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Marjorie Shiona Wallace,
CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(born January 1943) is a British investigative journalist, author, and broadcaster. She is also the Founder and Chief Executive of mental health charity SANE.


Early life and education

Wallace was born in
Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper h ...
,
British Kenya British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...
, where her father was a civil engineer mapping the railways. Her mother was a classical pianist. After studying music, Wallace graduated with a degree in Psychology and Philosophy from
University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...
.


Career


Journalism


Early career

After graduating, Wallace worked as a trainee producer for ''The Frost Programme'' with David Frost. She then became a religious programmes producer and a current affairs reporter for
London Weekend Television London Weekend Television (LWT) (now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties at weekends, broadcasting from Fridays at 5.15 pm (7:00 pm from 1968 un ...
. She later joined the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
as a reporter and film director for news and current affairs programme '' Nationwide,'' including covering stories about homeless people and making the first film inside an
IRA Ira or IRA may refer to: *Ira (name), a Hebrew, Sanskrit, Russian or Finnish language personal name *Ira (surname), a rare Estonian and some other language family name *Iran, UNDP code IRA Law *Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, US, on status of ...
training camp.


''The Sunday Times''

In 1972,
Harold Evans Sir Harold Matthew Evans (28 June 192823 September 2020) was a British-American journalist and writer. In his career in his native Britain, he was editor of ''The Sunday Times'' from 1967 to 1981, and its sister title ''The Times'' for a year f ...
, then editor of ''
The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, w ...
'', recruited Wallace into the Insight Team of the newspaper to work on the
thalidomide scandal In the late 1950s and early 1960s and into the 80s, the use of thalidomide in 46 countries by women who were pregnant or who subsequently became pregnant resulted in the "biggest man-made medical disaster ever," with more than 10,000 children bo ...
. She was tasked with tracking down as many of the cases where children had been born with deformities caused by the drug. Wallace interviewed over 140 families affected by thalidomide, publishing weekly stories in the newspaper. One of the cases was Terry Wiles, a child born with severe physical disabilities who had been adopted by Hazel and Len Wiles. The article is credited with helping to persuade Distillers, the company that distributed and marketed the drugs, to offer compensation to victims of the scandal. Wallace later turned Wiles’ story into a book and a screenplay, ''On Giant’s Shoulders'', for a BBC television film broadcast in 1979 starring
Judi Dench Dame Judith Olivia Dench (born 9 December 1934) is an English actress. Regarded as one of Britain's best actresses, she is noted for her versatile work in various films and television programmes encompassing several genres, as well as for her ...
. The drama won an
International Emmy Award The International Emmy Awards, or International Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based International Academy of Television Arts and Sci ...
in 1980 and was also nominated for a BAFTA. ''The Sunday Times'' expose of thalidomide led to victims being awarded over £28 million compensation. In 1976, Wallace reported on the Dioxin disaster in
Seveso Seveso (; lmo, label= Lombard, Séves ) is a town and ''comune'' in the Province of Monza and Brianza, in the Region of Lombardy. The economy of the town has traditionally been based on the furniture industry. Its name comes from the river o ...
, Northern
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
, which led to the publication of ''The Superpoison.'' In 1986, Wallace wrote a series of campaigning articles in ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...
'' on
schizophrenia Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social wit ...
and other severe mental illness. The articles were published under the title ''The Forgotten Illness''. They focused on misconceptions about mental illness, the anguish and neglect of sufferers and families, and the failures of the community care policy. The response to the articles was the largest ''The Times'' had ever received on a home news subject.


SANE & mental health

In 1986, as a result of the scale of the public response to ''The Forgotten Illness'' articles, Marjorie Wallace founded SANE. The charity initially focused on the most severe mental illnesses, but it later expanded its remit to all mental health. Following the launch of the charity, Wallace recruited support for SANE from key figures in medicine, science, business, industry and the media, including Prince Charles as its first patron. Minette Marrin in ''The Sunday Times'' wrote of Wallace: “She stands firmly and consciously in the tradition of 19th-century social reformers like
Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...
.” In 1992, Wallace founded SANEline, the UK's first national specialist out-of-hours mental health helpline, offering information and emotional support to individuals, families, carers, professionals, and the public. In 1994, Wallace also raised over £6 million to build a new research centre, The Prince of Wales International Centre for SANE Research, with donations from Xylas family, Prince Turki Al Faizal and The Sultan of Brunei. The Centre promotes and hosts multidisciplinary teams researching and investigating the causes of psychosis. It was opened by Prince Charles in 2003.


