Philip Pembroke Stephens | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1903 |
| Died | 11/18 November 1937 Shanghai |
| Education | Gresham's School, Norfolk; University of Cambridge |
| Occupation | Journalist |
Philip Pembroke Stephens (1894-1937) was a journalist, foreign correspondent for the Daily Express. He was expelled from Germany in June 1934 for his critical reporting of Nazism and his campaigning in support of the German Jews. In 1937, reporting from Shanghai on the Japanese invasion of China, he was shot and killed by a Japanese bullet.
Biography
editEarly Life
editBorn in 1903, Stephens was educated at Gresham's School in Norfolk and, later, at the University of Cambridge. After trying out in a couple of different professions, he settled on journalism.[1]
Foreign Correspondent for the Daily Express
editAs a foreign correspondent for the Daily Express, he reported from Vienna and Paris. At the end of 1933, he was sent to Berlin to replace Sefton Delmer. Unlike Delmer, who had tried to get close to Adolf Hitler's close associates to get good stories, Stephens examined the effects of the Nazi regime on ordinary people, especially the Jewish population. His articles, criticizing Nazism and uncovering the harsh conditions of the Jews, became increasingly prominent in the Daily Express. The Nazi authorities arrested him twice, before finally expelling him from Germany in June 1934. From London, he continued to write critical articles on the Nazis, until the Daily Express lost its enthusiasm for this.[2]
Death
editHe was subsequently sent to report on the the Second Italo-Abyssinian War, the Spanish Civil War, and the Japanese invasion of China. In China, he reported on the atrocities of the invading Japanese. According to John Simpson, he was killed on 18 November 1937, the last day of the Chinese army's stand in Shangai. John Gittings, however, on his website www.johngittings.com, quotes Five Months of War (Shanghai: North-China Daily News & Herald, 1938), p.133 as putting Stephens' death on November 11. Gittings' quotation goes on to describe Stephens as having been shot while watching the fighting from a water tower, when a Japanese machine gunner unexpectedly raised his aim. The Japanese apologized, explaining that they had been shooting at snipers on nearby roof-tops. A friend of Stephens', O'Dowd Gallagher from the Daily Mail, wrote the story of Stephens' death and sent it to the Daily Express.[3][4]
Reporting Style
editJohn Simpson, who researched Stephens for his book Unreliable Sources: How the Twentieth Century was Reported, calls Stephens a 'fearless correspondent', who 'stood out for his objective reporting'. He says his journalism was 'arresting, colourful', he 'was a genuine hero of 20th-century reporting', and that he 'refused to do his reporting from the safety of his office. He always preferred to go and see what was happening for himself. It earned him Beaverbrook's highest prraise, and a much-increased salary; and in the end it cost him his life.' He 'believed that it was his duty' to report on the plight of the Jews living under Nazi rule.[5]
- ^ John Simpson, 'My History Hero', BBC History Magazine Vol 11, no 6, June 2010, p.98
- ^ John Simpson, 'My History Hero', BBC History Magazine Vol 11, no 6, June 2010, p.98
- ^ John Simpson, 'My History Hero', BBC History Magazine Vol 11, no 6, June 2010, p.98
- ^ http://www.johngittings.com/id65.html
- ^ John Simpson, 'My History Hero', BBC History Magazine Vol 11, no 6, June 2010, p.98