Hiroshima and Nagasaki film

David Dickinson: Editor 1983-85

Nomination: David nominated Robert Harris' film showing the scale of the devastation after the US dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The film was first broadcast on 26 August 1983.

Click on the video link on the right-hand side of this page to watch

David said: "In 1983 Thatcher and Reagan were in power and determined to stand up to the 'Evil Empire'. Cruise missiles were being installed in Britain and Germany.

"There was great anxiety about the possibility of nuclear war, a threat that has almost disappeared today. So the prospect of showing this colour footage of the aftermath of Hiroshima, filmed by the Americans in late 1945, was irresistible.

"The film was so well received when first shown in the autumn of 1983 that we decided to repeat it on the anniversary of Hiroshima in August 1984.

"This year is the 60th anniversary of the dropping of the world's first atomic bomb."

Biog:

1969-1971: Scriptwriter, Talks and Features, External Services
1971-1973: Producer, Contemporary Affairs, Further Education, Radio Three
1974-1979: Film maker, producer, output editor, Nationwide
1979-1981: Output editor, Newsnight
1982: Deputy editor, Newsnight
1983: Editor, Election 83
1983-1985: Editor, Newsnight
1985-1987: Editor, Panorama
1988-1998: Various, including producer, obituaries and executive producer, On The Record, series editor Monarchy
1995: Series editor, The Tunnel
1998 - left BBC
1998 - Author
Goodnight Sweet Prince 2002, Death and the Jubilee 2003, Death of an Old Master, 2004, Death of a Chancellor 2005. All published by Constable and Robinson.