Sir Selwyn Charles Cornelius-Wheeler (26 March 1923 – 4 July 2008) was a British journalist and broadcaster. Having joined the BBC in 1947, he became the corporation's longest-serving foreign correspondent, remaining in the role until his death. Wheeler also had spells as presenter of several BBC current affairs television programmes, including Newsnight and Panorama.
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Early life
Wheeler was born in Bremen, Germany, in 1923, to Winifred Agnes (née Rees) and Charles Cornelius-Wheeler. The family later moved to Hamburg, where his father was an agent for a shipping company. Educated at the Cranbrook School in Kent, his first job was as an errand boy at the Daily Sketch newspaper at the age of 17. He enlisted in the Royal Marines in 1942, rising to the rank of captain. For a time he was stationed onboard the battleship HMS Ramillies.
As part of 30 Assault Unit, a secret naval intelligence unit assembled by Ian Fleming, he participated in the Allies’ advance through Western Europe following the Normandy landings as second-in-command to Patrick Dalzel-Job.
Career
After leaving the Royal Marines in 1947, Wheeler joined the BBC, initially as a sub-editor at the Latin American division of the World Service. Wheeler's long career as a foreign correspondent began with a three-year posting to Berlin in 1950, partly thanks to his fluency in German. He returned to the UK and became a producer on the fledgling current affairs series Panorama in 1956. As part of Panorama's team, he travelled to Hungary to cover what would become known as the Hungarian Uprising. Taking Panorama's camera into the country, despite being told not to, he filmed the jubilant Hungarian reaction to the rebellion. He and the Panorama producer (and his then-wife) Catherine Freeman had to persuade the BBC to give the story prominence. Just hours after Wheeler returned to Britain, Russia re-entered Hungary and crushed the revolt.