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

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)