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From todays Guardian:
Bob Simpson, who has died suddenly at the age of
61, was a BBC
journalist and among the most distinguished international radio news broadcasters of his generation. One of the wave of local newspaper reporters who had joined the new BBC local radio stations in the 1960s, he was marked out by his reporting for the national network from Northern Ireland in the early 1970s as a potential "foreign fireman" correspondent. His talents as a man who could be put into the most
dangerous
situation for long periods were put to good use over the next three decades. He reported from Spain on an attempted coup (1981), from Uruguay during the Falklands War (1982), from Romania on the fall of President Nicolae Ceausescu (1989) and volunteered to spend many weeks on board the Greenpeace vessel sent to New Zealand to replace the Rainbow Warrior blown up by French secret service agents (1985). Through it all, Bob demonstrated an ability to
report many times a day
in clear language and with manifest authority for the BBC domestic and World Service audiences. Bombs, bullets and threats against himself and the BBC became meat and drink to Bob, and all those elements came together during the first Gulf war in 1991, when he defied the editors at home and insisted on staying in Baghdad with his namesake John Simpson of BBC television. It was their sound and vision reports of continuous bombing that brought things alive to homes around the world. It was also their reporting that brought us the infamous cruise missile that travelled down a street and turned left at a traffic light. Later, Bob found himself in daily danger for weeks
on end when he
volunteered to spend Christmas and new year in Sarajevo, then dubbed the most dangerous place on earth. The BBC relied on his tough, accurate and perceptive reporting at all hours of the day and night. It was also during this period that he forged lasting relationships with reporters, fixers, drivers and photographers from newspapers, news agencies and magazines from all over the world. He showed a professionalism in the cutthroat world of journalism that was recognised by everyone. Robert Anthony Simpson was born in Woodford, Essex,
the son of a
farmer. He attended Brentwood grammar school and trained as a journalist in Walthamstow, north-east London. When BBC local radio began, he moved to Brighton to join other newcomers to broadcasting including Desmond Lynam, Kate Adie, Barbara Myers and Gavin Hewitt. He then moved to Sheffield, where he found himself covering more serious subjects, such as the miners' strike of January-February 1972. No one created a finer visiting list of Yorkshire pubs and clubs better than Bob, thanks largely to his friendship with the pop star Dave Berry. But the day job in local radio did not appear to suffer, and later in 1972 Bob was recruited to the BBC national radio newsroom. "Mr Grumpy" was a nickname for Bob used by family
and friends. He
often raged against radio and TV bulletins when he thought reporters and editors were ranging away from "straight news". There were some he called "bleeding hearts" who allowed their own emotions and opinions to intrude. "The BBC," he used to say, "is not famous for thumbsucking, but coverage of what has actually happened." The only time Bob stayed quiet during a television
bulletin was when
his beloved second wife Juliet Bremner appeared on ITN. He admired her work greatly and spent some of his last weekend on the telephone to her in Israel, where she was on the kind of dangerous and tough assignment he knew so well. They married in 1996, and he retired from his final post, as BBC foreign affairs correspondent on radio and television, in 1998. Bob had a passion for motor racing, sports cars and
do-it-yourself. He
was a gifted handyman, but often took things apart only to spend an inordinate amount of time putting them together again. One such item was his much loved MG sports car (circa 1961). He had, at last, finished rebuilding it and wanted to take it for a spin through the narrow lanes of Norfolk. He whooped with joy as it hit 90mph but quickly had to test the new brakes when the road ran out. Sadly, Bob's own road ran out two days later. He is
survived by Juliet
and his son Jack and daughter Kate from his first marriage. Robert Anthony Simpson, radio and television
journalist, born November
29 1944; died July 25 2006. Thanks to Mike Barraclough via uk-radio-listeners
for the above.
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