Sandy Gall facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Sandy Gall
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| Born |
Henderson Alexander Gall
1 October 1927 Penang, Straits Settlements, British Malaya
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| Died | 29 June 2025 (aged 97) Penshurst, Kent, England
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| Alma mater | University of Aberdeen |
| Occupation |
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| Years active | 1953–2021 |
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| Spouse(s) |
Eleanor Smyth
(m. 1958; |
| Children | 4, including Carlotta |
Henderson Alexander Gall (1 October 1927 – 29 June 2025) was a Scottish journalist and author. He was also a well-known news presenter for Independent Television News (ITN). His career in journalism lasted for more than 50 years.
Sandy Gall started as a sub-editor at the Aberdeen Press and Journal in 1952. From 1953 to 1963, he worked as a foreign correspondent for Reuters, a global news agency. He joined ITN in 1963 as a foreign reporter. He also presented News at Ten from 1970 to 1991. He was the Rector of the University of Aberdeen from 1978 to 1981. In 1986, he and his wife started the Sandy Gall's Afghanistan Appeal charity.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Sandy Gall was born on October 1, 1927, in Penang, which is now part of Malaysia. He was the only child of Scottish parents. His father worked on a rubber plantation there. When he was four, he moved to Scotland to live with relatives.
He went to Trinity College, Glenalmond, a private boarding school for boys in Perthshire. After school, he served in the Royal Air Force for two and a half years. He worked as a physical training instructor in Berlin. In 1952, he earned a degree in French and German from the University of Aberdeen.
Journalism Career
In 1952, Sandy Gall began his journalism career. He started as a trainee sub-editor at the Aberdeen Press and Journal. In May 1953, he became a trainee foreign correspondent for Reuters. He stayed with Reuters until 1963. During this time, he reported from places like Congo, East Africa, and Hungary.
Reporting for ITN
In 1963, Gall joined Independent Television News as a foreign reporter. He traveled to many parts of the world, including Afghanistan, China, and Vietnam. In 1970, he started working as a newsreader for News at Ten. In 1972, he was briefly held in Uganda while reporting.
He also presented other TV shows. From 1975 to 1977, he hosted A Place in Europe for Thames Television. In 1975, he presented Freeze, a show about freezers and food storage. In 1976, he was briefly detained in Madrid while filming a car factory strike. In 1980, he narrated Journey's End, a documentary about Vietnamese refugees.
Key Reports and Documentaries
Sandy Gall reported on the 1980 United States presidential election from London. In July 1981, he covered the Wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer. In November 1982, he presented Afghanistan: Behind Enemy Lines. This documentary took two months to make. It showed Afghanistan under Soviet occupation.
In 1983, he was featured on the TV show This is Your Life. The next year, he was a contestant on the quiz show Where in the World. He also reported on the Soviet–Afghan War in the documentary Allah Against the Gunships.
In 1985, he was a team captain on Television Scrabble. In 1986, he narrated A Royal Romance about Sarah, Duchess of York. He also spent three months filming Afghanistan; Agony of a Nation. He felt the war was not being reported correctly. In 1988, he played in a golf competition. In 1989, he presented George Adamson: Lord of the Lions. He interviewed the conservationist George Adamson.
Later Career
Sandy Gall's last appearance as a News at Ten newsreader was on January 4, 1991. He then took on a special reporting role. He covered Afghanistan, Africa, and the Middle East. He decided to retire from ITN in late 1992.
From 1993 onwards, he continued working freelance in TV and writing. In 1995, he wrote and presented Network First: The Man Who Saved the Animals. This documentary was about the conservationist Richard Leakey. That same year, he began presenting the BBC Radio 4 travel show Breakaway. The next year, he presented The Empty Quarter for BBC2. In this show, he explored the Rub' al Khali desert.
In late 2002, he reported from Afghanistan for Channel 5. He covered efforts to restore the Buddhas of Bamiyan. In 2004, he presented Afghanistan: War Without End for the History Channel. This documentary looked at Afghanistan's history.
He was the rector of the University of Aberdeen from 1978 to 1981. In 1986, he and his wife started Sandy Gall's Afghanistan Appeal. This charity helps train Afghan officials. They provide artificial limbs and physiotherapy to children and others affected by the Afghan civil war. In January 2003, he became the World Affairs Expert for LBC radio station in London.
Personal Life
Sandy Gall met Eleanor Smyth in Budapest in 1956. She worked for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. They married on August 29, 1958. Eleanor passed away on September 9, 2018. They had four children. One of their children, Carlotta, is also a journalist.
Sandy Gall passed away at his home in Penshurst, Kent, on June 29, 2025. He was 97 years old.
Honours and Awards
In 1981, the University of Aberdeen gave him an honorary Doctor of Law degree. He received the Sitara-e-Pakistan in 1985. In 1986, he was awarded the Lawrence of Arabia Memorial Medal.
He was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1987. In 2011, he was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG). This was for his services to the people of Afghanistan.
