Alex Bescoby Explained

Alex Bescoby
Birth Place:England
Awards:Fellow Royal Geographic Society

Alex Bescoby is an English documentary filmmaker, author and television presenter.[1] [2] [3] [4] [5]

Early life and career

Born in Manchester, Bescoby attended Altrincham Grammar School for Boys in Greater Manchester from 1999 to 2006. In 2010, he graduated from Sidney Sussex College at Cambridge University, where he specialised in the history of Myanmar (Burma).

In 2013, he moved to Myanmar to work with the Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business headed by former British Ambassador Vicky Bowman, and to research a book on Myanmar's colonial experience. One episode that gripped his imagination was the last few days of the reign of King Thibaw, the last King of Burma, whose rule was ended in 1885 by the British annexation of Burma.[6]

He tracked down Thibaw's living descendants still living in Myanmar - Prince Taw Phaya, Princess Hteik Su Phaya Gyi, U Soe Win and Daw Devi Thant Cin - and their story became his first documentary: We Were Kings.[7] [8] [9] At the 2016 Sheffield DocFest, the film won the Whicker's World Foundation's inaugural TV Funding Award in 2016,[10] [11] a documentary grant funded from the estate of the British journalist and broadcaster Alan Whicker. It later premiered at the British Library in 2017, and was broadcast internationally the same year on History. In 2017, alongside U Soe Win - the heir to Thibaw's throne - he made a short film for BBC News - Who Stole Burma's Royal Ruby? It tells the story of what happened to Thibaw's famed Nga Mauk ruby the night he was taken into exile.

In 2017, while still living in Myanmar, Bescoby began work on his second documentary, Forgotten Allies. It told the story of a small British charity - Help for Forgotten Allies - and their efforts to locate the last surviving Myanmar veterans of the Second World War who had volunteered to fight for Britain and its allies against the Imperial Japanese.[12] The film was supported by Dame Joanna Lumley, Dame Vera Lynn, Griff Rhys Jones, the Royal British Legion, Help for Heroes and the Burma Star Association, and premiered in 2019 at the National Army Museum in London.[13] [14]

In 2019, Bescoby began work on his first Channel 4 (UK) documentary series - The Last Overland: Singapore to London.[15] [16] It tells the story of his recreation of the 1955 Oxford & Cambridge Far Eastern Expedition in the same Series One Land Rover, alongside original crew member Tim Slessor.[17] [18] [19] [20] In 2022, Bescoby released his book about the expedition - also called The Last Overland[21] [22] [23] - which was later shortlisted for the 2023 Edward Stanford Travel Writing Award[24] and the 2023 Royal Automobile Club Book of the Year.[25]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: @NatGeoUK . 2022-11-30 . Meet the Adventurer: Alex Bescoby on the trials and triumphs of overlanding . 2023-11-01 . National Geographic . en-gb.
  2. Web site: 10% There: Singapore–London Last Overland Journey Makes Pitstop in Bangkok. Thaitrakulpanich. Asaree. Reporter. Staff. 2 September 2019. Khaosod. en-US. 6 March 2020.
  3. News: Alex . Michael . Asian Odyssey: We Were Kings Scottish film premiere to take place at DCA following 'amazing' adventure . The Courier . 8 December 2018.
  4. News: Meet The Adventurous Historian Searching For Hidden Stories . Wolsey . 8 February 2019 . en.
  5. Web site: MeanderApparel . Alex Bescoby: The Last Overland – Land Rover Adventure from Singapore to London . 2023-11-01 . MeanderApparel . en.
  6. Web site: Alex Bescoby: Burma's lost royals . Prospect Burma.
  7. News: 2 December 2017 . Myanmar's living royals reclaim their past . Nikkei Asian Review .
  8. News: 6 November 2017 . Documentary About Forgotten Myanmar Royalty Premieres in Mandalay . .
  9. News: 2016-12-24 . Myanmar's lost royals . en-GB . BBC News . 2023-11-01.
  10. News: Hale man who "only picked up a camera two years ago" wins £80,000 documentary prize . Altrincham Today . 15 June 2016 . en.
  11. News: Slow . Oliver . 17 June 2016 . Filmmaker wins award for Myanmar royalty documentary . en . .
  12. News: 2018-06-24 . Searching for Burma's forgotten World War Two heroes . en-GB . BBC News . 2023-11-01.
  13. Web site: Forgotten Allies National Army Museum . 2023-11-01 . www.nam.ac.uk . en.
  14. News: Bridge . Mark . 2023-11-01 . Salute to Britain’s Burmese soldiers . en . 2023-11-01 . 0140-0460.
  15. Web site: Watch The Last Overland Stream free on Channel 4 . 2023-11-01 . www.channel4.com . en.
  16. Web site: 2022-03-24T13:15:00+00:00 . The Last Overland . 2023-11-01 . Broadcast . en.
  17. Web site: Barker . Christian . Historic Overland Journey From 1955 Gets Resurrected . 2023-11-01 . Forbes . en.
  18. News: Cundy . Antonia . 2019-06-14 . An epic overland expedition — at the age of 87 . Financial Times . 2023-11-01.
  19. News: Bescoby . Alex . 2020-02-14 . Retracing an epic 1955 road trip from London to Singapore . en-GB . The Telegraph . 2023-11-01 . 0307-1235.
  20. Web site: Bescoby . Alex . 2022-09-28 . It took one Land Rover and 13,000 miles for me to prove David Attenborough wrong . 2023-11-01 . Metro . en.
  21. Web site: Michael O’Mara takes to the road in Land Rover expedition with Bescoby . 2023-11-01 . The Bookseller . En.
  22. Web site: The Last Overland: Singapore to London: The Return Jour… . 2023-11-01 . Goodreads . en.
  23. Web site: Noble . Barnes & . The Last Overland: Singapore to London: The Return Journey of the Iconic Land Rover Expedition (with a foreword by Tim Slessor)Paperback . 2023-11-01 . Barnes & Noble . en.
  24. Web site: World . Travel Writing . 2022-12-09 . Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards 2023 . 2023-11-01 . Travel Writing World . en-US.
  25. Web site: Motoring Book of the Year Awards . 2023-11-01 . Royal Automobile Club . en-GB.

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