''The Silent Twins''

In 1982, Wallace met June and Jennifer Gibbons. Identical twins who had made a pact of silence to speak only with each other and no one else. The twins were admitted to
Broadmoor Hospital Broadmoor Hospital is a high-security psychiatric hospital in Crowthorne, Berkshire, England. It is the oldest of the three high-security psychiatric hospitals in England, the other two being Ashworth Hospital near Liverpool and Rampton Secure ...
following a string of offences, including vandalism and arson. They remained at Broadmoor for 11 years, where Wallace earned their trust and publicised their cause. In 1986, Wallace published ''The Silent Twins''. The book bought the twins to international attention, with
Oliver Sacks Oliver Wolf Sacks, (9 July 1933 – 30 August 2015) was a British neurologist, naturalist, historian of science, and writer. Born in Britain, Sacks received his medical degree in 1958 from The Queen's College, Oxford, before moving to the Uni ...
writing that it was “a remarkable and tragic study in its depth, penetration and detail.” Wallace wrote the screenplay for the BBC film directed by
Jon Amiel Jon Amiel (born 20 May 1948) is an English director who has worked in film and television in both the UK and the US. After receiving a BAFTA Award nomination for the BBC series ''The Singing Detective'' (1986), he went on to direct films, inclu ...
. The story was also turned into numerous plays, documentaries, and two operas. Another film version of ''The Silent Twins'', featuring
Letitia Wright Letitia Michelle Wright (born 31 October 1993) is a Guyanese-British actress. She began her career with guest roles in the television series '' Top Boy'', '' Coming Up'', '' Chasing Shadows'', ''Humans'', ''Doctor Who'', and '' Black Mirror''. ...
and Tamara Wilson, premiered at the
2022 Cannes Film Festival The 75th annual Cannes Film Festival is an upcoming film festival scheduled to take place from 17 to 28 May 2022. The festival will see a tribute to actor Tom Cruise, whose film ''Top Gun: Maverick'' is due to premiere at the festival. The offi ...
.


Personal life

In 1974, Wallace married psychiatrist and psychoanalyst
Andrzej Skarbek Andrzej Karol Skarbek (10 January 1925 – 16 November 2011), also known as Andrew Skarbek, was a Polish psychotherapist who worked in Britain and became a pioneer "who helped to develop psychotherapy services in the NHS" (National Health Service ...
, with whom she had three children: Sacha, Stefan and Justin. The couple later separated, but did not divorce. Wallace was later the partner of Dr Tom Margerison, founder of the ''
New Scientist ''New Scientist'' is a magazine covering all aspects of science and technology. Based in London, it publishes weekly English-language editions in the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia. An editorially separate organisation publish ...
'' magazine and co-founder of
London Weekend Television London Weekend Television (LWT) (now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties at weekends, broadcasting from Fridays at 5.15 pm (7:00 pm from 1968 un ...
. Wallace and Margerison had one daughter together: Sophia. Margerison died in 2014. For over 40 years, Wallace was a close friend and confidante of
Antony Armstrong-Jones Antony Charles Robert Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon, (7 March 1930 – 13 January 2017), was a British photographer and filmmaker. He is best known for his portraits of world notables, many of them published in ''Vogue'', ''Vanity Fai ...
, Earl of Snowdon. The couple campaigned together, writing articles for ''
The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, w ...
'' about disadvantaged and disabled people, and were later romantically involved. In May 2021, Wallace married businessman, entrepreneur, and economist
John Mills Sir John Mills (born Lewis Ernest Watts Mills; 22 February 190823 April 2005) was an English actor who appeared in more than 120 films in a career spanning seven decades. He excelled on camera as an appealing British everyman who often portra ...
.


Recognition

* 1982. Campaigning Journalist of the Year. *1986. Campaigning Journalist of the Year. * 1988. The Snowdon Special Award. * 1989. Appointed Guardian Fellow at Nuffield College,
University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...
. * 1994.
Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
. * 1997. Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists. * 2002.
British Neuroscience Association The British Neuroscience Association (BNA) is a scientific society with around 2,500 members. Starting out as an informal gathering of scientists meeting at the Black Hourse Public House in London to discuss brain-related topics (the 'London Blac ...
Award. * 2004. Appointed Fellow of University College London. * 2006. Recognised as one of the 16 key achievers who had made a difference in the health sector by the National Portrait Gallery. * 2008. Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE). * 2016. Outstanding Campaigner at the Women of the Year Awards for “advocating and raising greater awareness of mental health”. * 2019. Appointed an Honorary Member of The World Psychiatric Association.


Selected filmography

* 1990. ''Whose Mind Is It Anyway?'' BBC One. * 1995. ''Circles of Madness.'' BBC. * 1997. ''In the Psychiatrist’s Chair.'' BBC Radio 4. * 2014. ''Inheritance Tracks.'' BBC Radio 4. * 2015. ''Desert Island Discs.'' BBC Radio 4.


Selected bibliography

* 1976. ''On Giant’s Shoulders: The Story of Terry Wiles''. Times Books. *1978. ''Suffer the Children: The Story of Thalidomide''. Viking Press. *1979. ''The Superpoison''. Macmillan. *1986. ''The Silent Twins''. Penguin.


References


External links

*Minette Marrin
"The Woman Who Wouldn't Take No For An Answer"
(interview), ''The Sunday Times'', 8 July 2007 *Victoria Lambert

(interview), ''The Telegraph'', 10 July 2014 *Alex Clark
"This Much I Know: Marjorie Wallace"
(interview), ''The Observer'', 5 February 2012 {{DEFAULTSORT:Wallace, Marjorie 1943 births Alumni of University College London British journalists Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Mental health activists Fellows of the Royal College of Psychiatrists Living people Medical journalists The Sunday Times people