War photographer Paul Conroy dies as tributes paid
#Paul Conroy#war photographer#Marie Colvin#A Private War#Syria#Homs#Jamie Dornan#Frontline Club
📌 Key Takeaways
Paul Conroy, a celebrated war photographer, died aged 61 from a heart attack in Devon.
He survived the 2012 Homs bombing that killed journalist Marie Colvin, a story retold in the film 'A Private War'.
Before his photography career, he served seven years in the Royal Artillery and covered conflicts globally.
Tributes have been paid by prominent figures such as BBC's Clive Myrie and singer Joss Stone.
📖 Full Retelling
Renowned war photographer Paul Conroy has died at the age of 61 following a heart attack at his home in Devon on Saturday. The acclaimed photojournalist, who documented global conflicts for major publications and survived a deadly shelling in Syria, passed away surrounded by family, prompting an outpouring of grief from media professionals and friends worldwide.
Born in Liverpool and a former soldier with seven years of service in the Royal Artillery, Conroy transitioned into journalism to cover crises in regions including Libya, Ukraine, and most recently, Cuba. However, he was best known for his harrowing time in Syria, where he worked alongside legendary Sunday Times reporter Marie Colvin. In 2012, the duo was trapped in a makeshift media centre in Homs during a relentless army assault; Colvin and French photographer Rémi Ochlik were killed, while Conroy narrowly escaped with life-changing injuries. The incident was later adapted into the 2018 film *A Private War*, featuring Jamie Dornan as Conroy, and the documentary *Under the Wire*.
Conroy sustained severe wounds, including a massive leg injury and shrapnel near his kidneys, which required 23 surgeries and five months of hospitalization. Despite the trauma, he remained dedicated to highlighting the plight of civilians, stating he wanted to tell the story of "beautiful people who were being slaughtered." His contributions to the field extended beyond photography, as he served as a trustee for the Frontline Club, a charity supporting journalists, and even collaborated on music projects with singer Joss Stone, who called him a legend who stood up for what was right. Leading figures in British broadcasting have paid heartfelt respects, with BBC newsreader Clive Myrie mourning the loss of a "decent, principled and kind man."
Homs (Arabic: حِمْص, romanized: Ḥimṣ [ħɪmsˤ]; Levantine Arabic: حُمْص, romanized: Ḥomṣ [ħɔmsˤ]), known in pre-Islamic times as Emesa ( EM-ə-sə; Ancient Greek: Ἔμεσα, romanized: Émesa), is a city in western Syria and the capital of the Homs Governorate. It is 501 m (1,644 ft) above sea level and is l...
Actor, model and musician from Northern Ireland (born 1982)
James Peter Maxwell Dornan (; born 1 May 1982) is an actor, model, and musician from Northern Ireland. His accolades include two Irish Film and Television Awards, in addition to nominations for a BAFTA Television Award and a Golden Globe Award. He has been ranked as one of the "25 Biggest Male Model...
Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to the north and northwest, Iraq to the east and southeast, Jordan to the south, and Israel and Lebanon to the southwest. It...
Marie Catherine Colvin (January 12, 1956 – February 22, 2012) was an American journalist who worked as a foreign affairs correspondent for the British newspaper The Sunday Times from 1985 until her death. She was one of the most prominent war correspondents of her generation, widely recognized for h...
War photographer Paul Conroy dies as tributes paid 57 minutes ago Share Save Share Save Tributes have been paid to the war photographer Paul Conroy who has died at the age of 61. He covered conflicts around the world and was wounded in the Syrian army's bombardment of Homs, which killed his Sunday Times colleague Marie Colvin in 2012. Their fateful assignment was depicted in the 2018 movie A Private War, with the actor Jamie Dornan playing Conroy. The Liverpool-born photographer died from a heart attack on Saturday in Devon, where he had lived, his brother Alan told the BBC. "He did all his life what he wanted to do to make a difference - he found great pleasure in exposing wrongs," Alan added. BBC newsreader Clive Myrie posted that he was "utterly devastated" by the news, describing Conroy as "a wonderful photojournalist and a wonderful human being". "I counted him as a friend and a decent, principled and kind man. My brutha you will be sorely missed. RIP" Lindsey Hilsum, international editor at Channel 4, added: "All of us who knew and loved him are devastated." Conroy also spent seven years with the Royal Artillery as a soldier before becoming a professional photographer and was a trustee of the Frontline Club for media professionals, diplomats and aid workers. Its founder Vaughan Smith, who was also in the Army, said: "He was one of the characters – those people who stand out because everybody adores them and they make you feel better." The 2018 documentary Under the Wire was made about Conroy's escape from the 2012 bombardment of a makeshift media centre in Homs, where his colleagues Marie Colvin and Remi Ochlik were killed. Referring to the Syrians who were killed in the area, he said: "These beautiful people who were being slaughtered, I wanted to tell their story." He only realised how badly injured he was when he returned to the UK. "Obviously I knew I had a huge hole in the back of my leg," he said. "But in London I found out I also had a great big piece o...
