Tom Carver
Encyclopedia
Tom Carver is a writer and former BBC
foreign correspondent
. He is also the step-grandson of Field Marshal Montgomery
.
was an Olympic oarsman who rowed in the 1908 Summer Olympics in London. He was killed during the battle of Gallipoli in 1916 aged 28. His grandmother, Elizabeth Carver
married Bernard Montgomery in 1927. Montgomery would go onto to become Field Marshal Montgomery in World War II
.
Carver was 15 when Viscount Montgomery died, and formed part of the guard of honour at his funeral at St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle
as part of his school cadet force.
as a local radio trainee. He became a BBC
foreign correspondent
, reporting on the withdrawal of the Soviet Army
from Afghanistan
, the collapse of the Soviet Union
and the first Gulf War
. In 1991, he was sent into northern Iraq
to investigate reports that Saddam Hussein
was massacring the Kurds and became one of the first journalists to witness the exodus of half a million Kurds across the mountains towards Turkey
.
In 1991 he became BBC
Africa
correspondent for three years, covering the US-led invasion of Somalia
otherwise known as Operation Restore Hope, the Angolan Civil War
and the transition to black majority rule in South Africa
. In 1994, he covered the Rwandan Genocide
.
In 1995 he reported on the Massacre of Srebrenica during the Bosnian War
as the BBC’s Defence Correspondent.
In 1997, he became the BBC
Washington
correspondent remaining in the post for 8 years. He reported on the serial killings of dozens of women in Juarez, Mexico
and covered the disputed 2000 presidential election
. He was appointed BBC Newsnight Washington
correspondent and was an eyewitness at September 11th.
In 2003 he was one of the few journalists to travel with Vice President Dick Cheney
through the Middle East
in a prelude to the Iraq war. He covered the 2004 election and was at the Democratic Convention when Barack Obama
gave his first national speech. He left the BBC
after the election to become Senior Vice President at Control Risks.
And then in 2008, he took up the post of Senior Vice President at Chlopak, Leonard, Schechter a Washington-based communications consultancy before joining the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
as head of Global Communications.
Carver has written for numerous newspapers, including The Independent
, London Review of Books
, The Sunday Times
, New Statesman
and The Guardian
.
Carver is the author of Where the hell have you been?, a bestselling account of his father Richard Carver’s adventures during World War II
.
anchor Katty Kay
. The couple have four children.
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
foreign correspondent
Foreign correspondent
Foreign Correspondent may refer to:*Foreign correspondent *Foreign Correspondent , an Alfred Hitchcock film*Foreign Correspondent , an Australian current affairs programme...
. He is also the step-grandson of Field Marshal Montgomery
Bernard Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein
Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, KG, GCB, DSO, PC , nicknamed "Monty" and the "Spartan General" was a British Army officer. He saw action in the First World War, when he was seriously wounded, and during the Second World War he commanded the 8th Army from...
.
Biography
His grandfather Oswald CarverOswald Carver
Oswald Armitage Carver was a British rower who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics. He died of injuries during the First World War....
was an Olympic oarsman who rowed in the 1908 Summer Olympics in London. He was killed during the battle of Gallipoli in 1916 aged 28. His grandmother, Elizabeth Carver
Elizabeth Carver
Elizabeth Carver was the wife of Bernard Montgomery, who later became Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein.-Early life and marriage:...
married Bernard Montgomery in 1927. Montgomery would go onto to become Field Marshal Montgomery in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Carver was 15 when Viscount Montgomery died, and formed part of the guard of honour at his funeral at St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle
St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle
St George's Chapel is the place of worship at Windsor Castle in England, United Kingdom. It is both a royal peculiar and the chapel of the Order of the Garter...
as part of his school cadet force.
Career
Carver joined the BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
as a local radio trainee. He became a BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
foreign correspondent
Correspondent
A correspondent or on-the-scene reporter is a journalist or commentator, or more general speaking, an agent who contributes reports to a newspaper, or radio or television news, or another type of company, from a remote, often distant, location. A foreign correspondent is stationed in a foreign...
