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The photojournalist B. Harris, who passed away at the age of 73 of cancer, ended his schooling at 16 to become a messenger boy, and went on to become among the most esteemed British photojournalists of his era.

An International Professional Journey

He journeyed the world as a freelance or a staffer for Fleet Street publications, documenting such events as the collapse of the Berlin Wall, famine in Ethiopia and Sudan, the Troubles in Northern Ireland, war zones in the Balkan region and throughout Africa, the aftermath of the Falklands conflict and several US presidential campaigns. Additionally, he produced poetic landscapes of the countryside around his home county of Essex home.

By his own calculation he shot more than 2m photographs, taking an average of 100 a day, but he stated that figure several years ago. He kept sharing historical and recent images daily on online platforms up to a few weeks before his death, and had been arranging to give a talk on his life and work.

Notable Assignments

Tales from a rollercoaster career included an costly business class flight in 1991 to attend the funeral in India of the slain politician Rajiv Gandhi, where he fainted from heatstroke and pneumonia and was cooled down with ice that had been employed to cool the body.

His 1983 images of the then Labour party leader Neil Kinnock with his wife, Glenys, falling into the tide on Brighton beach were published across eight columns of a front page, and are often reprinted 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 folded briefing paper.

Professional Milestones

He was appointed as the Times’ youngest ever staff photographer when he joined the paper in 1976, at the age of 26, and was based around the world for almost ten years, including coverage of the end of the internal conflict in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). He eventually resigned over what he saw as editing of his strongest images of starvation in Africa.

In 1986 Harris became chief photographer as the team was put together to create a new newspaper. He played a key role in forming the style of journalistic photography that the paper became known for, helping raise the bar for news photography and broadsheet design, in dramatic images covering front and back pages. Among many awards, he was honoured as the What the Papers Say photographer of the year in 1990 for his work in the former Eastern Bloc recording the fall of communism.

He operated independently after being made redundant in 1999, and significant projects thereafter included a year spent photographing cemeteries across the world in 2006 for the war memorial organisation, which led to an exhibition launched in London – where he gave a personal tour to Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh – and a emotional book, Remembered.

Early Life and Start

Harris was raised in east London, to Dorothy and Leonard Harris, an technician who later helped his son construct a darkroom in the garage. In the 1950s, the family moved 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 woodwork and metal crafting, before departing at 16.

At a central London photo agency, he quickly advanced from messenger boy to photographer, and launched his working life at east London local papers before moving on to major publications.

Peers and Legacy

Other photographers, often scooped by him, remembered his work as remarkable. Nick Turpin, who worked with him in the initial stages, called him “a superb and brave photographer”, an influence to a generation of junior colleagues. Another associate, a freelance organiser, said he “transformed the possibilities of news photography during newspapers’ peak era”.

Private World

In 2001 Harris reconnected through a website with Nikki Bertroya, whom he had initially encountered as a three-year-old in primary school, and they became inseparable partners through his final decades. After learning of his illness, they embarked on a road trip in Europe, sharing bright images of fine dining and good wine, and revisiting significant sites including Dresden and Ypres.

His final project, finished a short time before his death, was to donate his extensive collection of 55 years’ work to a permanent home. Among his preferred archive images he commented on a very young Harris drinking generous servings of wine with the actor Helen Mirren: “What a fortunate life I’ve had – no regrets and no ‘Must Do’s’”.

He was wed twice, each union concluded with divorce.

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