Walter John Kingdon (23 February 1939 – 6 September 2018), known as Johnny Kingdom, was an English
wildlife
Wildlife refers to domestication, undomesticated animal species (biology), species, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wilderness, wild in an area without being species, introduced by humans. Wildlife was also synonymous ...
filmmaker and photographer specialising in his local area of
Exmoor
Exmoor is loosely defined as an area of hilly open moorland in west Somerset and north Devon in South West England. It is named after the River Exe, the source of which is situated in the centre of the area, two miles north-west of Simonsbath ...
in north
Devon
Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...
and west
Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
, locator_map =
, coordinates =
, region = South West England
, established_date = Ancient
, established_by =
, preceded_by =
, origin =
, lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset
, lord_ ...
.
Early life
Before finding fame, Kingdom worked as an
explosives expert,
lumberjack,
farmhand,
quarryman
A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to reduce their enviro ...
,
poacher
Poaching has been defined as the illegal hunting or capturing of wild animals, usually associated with land use rights.
Poaching was once performed by impoverished peasants for subsistence purposes and to supplement meager diets. It was set a ...
and for over 50 years the
gravedigger
A gravedigger is a cemetery worker who is responsible for digging a grave prior to a funeral service.
Description
If the grave is in a cemetery on the property of a church or other religious organization (part of, or called, a churchyard), ...
for his local
parish
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...
.
Media career
Following a head injury sustained while driving a tractor in his job as a lumberjack, Kingdom spent some time convalescing and developed depression. To aid in his recovery, a friend lent him a video camera and suggested he film wildlife on Exmoor.
This led to a career spanning 20 years, with series and documentaries being shown on a number of British television channels.
His 2006 series ''Johnny Kingdom: A Year on Exmoor'' was shown on
BBC Two
BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...
. The series coincided with the publication of his autobiography, ''Johnny Kingdom - A Wild Life on Exmoor''. A follow-up series, ''
Johnny's New Kingdom'', documenting his project to create a wildlife haven
on a plot of land which he had purchased on Exmoor, was shown on
BBC Two
BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...
in 2008.
Kingdom has also made several one-off programmes, including visits to
Lapland and to the
Scottish Highlands
The Highlands ( sco, the Hielands; gd, a’ Ghàidhealtachd , 'the place of the Gaels') is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Sco ...
. In 2015 he presented a four-part series for
ITV
ITV or iTV may refer to:
ITV
*Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of:
** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
called ''Johnny Kingdom's Wild Exmoor''.
In later years he regularly had a stall at
Barnstaple Pannier Market from which he sold signed copies of his books, DVDs and photographs of wildlife.
Death
Kingdom died in September 2018 from injuries sustained in a
digger accident on his land near
Knowstone
Knowstone is a village and civil parish situated in the North Devon district of Devon, England, halfway between the Mid Devon town of Tiverton, Devon and the North Devon town of South Molton. The hamlet of East Knowstone lies due east of the vi ...
in North Devon. He was buried at St Mary's Parish Church,
Bishop's Nympton
Bishop's Nympton is a village and civil parish in the North Devon district of Devon, England, about three miles east of South Molton. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 932. The electoral ward has the same name but covers the ...
, in a grave that he had dug.
References
External links
Johnny Kingdom's Official website"Johnny Kingdom - A Year on Exmoor" DVD website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kingdom, Johnny
1939 births
2018 deaths
Accidental deaths in England
English documentary filmmakers
English television presenters
People from North Devon (district)