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Uncle John's ObituaryThis blog is lovingly dedicated to my Uncle John.
Firstly, he's not actually my uncle; he's my great-uncle, my father's mother's brother. However, despite a 30-year age gap, there's not really much distinction in terms of their relationship with the most recent generation of a family. John Osman was a thoroughly charming man. His life was exciting, and his horizons broad. An open mind and a calm, good-humoured demeanour made him a pleasure to be around, for me and all of my family. He never looked down on me because of my age, allowing us to have many enjoyable conversations outside his Pyreneean villa. For this I will always be thankful. For those of you thinking "That name rings a bell", congratulations! You're old! John Osman was a foreign correspondent for BBC News in the '60s, whose works of breaking journalism took him all over the world. The many photos of him - both in-studio and in the thick of the action - in his study attest to this. I'm proud to be related to such a man. :
Sadness at the BBC and beyond, as editors and former colleagues noted the passing of a news titan. In his time on the road, on TV and on radio, John Osman was regarded as one of the elite - East Africa correspondent in the era of Idi Amin, interrogator of Mountbatten over the partition of India, Washington correspondent at the time of Nixon, royal and diplomatic correspondent.
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The BBC's 'greatest generation' of foreign correspondents – a foreign legion that included legendary names such as Charles Wheeler, Erik de Mauny and John Osman. They built the BBC's reputation around the world, on crackly telephone lines and film flown back from distant shores. All have now passed. All but Tony Lawrence.
He was not there, but neighbours attested that, barring hitherto undisclosed calamity, the legend lives on, confounding the BBC's account of his demise. Indeed Osman, 83, and his wife Virginia appear to be having the sort of retirement one reads about in the Saga ads. "They are hardly ever here," said his next-door neighbour. "They go skiing in the winter, sailing in Cyprus in the summer. They have a place in the South of France.** At the moment, we think, they are in their caravan, driving through Europe."*** A week after first being told of the error, the BBC acknowledged its mistake. "We are glad that he is still with us, and sad that he is not still at the BBC," a spokesman said. But Osman couldn't go back. He wouldn't. Too busy. "Yes, I certainly am busy," he told us when we caught up with him in Croatia. "We have been away for nine and a half weeks. We have been to Arnhem, Strasbourg and then worked our way through Germany. I am pretty old, but I am delighted to confirm that I am not yet dead." * I've been there! ** I've been there too! *** It's a "Roma-Home", actually. It's classed as a van, not a caravan, so that it's cheaper for ferries. |
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