Frank Gardner (journalist)

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Frank Gardner

Born	Frank Rolleston Gardner 31 July 1961 (1961-07-31) (age 46) UK
Education	Arabic
Occupation	Journalist
Spouse	Amanda Jane Pearson (1997-present)
Children	2
Notable credit(s)	BBC Six O'Clock News

Frank Rolleston Gardner OBE (born 31 July 1961) is a British journalist and correspondent. He is currently the BBC's Security Correspondent. He was appointed an OBE in 2005 for his services to journalism.

Educated at Marlborough College, a boys' independent school in Wiltshire, England, and at the University of Exeter, Gardner cites a meeting with the Arabian explorer Sir Wilfred Thesiger in his youth, which led to a life of fascination with the Arab world and a degree in the Arabic language from University of Exeter. ^[1]

Between 1989 and 1991 he was a territorial army officer in the 4th Battalion the Royal Green Jackets. ^[2]

After a nine year career in banking as an investment banker with Saudi International Bank and then Robert Fleming Bank from 1986 until 1995, a promotion in Bahrain resulted in his not liking his career, and he took the plunge into journalism in Saudi Arabia.^[3]

In 1995 he joined BBC World as a producer and reporter, and became the BBC's first full-time Persian Gulf correspondent in 1998, setting up an office in Dubai. In 2000 Gardner was appointed BBC Middle East correspondent in charge of the bureau in Cairo, but traveled throughout the region. After September 11, 2001 attacks on New York, from 2002 Gardner specialised solely in covering the War on Terror.

On 6 June 2004, while reporting from a suburb of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Gardner was shot six times and seriously injured in an attack by apparent al-Qaeda sympathisers.^[4] His colleague cameraman Simon Cumbers was shot dead. Of the five bullets which hit Gardner in his torso (the sixth bullet passed straight through his shoulder) all missed his major organs yet one hit his spinal cord and he was left paralysed from the waist down. However, after several months of rehabilitation he returned to reporting for the BBC in mid-2005. He is now a wheelchair user. ^[5] Despite his injury, he still occasionally reports from the field including places like Afghanistan^[6] but usually comments on top stories from a BBC studio.

In 2005, for services to journalism, he was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire as part of the Queen's Birthday Honours. In summer 2006 he released a book on his experiences called "Blood And Sand", which he launched at the Hay Festival. ^[7]

On the 20th Jan 2007, Gardner was awarded an honorary degree by the University of Exeter, at their Winter degree congregation.

A keen skiier, after his spinal injury Gardner resumed skiing using a bobski (also called a sit-ski), which is device that allows disabled people to ski while seated, after attending a British Army training course for disabled skiers.

He is married with two daughters, Melissa and Sasha, and lives in London.

[edit] Quotations

"He was always cut out for journalism. When Kuwait was liberated, he was there with his camera, doing a piece like a reporter. He's a good communicator, incredibly good at thinking on his feet, knows how to handle situations spontaneously and comes across really well. I met him studying Arabic and Islamic Studies at Exeter University and described him as incredibly widely-travelled, especially in the Middle East. In one year he travelled to 28 countries. He's the sort of guy who will get through a passport because he runs out of room," said friend of 25 years Anthony Campanale. ^[8]