Rory David Morrison (5 August 1964 – 11 June 2013) was a newsreader and

continuity announcer In broadcasting, continuity or presentation (or station break in the U.S. and Canada) is announcements, messages and graphics played by the broadcaster between specific programmes. It typically includes programme schedules, announcement of t ...

for

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of Talk radio, spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history fro ...

Early life and education

Morrison was born in London in 1964, the eldest of Anne and Bob Morrison's three children. He was brought up in

Malvern, Worcestershire Malvern is a spa town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England. It lies at the foot of the Malvern Hills, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The centre of Malvern, Great Malvern, is a historic conservation area, which grew dr ...

, and was educated at The Chase School and

Malvern College Malvern College is an independent coeducational day and boarding school in Malvern, Worcestershire, England. It is a public school in the British sense of the term and is a member of the Rugby Group and of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' ...

. At College, he performed well in drama and art, and as a

prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect's ...

was appointed as Head of House. The English-Speaking Union awarded him a scholarship to Australia. He graduated from Durham University in 1986 with a degree in English Language and Literature.

Broadcasting career

Morrison began his radio broadcasting career as a travel reporter and presenter for Beacon Radio, an independent local radio station covering Shropshire, Wolverhampton and the

Black Country The Black Country is an area of the West Midlands county, England covering most of the Metropolitan Boroughs of Dudley, Sandwell and Walsall. Dudley and Tipton are generally considered to be the centre. It became industrialised during it ...

. He first joined the BBC in 1990, as the presenter of an afternoon programme on BBC Radio Leeds. He later worked for two other local stations, BBC Radio York and BBC Radio Cleveland. He then moved to the

British Forces Broadcasting Service The British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) provides radio and television programmes for His Majesty's Armed Forces, and their dependents worldwide. Editorial control is independent of the Ministry of Defence and the armed forces themsel ...

before returning to the BBC as a continuity announcer on Radio 4 in April 1994. He later joined the newsreading team, and regularly appeared on ''

The News Quiz ''The News Quiz'' is a British topical panel game broadcast on BBC Radio 4. History ''The News Quiz'' was first broadcast in 1977 with Barry Norman as chairman. Subsequently, it was chaired by Barry Took from 1979 to 1981, Simon Hoggart ...

'', as a reader for amusing newspaper cuttings during the programme.

Personal life

Morrison married BBC journalist Nikki Jenkins in 1994; the couple met while working for BBC Radio Leeds, and had two children together. Morrison was diagnosed with Waldenström's macroglobulinemia, a rare type of Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, in 2004. After his diagnosis, he became involved in raising money for the

Lymphoma Association Founded by patients in 1986, the Lymphoma Association is a Charitable organization, charitable organisation based in the United Kingdom that offers medical information and emotional support to lymphatic cancer patients, their families, friends and ...

. In 2008, he took part in a fundraising walk with other radio newsreaders to

Herstmonceux Castle Herstmonceux Castle is a brick-built castle, dating from the 15th century, near Herstmonceux, East Sussex, England. It is one of the oldest significant brick buildings still standing in England. The castle was renowned for being one of the ...

in East Sussex, which formerly housed the machine used to generate the Greenwich Time Signal, or "pips". This event was organised for a special edition of the radio programme '' Ramblings'', broadcast in April as "A Pilgrimage to the Pips". Morrison provided a live outdoor continuity announcement at the end of the programme. Morrison died from

lymphoma Lymphoma is a group of blood and lymph tumors that develop from lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell). In current usage the name usually refers to just the cancerous versions rather than all such tumours. Signs and symptoms may include enl ...

in the University College London Hospital (UCLH), June 2013.

Filmography

* '' Page Eight'' (2011)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morrison, Rory 1964 births 2013 deaths Alumni of University College, Durham BBC newsreaders and journalists British radio presenters Deaths from non-Hodgkin lymphoma People educated at Malvern College