Shelley Rohde
Encyclopedia
Gillian Shelley Mary Rohde (17 May 1933 – 6 December 2007) was a British
journalist and author. She was best known in the North West of England as a reporter and presenter on Granada Reports
, but she is more widely remembered as the biographer of the artist L. S. Lowry
.
She was born Gillian Shelley May Rohde, on 17 May 1933, in London
, England
, her parents being a scriptwriter father and an actor mother. Shelley took the surname of her mother's second husband, the pilot Douglas Rohde. The girl was largely brought up by her maternal grandmother, Patricia Reardon.
The path to adulthood led through Nottinghamshire. There had been many schools, and Shelley had contrived to be expelled from some. When she left school at 16, it was with no qualifications, and this was to impart a certain drive to her career. She secured her first job on the Nottinghamshire Free Press before gravitating to London
and joining first The Star
and later the Daily Express
. The Express sent her to the Soviet Union
, where at the age of only 21 she became the first female foreign correspondent in Moscow. From her years in Moscow, not only did she learn Russian
, but served as interpreter for the press when the Soviet leaders Nikita Khrushchev
and Nikolai Bulganin
made their official visit to London in 1956.
Still only a young woman, she was a witness to the events of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. Her coverage of it is mentioned in James Michener's book The Bridge at Andau, in particular an incident where journalists waiting at the bridge to interview fleeing refugees heard a baby crying. Risking a bullet, Rohde crossed the bridge and helped baby and family to safety.
Shelley married and had four children, Gavin, Christian, Daniel and Michele, but later divorced.
In the 1960s she moved North to Manchester
as chief feature writer for the Daily Mail
and from there joined Granada Television
, which gave her scope as a presenter and commentator of the local scene, chat host and debating chair, and she became a personality in her own right, as did other colleagues in those years, such as Tony Wilson
. She was a forceful personality, but generally treated her interviewees with sympathy and visibly entered into their enthusiasms and quirks. She had a memorable laugh. It was a mix of style that drew on the pioneering skills of the foreign correspondent and the knack of the local journalist in bringing out the interest in the lives of our neighbours.
It was in this setting that she began to investigate the local artist L. S. Lowry
and was eventually to become an acknowledged expert on him. Her documentary on him, LS Lowry: A Private View, was made after she had interviewed the artist personally, which she did several times during his later life. This was in itself an achievement, given that Lowry was known to be difficult to pin down to an interview appointment and to any clear content and was inclined to amuse himself by making up stories. He first told Rohde he had given up painting long ago, but it was noticed that the paint on a canvas was wet.
She was to write extensively about Lowry, including her book LS Lowry: A Life (revised as LS Lowry: A Biography), and won the Portico Prize for literary excellence in 2002 with another book, The Lowry Lexicon: An A-Z of LS Lowry. However, she was not monomaniacal and went on to do A-Z of Van Gogh.
Before her death she named a selection of three Lowry works that then became the focus of the exhibition Exploding Pictures at The Lowry
in Salford
, the major holding of the artist's work.
Shelley Rohde died on 6 December 2007, after a ten-year struggle against cancer.
She leaves four children (Gavin, Christian, Daniel and Michelle) and three grand children (Billy, Solomon and Rowan).
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
journalist and author. She was best known in the North West of England as a reporter and presenter on Granada Reports
Granada Reports
Granada Reports is the flagship regional news programme of ITV franchisee Granada, presented by Tony Morris and Lucy Meacock, and serving the North West of England and the Isle of Man....
, but she is more widely remembered as the biographer of the artist L. S. Lowry
L. S. Lowry
Laurence Stephen Lowry was an English artist born in Barrett Street, Stretford, Lancashire. Many of his drawings and paintings depict nearby Salford and surrounding areas, including Pendlebury, where he lived and worked for over 40 years at 117 Station Road , opposite St...
.
She was born Gillian Shelley May Rohde, on 17 May 1933, in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, her parents being a scriptwriter father and an actor mother. Shelley took the surname of her mother's second husband, the pilot Douglas Rohde. The girl was largely brought up by her maternal grandmother, Patricia Reardon.
