Richard Valentine CECIL

1948 - 1978  (29 years)

• Name	Richard Valentine CECIL
  Born	26 Jan 1948
  Gender	Male
  Cause of Death	Killed in Rhodesia while a journalist
  Died	1978
  Person ID	I10261	Main
  Last Modified	27 Aug 2008

  
  

  Father	Marquess Robert Edward Peter GASCOYNE-CECIL,   b. 24 Oct 1916,   d. 11 Jul 2003  (Age 86 years)
  Mother	Lady Marjorie Olien “Mollie” WYNDHAM-QUIN,   b. 15 Jul 1922,   d. ?
  Family ID	F3516	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Notes

  An adventurer by nature, Lord Richard would accompany Rhodesian army units into action while himself wearing army uniform and carrying a rifle. He was reported to have fired a rifle at insurgent targets on several occasions. He ignored warnings that such conduct was inappropriate and dangerous for a journalist. Lord Richard was a member of a 20 strong group of correspondents known as the "Bang Gang". This group was intimately involved in the Rhodesian cause, and went about their journalistic work heavily armed. Lord Richard was nicknamed "Young Winston" by fellow journalists. This referred to similarities between the early careers of Lord Richard and Winston Churchill. The nickname was not used kindly in every case. Some of his fellow journalists considered that his conduct exposed all journalists in Rhodesia to the charge of being combatants - and being treated accordingly in certain eventualities such as capture. On 20 April 1978, Lord Richard and his cameraman (Nick Downie) parachuted into insurgent dominated territory in North East Rhodesia with an army airborne unit. He was intending to record material for use in a film he was making about the Bush War. The unit became scattered during the parachute drop and their position was infiltrated by ZANLA guerrillas. While moving through dense undergrowth, Lord Richard encountered a ZANLA man who fired into him at a range of less than 5 metres. He was hit in the chest, stomach and legs, and died after a few minutes. The Rhodesian Ministry of Defence reported him as being "killed in action". His body was returned to England for burial.