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The photographer B. Harris, who has died aged 73 from cancer, ended his schooling at 16 to become a messenger boy, and eventually became one of the most respected British photojournalists of his generation.

An International Professional Journey

He journeyed the world as a freelance or a employee for major British publications, covering such events as the collapse of the Berlin Wall, drought and hunger in Ethiopia and Sudan, the conflict in Northern Ireland, battlefields in the Balkan region and throughout Africa, the consequences of the Falklands conflict and four US presidential campaigns. Additionally, he produced lyrical scenic views of the rural areas around his home county of Essex home.

By his own calculation he shot more than two million images, taking an average of 100 a day, but he stated that figure some years back. He continued posting historical and new images daily on social media up to a short time before his death, and had been planning to give a talk on his life and work.

Notable Assignments

Stories from a rollercoaster career featured an expenses-shredding business class flight in 1991 to attend the burial 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’s images of the then Labour party leader Neil Kinnock with his wife, Glenys, toppling into the sea on Brighton beach were published across eight columns of a leading page, and are often reprinted as a hideous example of photo-opportunity hubris. His 2016’s memoir, ... And Then the Prime Minister Hit Me, was named after an exasperated John Major striking him with a folded briefing paper.

Career Highlights

He became the a major newspaper’s most youthful staff photographer when he started there in 1976, at the age of 26, and worked around the world for almost ten years, including reporting of the end of the civil war 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 assembled to create a new newspaper. He played a key role in forming the style of editorial photography that the paper became known for, helping set new standards for press images and newspaper design, in dramatic images filling multiple pages. Among many awards, he was named the What the Papers Say photographer of the year in 1990 for his work in eastern Europe recording the fall of communism.

He operated independently after being let go in 1999, and significant projects thereafter included a year spent capturing cemeteries across the world in 2006 for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, which resulted in an exhibition launched in London – where he gave a private viewing to Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh – and a moving book, Remembered.

Background and Beginnings

Harris was raised in eastern London, to Dorothy and Leonard Harris, an electrician who later assisted him build a darkroom in the garage. In the mid 1950s, the family moved eastwards – and up in the world – to the Rise Park housing estate in Romford, Essex. Brian went to a local secondary modern school, learning useful skills in carpentry and metalwork, before leaving at 16.

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

Colleagues and Legacy

Fellow photographers, often outpaced by him, recalled his work as remarkable. A colleague, who worked with him in the early days, described him as “a great and fearless photographer”, an influence to a cohort of junior colleagues. Another associate, a union representative, said he “transformed the possibilities of news photography during newspapers’ peak era”.

Personal Life

In 2001 Harris reconnected through a online service with Nikki Bertroya, whom he had initially encountered as a toddler in primary school, and they became inseparable partners through his final decades. After receiving his terminal diagnosis, they embarked on a road trip in Europe, posting bright images of fine dining and quality drinks, and revisiting important sites including Dresden and Ypres.

His final project, finished a short time before his death, was to transfer his extensive collection of five decades of work to a permanent home. Among his favourite historical photos he reflected on a very young Harris consuming generous servings of wine with the actor Helen Mirren: “What a blessed life I’ve had – no regrets and no ‘Must Do’s’”.

He was wed twice, both marriages ended in divorce.

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