British author and filmmaker

Stewart Binns is a British author and filmmaker who has produced many BAFTA, Grierson and Peabody award-winning do*entaries.

Contents

• 1 Early life
• 2 Career
  • 2.1 Film work
    • 2.1.1 Historical
    • 2.1.2 Sport
  • 2.2 Written work
    • 2.2.1 Historical fiction
    • 2.2.2 Non-fiction
• 3 Personal life
• 4 Bibliography
  • 4.1 Historical fiction
    • 4.1.1 The Great War series
    • 4.1.2 Making of England quartet
    • 4.1.3 Contemporary
  • 4.2 Non-fiction
• 5 Filmography
• 6 References
• 7 External links

Early life

Binns was born in Lancaster and brought up in Burnley, Lancashire by his single mother. After failing his 11-plus examination he went to St Theodore's Secondary Modern School and then on to Burnley Municipal College for his A-levels. From here Binns went on to study a BA in Politics & Modern History at Lancaster University and then an MA in International Relations at the University of Sussex. He also holds an MSc in Sociology of Education from the University of London.

Career

In 1974, while working at Lancaster University for a doctorate focused on political behaviour, and realising he was getting nowhere with it, he got a job at the BBC in their Audience Research Department doing a study of the influence of the media during the 1975 United Kingdom European Communities membership referendum. He then became a schoolteacher for several years and in 1980 p*ed selection for 21 SAS, for which he served until 1983. In 1985, he re-joined the BBC and worked in Current Affairs and Do*entary Features, including a stint on Panorama. He later joined Trans World International, the television arm of Mark McCormack's International Management Group, where he worked for 20 years and became its Director of Special Projects. After a brief period as Head of Production at Octagon CSI, in 2006, he began his own media company, Big Ape Media with his wife, Lucy.

Film work

Historical

Binns history television credits include the 'In-Colour' genre of programmes – notably the BAFTA and Grierson winner, Britain at War in Colour, and the Peabody winner, The Second World War in Colour.

His other historical work includes Chasing Churchill: In Search of My Grandfather broadcast on PBS, in which Celia Sandys, Winston Churchill's granddaughter travels the world, including the United States, France, Morocco and South Africa, in search of her grandfather's legacy.

Most recently Binns' television productions have involved a shift of perspective towards the Orient. Indochine: A People's War in Colour (2009) tells the story of the people of Indochina and their battle to gain their freedom over three decades and through three wars. This was followed by Korea: The Forgotten War in Colour (2010) the story of the 1950–53 Korean War. Then came, Seisen: the Rise and Fall of the *anese Empire (2012) – a history of *an's militaristic ambitions during the first half of the 20th century, including their role in World War II. His latest productions include, India: A Visual Homage, a history of India from 1900 to 1985, Mao: A Study in Tyranny and Journey of Hope, the Story of the Handshake for Peace, peace initiative.

Sport

Binns has also produced a number of sporting programmes and projects. He launched the successful and still-running Trans World Sport in 1987. In 1993 he launched, and was the first Executive Producer of, FIFA Futbol Mundial one of the longest running football-based magazine shows still on the air.

Next he ins*uted the Olympic Games Camera of Record in 1994 – with a single camera crew and access to all areas, Binns captured the magic and atmosphere of the Games in a personal, behind-the-scenes style at each Games, from Lillehammer (1994) to Athens (2004). Throughout the 1990s Binns produced a number of other Olympic do*entaries, including "Olympic Century" (1994), the IOC's official centennial history, and The Olympic Series (1998).

Binns also launched, and ran for 10 years, the Olympic Television Archive Bureau. An organisation that was instrumental in retrieving and restoring all the official films of the Olympic Games right back to the 1936 Berlin Games.

Away from the Olympics, Binns also produced the official biographical do*entary of Tiger Woods, Tiger (2003), the official history of the Wimbledon Championships Wimbledon (2001) and FIFA's official history of football, The People's Game (1989).

