In late October, former BBC journalist Shirin Wheeler discussed her book on her late father, Charles Wheeler, during an after-work event at Brussels’ English bookshop, Waterstones.
The longest-serving BBC foreign correspondent, Charles Wheeler, is still remembered to this day as one of the greatest British journalists.
With a career spanning over four decades, he witnessed and reported on some of the most significant events of the 20th century: From the East German uprising, the assassination of Martin Luther King, to the 1975 referendum on the UK’s European membership.
Yet, writing a memoir was something he had “no inclination” to do, according to Shirin. “He thought that would be a very dull thing to do that would take him away from reporting,” she said.
His dedication to journalism was evident until the day he passed away, aged 84, in 2008 due to lung cancer.
“He was literally in the BBC studio three days before he died, getting oxygen from my sister as he recorded a commentary recalling the time that the Dalai Lama fled India, in 1959,” Shirin recalled. “He was a working journalist until pretty much the day he died.”
In 2023, Shirin published her book ‘Witness to the Twentieth Century’, a ‘part memoir, part history, part reflection’ about her father and his work.
“I spent eight months listening to the voice of my father in the radio archives, which kind of was lovely,” said Shirin, recalling the research that went into writing the book. “The minute I, you know, pressed the button and heard his voice, I was sort of catapulted back into his company.”
The final book, which recently came out as a paperback, goes beyond her father’s work.
“This book is about a celebration of journalism, a celebration of my father, and maybe a suggestion of some of the values that can endure as we go forward,” she explained.
Charles Wheeler's career as a foreign correspondent took him around the world: From the United States to India, and even to Belgium, where he was a BBC correspondent in Brussels.
But in addition to the exciting stories that Shirin’s book touches upon, she noted that a central theme throughout the book is Charles’ sense of responsibility as a journalist.
“Charles was a very unpompous sort of person. So we may use the phrase holding truth to power, but probably he wouldn't use that phrase,” said Shirin. “But truth is something that really did feature [for him].”
She remembers her father once being asked in an interview what advice he would give to young journalists.
His answer, as quoted by Shirin: “You stand for telling what you believe to be the truth about the situation you're covering. That is your basic position. It's the only guideline that you need. Are you telling the truth?”
