Charles Wheeler (journalist)

Early life

Wheeler was born in Bremen, Germany, in 1923, to Winifred Agnes (née Rees) and Charles Cornelius-Wheeler. The family later moved to Hamburg, where his father was an agent for 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 1942, 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 Allies’ advance through Western Europe following the Normandy landings as second-in-command to Patrick Dalzel-Job.

Career

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 returned to the UK and became 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. He and the *Panorama'' producer (and his then-wife) Catherine Freeman had to persuade the BBC to give the story prominence. 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). He returned to Berlin when the Wall was built and remained there for several years with his Indian-born second wife. Between 1965 and 1973, he moved to Washington DC, where he covered the American Civil Rights Movement and the Watergate scandal. In the later years of his television career, he was the American correspondent of Newsnight. Wheeler was the first presenter of BBC World's Dateline London discussion programme. He remained active in his later years as a presenter of documentary series on Radio 4 and a contributor to the network From Our Own Correspondent. He had been working on a programme about the Dalai Lama until a few weeks before his death.

Charles Wheeler Award

Following Wheeler's death, the British Journalism Review established the Charles Wheeler Award for Outstanding Contribution to Broadcast Journalism, which is presented annually at an event co-hosted by the publication and the University of Westminster and followed by a keynote lecture.

The award ceremony was traditionally held in June but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 ceremony was held online in November of that year. The award was not bestowed the following year, but subsequent ceremonies have retained an autumn date and taken place at the Regent Street Cinema. The award is presented each year by members of the Wheeler family.

Winners

Personal life

Wheeler was twice married: his first marriage was to the BBC producer Catherine Freeman and his second marriage, in 1962, was to Dip Singh with whom he had two daughters: barrister Marina Wheeler (the former wife of British prime minister Boris Johnson) and Shirin Wheeler, the BBC's former Brussels correspondent. Wheeler was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George in 2001, and was knighted in the 2006 Birthday Honours, for services to broadcasting and journalism overseas.

In June 2006, Wheeler announced he had discovered that a painting by Alessandro Allori of Eleonora of Toledo, the wife of Cosimo de' Medici, which had been given to him in Berlin as a wedding present in 1952, had been looted during the Second World War. Via the Commission for Looted Art in Europe it was returned to its legitimate owner, the Gemäldegalerie of Berlin, from whose possession it had been absent since 1944.

Wheeler died of lung cancer at his home in Warnham, Sussex on 4 July 2008. He was 85 years old.

References

References

1. (24 August 2020). "Catherine Freeman obituary". [[The Times]].
2. "Wheeler, Sir Selwyn Charles Cornelius- [known as Sir Charles Wheeler] (1923–2008)".
3. (4 July 2008). "BBC journalist Wheeler dies at 85". BBC News.
4. (4 July 2008). "Obituary: Sir Charles Wheeler". The Telegraph.
5. (9 June 2003). "On This Day: Correspondents: Charles Wheeler". BBC News.
6. Wheeler, Shirin. (2023). "Charles Wheeler: Witness to the Twentieth Century". Manilla Press.
7. (4 July 2008). "Obituary: Charles Wheeler". BBC News.
8. (2020-12-01). "The 2020 (virtual) Charles Wheeler Award ceremony".
9. (2020-09-01). "Hugh Pym wins 2020 British Journalism Review Charles Wheeler Award".
10. Brown, Maggie. (2010-06-10). "Jeremy Bowen attacks BBC Trust for Gaza ruling". The Guardian.
11. (2011-06-08). "Lindsey Hilsum wins Charles Wheeler award".
12. Greenslade, Roy. (2011-06-09). "Award for 'tenacious' reporter Hilsum". The Guardian.
13. "BBC special correspondent Allan Little receives BJR Charles Wheeler award".
14. Greenslade, Roy. (2013-06-05). "Charles Wheeler award for Robin Lustig". The Guardian.
15. "Alex Crawford To Be Presented With Charles Wheeler Award - UK Broadcast News {{!}} 07/05/2015".
16. Conlan, Tara. (2015-05-04). "Sky News correspondent to receive Charles Wheeler Award". The Guardian.
17. Greenslade, Roy. (2015-05-19). "Alex Crawford of Sky News to receive Charles Wheeler award". The Guardian.
18. Greenslade, Roy. (2016-03-29). "Tom Stoppard to deliver Charles Wheeler lecture at award ceremony". The Guardian.
19. (2024-11-18). "Charles Wheeler Award Lecture".
20. (2018-06-13). "Michael Crick wins 2018 British Journalism Review Charles Wheeler Award".
21. (2019-05-14). "Katya Adler wins 2019 British Journalism Review Charles Wheeler Award".
22. McMillan, Kate. (2024-10-29). "Mishal Husain wins 2024 British Journalism Review Charles Wheeler Award".
23. (2022-10-10). "Charles Wheeler Award 2022 Given to Channel 4's Matt Frei".
24. Parsonson, Corrie. (2023-11-29). "The Charles Wheeler Award".
25. "Christiane Amanpour receives annual Charles Wheeler Award for Outstanding Contribution to Journalism at University of Westminster {{!}} University of Westminster".
26. "Mishal Husain receives Charles Wheeler Award for Outstanding Contribution to Journalism at University of Westminster {{!}} University of Westminster".
27. Harding, Luke. (1 June 2006). "Renaissance woman returned to gallery". Guardian News and Media.