Written work

Historical fiction

Binns has written 6 historical novels, four in the Making of England quartet, and two about the Great War. His first novel, Conquest – based on the events surrounding the Norman invasion of England in 1066 – was published by Penguin Books in 2011. It was soon followed by Crusade (released in April 2012), focusing on the Norman rule of England after 1066 and the first Christian Crusade to the Holy Land. Next came Anarchy (released in June 2013), which tells the story of England's first civil war between Stephen and Matilda. The quartet was completed with his latest novel Lionheart (released in November 2013), about the adventures of Richard the Lionheart and the Third Crusade. His two Great War books are the Shadow of War about the catastrophic events of 1914 and its sequel the Darkness and the Thunder set in 1915. He has recently released a new book set in Belfast, during the Troubles. Its *le is Betrayal and was published in February 2018.

Non-fiction

Binns' non-fiction writing credits include: The Greatest: Who is Britain’s Top Sports Star? (1996) published by Boxtree Ltd in conjunction with Channel 4; The Second World War in Colour (1999) published by Pavilion Books; Britain at War in Colour (2000) published by Carlton Books; America at War in Colour (2001) published by Carlton Books; and British Empire in Colour (2002) published by Carlton Books.

Personal life

Binns has been a member of the Reform Club for over 30 years and the (Special Forces Club) for 10. He is also a member of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB) and the Vernacular Architecture Group.

A lifelong supporter of Burnley Football Club, Binns saw his first game in 1957, watching them play the 'Busby Babes' at Turf Moor. He had the pleasure of seeing Burnley's greatest ever player, Jimmy McIlroy in his prime and saw them win the 1959/60 League *le, their 1962 FA Cup Final against Spurs and their run in the 1960/61 European Cup.

His home is in Somerset, England, where he lives with Lucy and twin boys, Charlie and Jack.

Bibliography

Historical fiction

The Great War series

• Shadow of War (2014)
• The Darkness and the Thunder (2015)

Making of England quartet

• Lionheart (2013)
• Anarchy (2013)
• Crusade (2012)
• Conquest (2011)

Contemporary

• Betrayal (2018)

Non-fiction

• Barbarossa and the Bloodiest War in History (2021)
• British Empire in Colour (2002)
• America at War in Colour (2001)
• Britain at War in Colour (2000)
• The Second World War in Colour (1999)
• The Greatest: Who is Britain’s Top Sports Star? (1996)

Filmography

• Dream the Dream (2019)
• A Journey of Hope(2017)
• Chuan's Ocean (2016)
• Mao: A Study in Tyranny (2015)
• A Journey of Hope (2014)
• Sport Under Threat (2012)
• Seisen: the Rise and Fall of the *anese Empire (2012)
• Korea: The Forgotten War in Colour (2010)
• Indochine: A People's War in Colour (2009)
• Phil Daniels’ Football Matchday Madness (2008)
• Catalyst for Change (2007)
• Inside the Lions’ Den (2006)
• What Price Fame (2006)
• The Football League Show (2005)
• Golazo (2005)
• Chasing Churchill: In Search of My Grandfather (2005)
• Tiger: The Authorised Biography (2004)
• *an’s War (2003)
• Churchill (2003)
• The British Empire in Colour (2002)
• The Queen Mother: Her Reign in Colour 1937–1953 (2001)
• Apollo (2002)
• Britain at War in Colour (2001)
• The Second World War in Colour (2000)
• Inventions (1999)
• Fabulous Fortunes (1998)
• The Olympic Series (1998)
• Century (1997)
• McCormack – A Journey through Contemporary Sport (1996)
• Mountain Airs (1995)
• Olympic Century (1994)
• Futbol Mundial (1993)
• Guardians of the Flame (1992)
• Blood, Sweat and Glory (1991)
• Fangio (1991)
• The People's Game (1991)
• Simon Combes: An African Experience (1989)
• Artworld (1989)
• Trans World Sport (1987)

References

External links

• Stewart Binns website
• Stewart Binns' channel on YouTube
• Stewart Binns at IMDb
• Stewart Binns Business Page
• Stewart Binns Penguin Author Page