ITV News Europe Editor James Mates looks back at Sandy Gall’s legendary career
The veteran broadcaster and journalist Sandy Gall has died aged 97, his family has confirmed.
Gall became one of the most familiar faces in the country, firstly as a foreign correspondent for ITN, before becoming co-presenter of News at Ten.
His family revealed he died at his home in Kent on Sunday, and paid tribute to him saying: “His was a great life, generously and courageously lived.”
Gall’s career in journalism spanned more than 50 years, starting in 1952 when he joined the Aberdeen Press and Journal.
He then worked at Reuters news agency for ten years as a foreign correspondent, before joining ITN in 1963.
It was at ITN where he was to become a household name in the UK, until his retirement from the broadcaster in 1992.
One of his first assignments with ITN was in Dallas, Texas just hours after the assassination of President Kennedy.
His time at ITN saw him cover some of the 20th century’s biggest stories, such as the Vietnam War, the Soviet-Afghan War and America’s civil rights movement, where he interviewed Martin Luther King in 1965.
He was also one of the few journalists to remain in Vietnam after the victory of the North Vietnamese to cover the fall of Saigon in 1975.
Paying tribute, his former colleague at ITN John Suchet said: “One of the loveliest things about Sandy was that he was really happy to pass on his knowledge to us juniors, who were desperate to do well.
“A gentleman, a true gentleman, that’s what the obits will say about him.
“His name will always be associated with those big stories the fall of Saigon, the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan.
“Things move on but when the history books are written, his name will be there.”
Gall went on to co-present News At Ten in 1970, which was then the UK’s most watched news programme.
He made his final presenting appearance on News at Ten in 1991, before returning to work with the company as a special reporter until his final retirement in 1992.
He later became the founder and chairman of Sandy Gall’s Afghanistan Appeal, a charity for disabled Afghans that ran for nearly 40 years. It began with a focus on treating Afghans with war-related casualties and land mine victims, as well as children in refugee camps.
This focus widened, as the rehabilitation needs of many other people with disabilities became apparent.
Sandy was awarded a CBE in 1987 and Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George in 2011.
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