Sandy Gall

Henderson Alexander Gall, CMG, CBE (born 1 October 1927) is a Scottish journalist, author, and former ITN news presenter whose career as a journalist has spanned more than 50 years.

Sandy Gall

CMG CBE
Gall in Cambridge, April 2012
Born
Henderson Alexander Gall

(1927-10-01) 1 October 1927
Penang, Straits Settlements
Alma materUniversity of Aberdeen
OccupationJournalist, author, news presenter
Years active1953–present
EmployerITN (1963–1991),
LBC (2003–present)
Spouse(s)Eleanor Gall

Life and career

Gall was born in Penang, Straits Settlements (present-day Malaysia), where his father was a rubber planter.[1] Gall was educated in Scotland at Trinity College (Glenalmond College), a boys' independent school in Glenalmond in Perth and Kinross, where he boarded.[2] He graduated from Aberdeen University in 1952. In 1953 he joined Reuters as a foreign correspondent for whom he reported for the Suez Crisis in 1956, the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, and the Congo Crisis 1960-1963.

He joined ITN in 1963 as a foreign correspondent. He was the first ITN journalist to report the Vietnam War when the United States Marines landed on 8 March 1965. He returned to Vietnam several times until 1975 when Saigon fell and he was forcibly removed from the country by the communist authorities. During this time he also reported from Cambodia, China, Afghanistan, and Africa. He also covered the Six-Day War in 1967 and the Yom Kippur War in 1973. In 1972 he was arrested with his Reuters colleague Nicholas Moore in Uganda and held for three days in the Makindye police camp. He was one of the original staff on News at Ten on 3 July 1967 and became one of its senior presenters.

Gall reported from Afghanistan on many occasions, has written several books about Afghanistan, and made three documentaries during the Soviet–Afghan War: Afghanistan: Behind Russian Lines (1982); Allah Against the Gunships (1984); and Agony of a Nation (1986). The latter two documentaries were nominated for BAFTA awards. In 1986 Gall established the Sandy Gall's Afghanistan Appeal (SGAA). As of 2006 the charity, which is supported by the Princess of Wales Memorial Fund and United States Agency for International Development (USAID), has provided artificial limbs and walking aids for more than 20,000 people, and physiotherapy for more than 50,000 people.

Gall retired from ITN in 1991, but has continued television work and writing. He became the World Affairs Expert on LBC radio in 2003.[3] His daughter, Carlotta Gall, covers Afghanistan and Pakistan for The New York Times.

Awards

Gall was awarded the Sitara-e-Pakistan in 1985 and the Lawrence of Arabia Memorial Medal in 1986.[4] He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1987.[5] He was appointed Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in the 2011 New Year Honours for services to the people of Afghanistan.[6]

Bibliography
  • The Bushmen of Southern Africa: Slaughter of the Innocent (July 2001), with Charles, Prince of Wales, Chatto and Windus, ISBN 0-7011-6906-0
  • News From The Front: A Television Reporter's Life (Feb 1994), William Heinemann, ISBN 0-434-00087-6
  • George Adamson: Lord of the Lions (Nov 1991), Grafton, ISBN 0-246-13699-5
  • Afghanistan: Travels with the Mujahideen (July 1989), New English Library Ltd, ISBN 0-450-50082-9
  • Salang (May 1989), The Bodley Head Ltd, ISBN 0-370-31309-7
  • Afghanistan: Agony of a Nation (Feb 1988), with Margaret Thatcher, The Bodley Head Ltd, ISBN 0-370-31135-3
  • Behind Russian Lines: An Afghan Journal (Sep 1983), Sidg. & J, ISBN 0-283-99039-2
  • Don't Worry About the Money Now (March 1983), H Hamilton, ISBN 0-241-10959-0
  • Chasing the Dragon (June 1981), Wm Collins & Sons & Co, ISBN 0-00-222125-X
  • Gold Scoop (October 1977), Collins, ISBN 0-00-221355-9

Film documentary
  • George Adamson: Lord of the Lions – Produced by Nick Gray and Sandy Gall. In 1989 Sandy Gall visited conservationist George Adamson, of Born Free fame, in Kenya, East Africa, to discuss his past, his motivation and his life among his lion friends.

Articles

References
  1. Moore, by Charles (14 August 2010). "Sandy Gall's dream for Afghanistan". The Telegraph. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  2. "Some former pupils show the way". The Herald. 6 October 1998. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  3. "News veteran Gall makes radio return". BBC News. 6 January 2003. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  4. "Lawrence of Arabia Memorial Medal Former Recipients". Royal Society for Asian Affairs. 27 February 2014. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  5. "No. 51171". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 1987. p. 7.
  6. "No. 59647". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2010. p. 3.
Academic offices
Preceded by
Iain Cuthbertson		 Rector of the University of Aberdeen
1978–1981		 Succeeded by
Robert J. Perryment
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