Robert Anthony Simpson (29 November 1944 – 25 July 2006) was a foreign correspondent for the BBC. Nicknamed "Mr Grumpy" by his friends and family, he reported from a number of dangerous locations across the world but was best known for his reports from Baghdad during the Gulf War.
Bob Simpson | |
|---|---|
| Born | Robert Anthony Simpson 29 November 1944 |
| Died | 25 July 2006 (aged 61) London, England |
| Occupation | Journalist |
| Notable credit | BBC News |
| Spouse(s) | Clare Beaton (divorced) Juliet Bremner (m. 1996) |
| Children | 2 |
Early life
editSimpson was born in Woodford, Essex. His father was a tenant farmer.[1] He attended Brentwood School,[2] at that time a direct-grant grammar school, where he was a contemporary of the future Labour party politician Jack Straw.[1] He failed his A-levels[1] and briefly took a job as a trainee banker in the City.[1][3] He disliked the role[3] and decided to leave after noting a distinct lack of entries in the diary of a senior clerk.[1]
Career
editSimpson began his career working as a reporter at a newspaper in Walthamstow[1][2][3] before moving to Robson's news agency.[1] Simpson then moved to the BBC, working in local radio, first at Radio Brighton,[3] where his contemporaries included Desmond Lynam, Kate Adie, Barbara Myers and Gavin Hewitt,[2] then at Radio Sheffield.[3] Whilst at Radio Sheffield Simpson reported on a number of serious stories including a miners' strike in early 1972.[2] Later that year he moved to the BBC's national radio newsroom at Broadcasting House where he became a sub-editor.[1][2][3] During his time in London he covered the exposure of Anthony Blunt as a former Soviet spy. He also reported on the ending of Radio 2's soap opera Waggoners' Walk.[1]
The BBC then sent him to Northern Ireland to report on the Troubles,[4] a period of time which Peter Ruff, writing in the Guardian, regarded as marking him out to his employers as "a potential "foreign fireman" correspondent".[2] Simpson went on to report from some of the most dangerous locations in the world. He filed reports from Spain during the attempted coup d'état known as 23-F,[2] Montevideo in Uruguay during the Falklands War,[1] and Romania during the fall of Nicolae Ceaușescu.[2] He would later go on to report from Sarajevo during the siege.[2]
He was, however, probably best known for his reports from Baghdad during the Gulf War.[5] Simpson was one of two BBC reporters to defy their editors and remain in the city whilst it was under attack by International forces.[2] (The other was his friend and colleague John Simpson; despite having the same surname, a matter which often led to confusion among Iraqi citizens, the two are not related.[1]) His reports were carried on the national news, the World Service,[1] and particularly on the short lived Radio 4 News FM service.[6] Simpson would later count the return portion of his Iraqi Airways ticket to Baghdad as a favourite souvenir quipping that one day he would try to use it.[3] In the early days of the war, colleagues were amused by the facetious nicknames which he gave to their government minders;[5] one he dubbed "the veritable prune", another became "the sanctimonious undertaker".[1] Upon commencement of air raids by the Coalition, Simpson was delighted to receive a telex from his father which read, "Congratulations on being bombed by the Americans, it happened to me three times in the Second World War".[5] He would later answer a question on a survey as to whether, in the course of his work for the BBC, he had been subjected to hazard with the words, "Yes ... Two thousand-pound penetration bomb propelled by Tomahawk missile."[3]
Simpson believed strongly in the necessity of neutrality and the accurate reporting of facts.[2] As he put it, "The BBC ... is not famous for thumbsucking, but coverage of what has actually happened."[2] He disliked the idea of the journalist as celebrity, although he did respect some celebrity journalists.[3] He was also not keen on television journalism, fearing that irrelevant points of style, such as the clothing worn by the reporter, could overwhelm the substance of the piece.[3] The Telegraph's obituary reports him as often stating that he had "the voice for radio and the face for newspapers".[1]
Simpson retired from journalism in 1998,[2][4] although he did return to work for the BBC briefly during the Iraq War, providing expertise for the Corporation's Asian service.[1]
Personal life
editSimpson married twice. He had a son, Jack, and a daughter, Kate, with his first wife.[2] His second wife was Juliet Bremner, a television journalist 20 years his junior.[3] They married in 1996.[2] Simpson's nickname amongst family and friends was "Mr Grumpy".[2]
Simpson liked motor racing and sports cars. At the time of his death he owned an MG from the early 1960s which he had recently rebuilt.[2]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "Bob Simpson". The Telegraph. 28 July 2006. Archived from the original on 4 June 2011. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Peter Ruff (31 July 2006). "Obituary : Bob Simpson". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Allan Little (29 July 2006). "Bob Simpson". The Independent. Archived from the original on 26 November 2009. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
- ^ a b "Bob Simpson dies". Press Gazette. 4 August 2006. Archived from the original on 21 April 2013. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
- ^ a b c "Retired BBC reporter dies at home". BBC News. 25 July 2006. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
- ^ "Sound Matters – Five Live – the War of Broadcasting House – a morality story". BBC News. Retrieved 7 October 2020.