Richard downie tv#

Cecil was a member of a 20 strong group of correspondents known as the 'Bang Gang'. He ignored warnings that such conduct was inappropriate and dangerous for a journalist. His obituary (22 April 1978) stated that he was 'prepared to carry a rifle. Д¬ecil would accompany Rhodesian Army units into action while himself wearing army uniform and carrying a rifle.

Richard downie tv#

He also contributed reports to the British ITN TV news service. He provided reports that were carried by a number of newspapers (including The Times and Time magazine).

In particular, his friendship with 'PK' allowed him access to events and locations that were off-limits to other journalists. When the Bush War against black nationalists started in earnest in 1976, Cecil used his family connections to gain access to Rhodesian Army counter-insurgency operations. He quickly established friendships with prominent Rhodesians including the Foreign Minister, P. Journalism and Rhodesia Д¬ecil's military background and social connections led him to Southern Africa in the mid 1970s, at a time when political unrest in Rhodesia was leading to a state of war between the white-minority government and black nationalist guerrilla forces. Thereafter, he decided to become a freelance journalist while seeking a winnable Conservative seat to contest at the next election. The sitting Labour MP defeated Cecil by 7,400 votes and there was a 3% swing from Conservative to Labour in the constituency. He suggested the possibility of making military incursions into the Republic of Ireland to kill Provisional IRA members sheltering there. During the election campaign, he complained about the restraints being placed on military action in Northern Ireland by politicians. In July 1974, he was selected as the Conservative Party candidate for Barrow-in-Furness and contested the seat at the October 1974 general election. He enrolled on a degree course in politics at the University of Sussex in 1973, although it is believed that he rarely attended classes and never graduated. He decided not to pursue a career in the military and resigned his commission with a view to pursuing a career in politics. After three tours of duty in Northern Ireland ( mentioned in dispatches in 1973 ) he attained the rank of captain.

After graduating from Sandhurst, he was commissioned in the Grenadier Guards. In July 2003, Lord Cranborne became The 7th Marquess of Salisbury upon the death of his father.Д¬ecil was educated at Eton College and at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst. The family had extensive land holdings in the country and the fifth Marquess (Cecil's grandfather) was a leading British supporter of the white minority UDI government that ruled Rhodesia from 1965 to 1979.Д¬ecil was the eldest of the younger brothers of Viscount Cranborne, who has been both an MP and the Leader of the House of Lords. The Cecil family had well established links with Southern Rhodesia, the capital city of which was named Salisbury after the third Marquess (it was renamed Harare in 1982 on the second anniversary of Zimbabwean independence). His mother was Marjorie (Mollie) Olein Wyndham-Quin, granddaughter of the Earl of Dunraven and Mount-Earl, who had married his father in 1945. Cecil was the son of Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 6th Marquess of Salisbury.