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The photographer B. Harris, who passed away at the age of 73 of cancer, ended his schooling at 16 to become a messenger boy, and eventually became one of the most respected British photojournalists of his era.

An International Professional Journey

He journeyed the world as a independent or a staffer for major British titles, documenting major happenings including the fall of the Berlin Wall, drought and hunger in Ethiopia and Sudan, the conflict in Northern Ireland, war zones in the Balkans and throughout Africa, the consequences of the Falklands war and four US election campaigns. He also created poetic scenic views of the rural areas around his home county of Essex home.

According to his estimates he took over two million images, averaging 100 a day, but he made that count several years ago. He continued posting archive and recent images daily on social media up to a short time before his passing, and had been planning to deliver a lecture on his career and experiences.

Memorable Assignments

Stories from a rollercoaster career featured an expenses-shredding business class flight in 1991 to reach the burial in India of the slain politician Rajiv Gandhi, where he fainted from sunstroke and pneumonia and was treated with ice that had been employed to cool the body.

His 1983 images of the at that time Labour party leader Neil Kinnock with his wife, Glenys, toppling into the sea on Brighton beach were published across eight columns of a front page, and are regularly reproduced as a striking example of photo-opportunity hubris. His 2016’s memoir, ... And Then the Prime Minister Hit Me, was named after an irritated John Major striking him with a rolled-up briefing paper.

Professional Highlights

He became the a major newspaper’s youngest ever staff photographer when he started there in 1976, at the age of 26, and worked around the world for nearly a decade, including coverage of the end of the civil war in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). He eventually resigned over what he considered editing of his strongest images of starvation in Africa.

In 1986 Harris was made head photographer as the team was assembled to create a new newspaper. He was instrumental in forming the style of editorial photography that the paper became known for, helping raise the bar for press images and newspaper design, in striking images covering front and back pages. Among many awards, he was honoured as the industry-recognised photographer of the year in 1990 for his work in eastern Europe documenting the fall of communism.

He worked as a freelance after being let go in 1999, and major projects thereafter included a year spent capturing cemeteries across the world in 2006 for the war memorial organisation, which led to an display launched in London – where he gave a private viewing to Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh – and a emotional book, Remembered.

Background and Start

Harris was born in east London, to Dorothy and Leonard Harris, an technician who later assisted him construct a photo lab in the garage. In the 1950s, the family relocated farther east – and up in the world – to the Rise Park estate in Romford, Essex. Brian attended Chase Cross secondary modern school, learning useful skills in carpentry and metalwork, before departing at 16.

At a Fleet Street photo agency, he rose rapidly from messenger boy to photographer, and launched his professional career at east London local papers before moving on to major publications.

Peers and Legacy

Other photographers, often outpaced by him, recalled his work as astonishing. Nick Turpin, who collaborated with him in the initial stages, described him as “a great and fearless photographer”, an influence to a generation of young colleagues. Tim Dawson, a freelance organiser, said he “reimagined the possibilities of news photography during newspapers’ peak era”.

Private World

In 2001 Harris made contact through a online service with Nikki, whom he had initially encountered as a toddler in infant school, and they became close companions through his remaining years. After learning of his illness, they went on a road trip in Europe, sharing bright images of fine dining and good wine, and revisiting important sites including Dresden and Ypres.

His last task, completed a short time before his demise, was to transfer his vast archive of five decades of work to a permanent home. Among his preferred archive images he reflected on a youthful Harris consuming large glasses of wine with the actor Helen Mirren: “What a blessed life I’ve had – no regrets and no ‘Must Do’s’”.

He was married twice, both marriages ended in divorce.

He is remembered by Nikki, his son Jacob, from his second marriage, Nikki’s daughter, Holly, and by his sister, Jan.