The path to adulthood led through Nottinghamshire. There had been many schools, and Shelley had contrived to be expelled from some. When she left school at 16, it was with no qualifications, and this was to impart a certain drive to her career. She secured her first job on the Nottinghamshire Free Press before gravitating to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and joining first The Star
The Star (London)
The Star was a London evening newspaper founded in 1788.The first edition was printed on 3 May 1788 under the editorship of Peter Stuart. Founding sponsors of the new paper included publisher John Murray and William Lane of the Minerva Press...
and later the Daily Express
Daily Express
The Daily Express switched from broadsheet to tabloid in 1977 and was bought by the construction company Trafalgar House in the same year. Its publishing company, Beaverbrook Newspapers, was renamed Express Newspapers...
. The Express sent her to 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....
, where at the age of only 21 she became the first female foreign correspondent in Moscow. From her years in Moscow, not only did she learn Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
, but served as interpreter for the press when the Soviet leaders Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. He served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, or Premier, from 1958 to 1964...
and Nikolai Bulganin
Nikolai Bulganin
Nikolai Alexandrovich Bulganin was a prominent Soviet politician, who served as Minister of Defense and Premier of the Soviet Union . The Bulganin beard is named after him.-Early career:...
made their official visit to London in 1956.
Still only a young woman, she was a witness to the events of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. Her coverage of it is mentioned in James Michener's book The Bridge at Andau, in particular an incident where journalists waiting at the bridge to interview fleeing refugees heard a baby crying. Risking a bullet, Rohde crossed the bridge and helped baby and family to safety.
Shelley married and had four children, Gavin, Christian, Daniel and Michele, but later divorced.
In the 1960s she moved North to Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
as chief feature writer for the Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
and from there joined Granada Television
Granada Television
Granada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful....
, which gave her scope as a presenter and commentator of the local scene, chat host and debating chair, and she became a personality in her own right, as did other colleagues in those years, such as Tony Wilson
Tony Wilson
Anthony Howard Wilson, commonly known as Tony Wilson , was an English record label owner, radio presenter, TV show host, nightclub manager, impresario and journalist for Granada Television and the BBC....
. She was a forceful personality, but generally treated her interviewees with sympathy and visibly entered into their enthusiasms and quirks. She had a memorable laugh. It was a mix of style that drew on the pioneering skills of the foreign correspondent and the knack of the local journalist in bringing out the interest in the lives of our neighbours.
It was in this setting that she began to investigate the local artist L. S. Lowry
L. S. Lowry
Laurence Stephen Lowry was an English artist born in Barrett Street, Stretford, Lancashire. Many of his drawings and paintings depict nearby Salford and surrounding areas, including Pendlebury, where he lived and worked for over 40 years at 117 Station Road , opposite St...
and was eventually to become an acknowledged expert on him. Her documentary on him, LS Lowry: A Private View, was made after she had interviewed the artist personally, which she did several times during his later life. This was in itself an achievement, given that Lowry was known to be difficult to pin down to an interview appointment and to any clear content and was inclined to amuse himself by making up stories. He first told Rohde he had given up painting long ago, but it was noticed that the paint on a canvas was wet.
She was to write extensively about Lowry, including her book LS Lowry: A Life (revised as LS Lowry: A Biography), and won the Portico Prize for literary excellence in 2002 with another book, The Lowry Lexicon: An A-Z of LS Lowry. However, she was not monomaniacal and went on to do A-Z of Van Gogh.
Before her death she named a selection of three Lowry works that then became the focus of the exhibition Exploding Pictures at The Lowry
The Lowry
The Lowry is a theatre and gallery complex situated on Pier 8 at Salford Quays, in Salford, Greater Manchester, England. It is named after the early-20th century painter, L. S. Lowry, known for his paintings of industrial scenes in North West England...
in Salford
City of Salford
The City of Salford is a city and metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It is named after its largest settlement, Salford, but covers a far larger area which includes the towns of Eccles, Swinton-Pendlebury, Walkden and Irlam which apart from Irlam each have a population of over...
, the major holding of the artist's work.
Shelley Rohde died on 6 December 2007, after a ten-year struggle against cancer.
She leaves four children (Gavin, Christian, Daniel and Michelle) and three grand children (Billy, Solomon and Rowan).
External links
- Obituary in the Manchester Evening News on 12 December 2007
- Obituary in the Halifax Evening Courier on 14 December 2007
- Obituary in the Guardian on 15 January 2008