Robert Kee
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Robert Kee (5 October 1919 – 11 January 2013) was a British broadcaster, journalist and writer, known for his historical works on
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
and
Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
.


Life and career

He was educated at
Stowe School , motto_translation = I stand firm and I stand first , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent school, day & boarding , religion = Church of England , president = , head_label = Headmaster ...
, Buckingham, and read history at
Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...
, where he was a pupil, then a friend, of the historian
A.J.P. Taylor Alan John Percivale Taylor (25 March 1906 – 7 September 1990) was a British historian who specialised in 19th- and 20th-century European diplomacy. Both a journalist and a broadcaster, he became well known to millions through his televi ...
. During
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
he served in the
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
as a bomber pilot. Flying the
Handley Page Hampden The Handley Page HP.52 Hampden is a British twin-engine medium bomber that was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was part of the trio of large twin-engine bombers procured for the RAF, joining the Armstrong Whitworth Whitley and Vickers ...
he was shot down by
flak Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...
while on a night mine-laying mission off the coast of German-occupied Holland. He was captured 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 ''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'' (fou ...
'' 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 ''Picture Post'' was a photojournalistic magazine published in the United Kingdom from 1938 to 1957. It is considered a pioneering example of photojournalism and was an immediate success, selling 1,700,000 copies a week after only two months. ...
'', then became a special correspondent 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, whi ...
'' and, later, ''
The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...
''. He was also literary editor of ''
The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world. It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''The ...
''. In 1948, Kee co-founded publishing house
MacGibbon & Kee The British publishing house of Hart-Davis, MacGibbon was formed in 1972 by its parent group, Granada. The parent company had acquired the publishing concern of Rupert Hart-Davis in 1963 and the house of MacGibbon & Kee (founded by James MacGibb ...
with James MacGibbon. In 1949 Kee was a witness at the marriage of his friend
George Orwell Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950), better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English novelist, essayist, journalist, and critic. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to totalitar ...
to
Sonia Brownell Sonia Mary Brownell (25 August 1918 – 11 December 1980), better known as Sonia Orwell, was the second wife of writer George Orwell. Sonia is believed to be the model for Julia, the heroine of ''Nineteen Eighty-Four''. Sonia collaborated with ...
. In 1958 he moved into television. He appeared for many years on both 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. ...
...
and
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 ...
as a reporter, interviewer and presenter. He presented many current affairs programmes, including ''Panorama'', ITN's '' First Report'' and
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
's ''Seven Days''. MacGibbon & Kee was bought by
Granada Granada (,, DIN 31635, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the fo ...
in 1968. He was awarded the BAFTA Richard Dimbleby Award in 1976. Kee wrote and presented the documentary series '' Ireland – A Television History'' in 1980. The work was shown both in the United Kingdom and the United States and won the
Christopher Ewart-Biggs Memorial Prize The Christopher Ewart-Biggs Memorial Prize was created in 1977, in memory of Christopher Ewart-Biggs, British Ambassador to Ireland, who was assassinated by the Provisional Irish Republican Army in 1976. Founded by his Widow Jane Ewart-Biggs (fol ...
. Following the series' transmission on
RTÉ (RTÉ) (; Irish language, Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the Public broadcaster, national broadcaster of Republic of Ireland, Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on RTÉ Television, telev ...
, the
Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
national broadcaster, Kee won a
Jacob's Award The Jacob's Awards were instituted in December 1962 as the first Irish television awards. Later, they were expanded to include radio. The awards were named after their sponsor, W. & R. Jacob & Co. Ltd., a biscuit manufacturer, and recipients ...
for his script and presentation."Kee wins award for TV history of Ireland", ''The Irish Times'', 11 April 1981 He was involved in the launch of
TV-am TV-am was a TV company that broadcast the ITV franchise for breakfast television in the United Kingdom from 1 February 1983 until 31 December 1992. The station was the UK's first national operator of a commercial breakfast television franchise ...
in 1983 as one of the "Famous Five", along with
David Frost Sir David Paradine Frost (7 April 1939 – 31 August 2013) was a British television host, journalist, comedian and writer. He rose to prominence during the satire boom in the United Kingdom when he was chosen to host the satirical programme ' ...
,
Anna Ford Anna Ford (born 2 October 1943) is an English former journalist, television presenter and newsreader. She first worked as a researcher, news reporter and later newsreader for Granada Television, ITN, and the BBC. Ford helped launch the British ...
,
Michael Parkinson Sir Michael Parkinson (born 28 March 1935) is an English broadcaster, journalist and author. He presented his television talk show '' Parkinson'' from 1971 to 1982 and from 1998 to 2007, as well as other talk shows and programmes both in the U ...
and
Angela Rippon Angela May Rippon (born 12 October 1944)"Angela Rippon," ''Contemporary Authors Online'', Detroit: Gale, (2008) ''Gale Biography In Context'' is an English television journalist, newsreader, writer and presenter. Rippon presented radio and tele ...
. He was also among those who successfully campaigned for the release of the Guildford Four, the Maguire Seven and the
Birmingham Six The Birmingham Six were six Irishmen who were each sentenced to life imprisonment in 1975 following their false convictions for the 1974 Birmingham pub bombings. Their convictions were declared unsafe and unsatisfactory and quashed by the C ...
.


