the BAFTA Richard Dimbleby Award in 1976.
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