Desmond Goodlett Hamill (2 November 1936 – 9 April 2013) was a British television news reporter who was the chief foreign correspondent for

ITN Independent Television News (ITN) is a UK-based media production and broadcast journalism company. ITN is based in London, with bureaux and offices in Beijing, Brussels, Jerusalem, Johannesburg, New York City, New York, Paris, Sydney and Washin ...

Biography

Desmond Goodlett Hamill was born on 2 November 1936 at 2 Gresham Terrace,

Dun Laoghaire Dun most commonly refers to: *Dun gene, which produces a brownish-gray color (dun) in horses and other Equidae *Dun (fortification), an ancient or medieval fort Dun or DUN may also refer to: Places Scotland * Dun, Angus, a civil parish in S ...

, Dublin, Ireland, and was raised in Egypt, where his parents were

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

missionaries. He attended

Exeter School Exeter School is a private co-educational day school for pupils between the ages of 3 and 18 in Exeter, Devon, England. The younger year groups are based at Exeter Pre-Prep School in Exminster, which was previously known as The New School. In 20 ...

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

, England. He served as a commissioned officer in the

Devonshire Regiment The Devonshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that served under various titles and served in many wars and conflicts from 1685 to 1958, such as the Second Boer War, the World War I, First World War and the World War II, ...

of the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

and the

Kings African Rifles The King's African Rifles (KAR) was a British Colonial Auxiliary Forces regiment raised from Britain's East African colonies in 1902. It primarily carried out internal security duties within these colonies along with military service elsewhere ...

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

for three years, then became a

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

and war reporter in many trouble spots and conflicts. Together with his sound recordist and cameraman he was kidnapped by armed men in

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

during the civil war in 1982 and was questioned for several hours before his release was negotiated by ITN. During the late 1980s he was often seen reporting nightly on long running court cases from outside the Old Bailey during News At Ten. He was the author of a novel, ''Bitter Orange'', about families split by conflict in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

, and a history of the British Army's involvement there. Hamill died on 9 April 2013 in Africa.

Award

Hamill was the

Royal Television Society The Royal Television Society (RTS) is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present, and future. It is the oldest television society in the world. It currently has fourteen r ...

Journalist of the Year in 1987.

Bibliography

* *

References

1936 births 2013 deaths People from Holywood, County Down Hamill,Desmond Hamill,Desmond ITN newsreaders and journalists King's African Rifles officers Place of death missing {{UK-tv-journalist-stub