Works

*''A Crowd Is Not Company'' (1947) POW memoirs, issued as a novel first, reissued 1982 *''The Impossible Shore'' (1949) novel *''Beyond Defeat'' by
Hans Werner Richter Hans Werner Richter (12 November 1908 – 23 March 1993) was a German writer. Born in Neu Sallenthin, Usedom, Richter is little known for his own works but found worldwide celebrity and acknowledgment as initiator, moving spirit and " grey e ...
(1950) translator *''The Five Seasons'' by Karl Eska (1954) translator *''A Sign Of The Times'' (1955) novel *''Vorkuta A Dramatic First Report on the Slave City in the Soviet Arctic'' by Joseph Scholmer (1955) translator *''Zero Eight Fifteen. The Strange Mutiny of Gunner Asch'' by
Hans Hellmut Kirst Hans Hellmut Kirst (5 December 1914 – 13 February 1989) was a German novelist and the author of 46 books, many of which were translated into English. Kirst is best remembered as the creator of the "Gunner Asch" series which detailed the ongoin ...
(1955) translator *''The Sanity Inspectors'' by Friedrich Deich (1956) translator *''Before the Great Snow'' by
Hans Pump Hans may refer to: __NOTOC__ People * Hans (name), a masculine given name * Hans Raj Hans, Indian singer and politician ** Navraj Hans, Indian singer, actor, entrepreneur, cricket player and performer, son of Hans Raj Hans ** Yuvraj Hans, Punjabi ...
(1959) translator *''Broadstrop In Season'' (1959) novel *''The Betrayed'' by
Michael Horbach Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian and ...
(1959) translator *''Refugee World'' (1961) *''Officer Factory'' by Hans Hellmut Kirst (1962) translator *''Forward, Gunner Asch!'' by Hans Hellmut Kirst (1964) translator *''The Revolt of Gunner Asch'' by Hans Hellmut Kirst (1964) translator *''The Return of Gunner Asch'' by Hans Hellmut Kirst (1967) translator *''The Most Distressful Country'' (1972) The Green Flag vol.1 *''The Bold Fenian Men'' (1972) The Green Flag vol.2 *''Ourselves Alone'' (1972) The Green Flag vol.3 *'' Ireland: A History'' (1980) *''1939: The Year We Left Behind'' (1984) as 1939: In the Shadow of the War (US) *''We'll Meet Again – Photographs of Daily Life in Britain During World War Two'' (1984) with Joanna Smith *''1945: The World We Fought For'' (1985) *''A Journalist's Odyssey'' (1985) with Patrick O'Donovan and Hermione O'Donovan *''Trial & Error: the Maguires, the Guildford pub bombings and British justice'' (1986) *''Munich: The Eleventh Hour'' (1988) *''The ''
Picture Post ''Picture Post'' was a photojournalistic magazine published in the United Kingdom from 1938 to 1957. It is considered a pioneering example of photojournalism and was an immediate success, selling 1,700,000 copies a week after only two months. ...
'' Album: A 50th Anniversary Collection'' (1989) *''The Laurel and the Ivy: The Story of Charles Stewart Parnell and Irish Nationalism'' (1993) *''The Green Flag: A History of Irish Nationalism'' (2000) one-volume edition *''Another Kind of Cinderella'' (1997) stories, with Angela Huth


References


External links

*
Page at Spartacus
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kee, Robert 1919 births 2013 deaths Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford British male journalists British World War II pilots British World War II bomber pilots British World War II prisoners of war British writers Christopher Ewart-Biggs Memorial Prize recipients Commanders of the Order of the British Empire ITN newsreaders and journalists Jacob's Award winners Panorama (British TV programme) People educated at Stowe School World War II prisoners of war held by Germany Historians of Ireland