News on Screen

Kirby Rickard - known as Kibby Rickard - was a cameraman with Pathe News. In March 1947 he was shown in Pathe News No.47/25 using a 56-inch lens in ‘HEAD OF THE RIVER RACE - INTRODUCING THE BIGGEST LENS IN NEWSREEL INDUSTRY.' In the same month Rickard was shown trying to film in No.47/26, with a woman accused of bribery ‘walking along the street trying to dodge photographer Kibby Rickard.' Rickard was apparently sent to Palestine in December 1947, and film exists of his departure, although none of his credits survive. According to Ronnie Noble [qv] of Universal, Rickard looked Jewish and on one occasion in Palestine he was nearly lynched by an Arab mob, only escaping by showing them he was uncircumcised. His next credit was in January 1949, as part of the camera team for ‘WHO’S FOR THE CUP’ in No.49/4, and his first solo credit followed in March 1949 with ‘AROUND BRITAIN’ in No.49/23. In May 1949 Rickard was in Berlin to film the end of the blockade, and appeared with his camera in ‘WEST WINS BERLIN BLOCKADE’ in Pathe News No.49/39. By the end of the year Rickard was being regularly employed on domestic stories for the newsreel. His last credit came at the end of December 1951, for ‘FIREMEN DIE IN BLAZE’ in No.51/105. Terry Gallacher [qv] recalled that by the late 1950s Rickard was working in Australia. He certainly worked as cameraman on the documentary OPERATION CROWFLIGHT directed by Gallacher for ABC in December 1960. He returned to Britain a few years later and is credited with one story in Pathe News No.64/85 of October 1964: ‘BRITAIN’S DECISION’.

Sources

R. Noble ‘Shoot First!: Assignments of a newsreel cameraman’ (London, 1955), p.135: information from Terry Gallacher, November 1998: NoS Number 111342; Pathe News Number 64/85; Date released 19/10/1964.BUFVC: E-Mail Terry Gallacher to Linda Kaye (1/09/2010).