, reporting on the withdrawal of the Soviet Army
Soviet Army
The Soviet Army is the name given to the main part of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union between 1946 and 1992. Previously, it had been known as the Red Army. Informally, Армия referred to all the MOD armed forces, except, in some cases, the Soviet Navy.This article covers the Soviet Ground...
from Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, the collapse of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and the first Gulf War
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
. In 1991, he was sent into northern Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
to investigate reports that Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
was massacring the Kurds and became one of the first journalists to witness the exodus of half a million Kurds across the mountains towards Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
.
In 1991 he became BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
correspondent for three years, covering the US-led invasion of Somalia
Somalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
otherwise known as Operation Restore Hope, the Angolan Civil War
Angolan Civil War
The Angolan Civil War was a major civil conflict in the Southern African state of Angola, beginning in 1975 and continuing, with some interludes, until 2002. The war began immediately after Angola became independent from Portugal in November 1975. Prior to this, a decolonisation conflict had taken...
and the transition to black majority rule in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. In 1994, he covered the Rwandan Genocide
Rwandan Genocide
The Rwandan Genocide was the 1994 mass murder of an estimated 800,000 people in the small East African nation of Rwanda. Over the course of approximately 100 days through mid-July, over 500,000 people were killed, according to a Human Rights Watch estimate...
.
In 1995 he reported on the Massacre of Srebrenica during the Bosnian War
Bosnian War
The Bosnian War or the War in Bosnia and Herzegovina was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between April 1992 and December 1995. The war involved several sides...
as the BBC’s Defence Correspondent.
In 1997, he became the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
Washington
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
correspondent remaining in the post for 8 years. He reported on the serial killings of dozens of women in Juarez, Mexico
Ciudad Juárez
Ciudad Juárez , officially known today as Heroica Ciudad Juárez, but abbreviated Juárez and formerly known as El Paso del Norte, is a city and seat of the municipality of Juárez in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. Juárez's estimated population is 1.5 million people. The city lies on the Rio Grande...
and covered the disputed 2000 presidential election
United States presidential election, 2000
The United States presidential election of 2000 was a contest between Republican candidate George W. Bush, then-governor of Texas and son of former president George H. W. Bush , and Democratic candidate Al Gore, then-Vice President....
. He was appointed BBC Newsnight Washington
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
correspondent and was an eyewitness at September 11th.
In 2003 he was one of the few journalists to travel with Vice President Dick Cheney
Dick Cheney
Richard Bruce "Dick" Cheney served as the 46th Vice President of the United States , under George W. Bush....
through the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
in a prelude to the Iraq war. He covered the 2004 election and was at the Democratic Convention when Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
gave his first national speech. He left the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
after the election to become Senior Vice President at Control Risks.
And then in 2008, he took up the post of Senior Vice President at Chlopak, Leonard, Schechter a Washington-based communications consultancy before joining the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace is a foreign-policy think tank based in Washington, D.C. The organization describes itself as being dedicated to advancing cooperation between nations and promoting active international engagement by the United States...
as head of Global Communications.
Carver has written for numerous newspapers, including The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
, London Review of Books
London Review of Books
The London Review of Books is a fortnightly British magazine of literary and intellectual essays.-History:The LRB was founded in 1979, during the year-long lock-out at The Times, by publisher A...
, The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...
, New Statesman
New Statesman
New Statesman is a British centre-left political and cultural magazine published weekly in London. Founded in 1913, and connected with leading members of the Fabian Society, the magazine reached a circulation peak in the late 1960s....
and The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
.
Carver is the author of Where the hell have you been?, a bestselling account of his father Richard Carver’s adventures during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Personal life
Carver is married to BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
anchor Katty Kay
Katty Kay
Katty Kay is an English journalist and correspondent, based at the Washington, D.C. bureau of BBC News. She also blogs at the website True/Slant and is a Board Member at the IWMF .-Biography:...
. The couple have four children.