Who was Ian Parry?
Ian Parry was a talented young photojournalist at the very beginning of his career when he was tragically killed whilst on assignment for The Sunday Times in December 1989, covering the downfall of the Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. Ian was only 24 years old.
As the youngest of four children from Prestatyn, North Wales, Ian was determined from an early age to pursue a career in photojournalism and joined the local Rhyl Journal as a trainee at the age of 16. After studying at Sheffield’s NCTJ course, he moved to London to follow his dream and joined The Sunday Times as a staff photographer.
On one of his first major assignments covering the revolution in Romania, a job he was determined to undertake, the plane carrying him home was shot down shortly after take off killing all on board.
Aidan Sullivan and Ian Parry, Paris
Ian Parry 's last image from Bucharest, Romania, 1989
‘He was one of the finest young emerging photographers in recent years. He had a great deal of personal discipline, which he combined with flair, imagination and tremendous compassion.’
Aidan Sullivan, then Picture Editor of the Sunday Times
A photograph of Parry’s in Paris, 1989
‘He could turn his hand to anything and had great potential. We often sent him on long, difficult jobs and there was never a squeak of complaint.’
Michael Young of The Times of London
Parry in Paris, 1989
Bucharest Revisited
Words Aidan Sullivan
Photography Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert
33 years ago I received a devastating phone call telling me my friend Ian Parry had been killed leaving war torn Bucharest.
Ian had been on assignment for me at The Sunday Times in London covering the Christmas Revolution. With his assignment complete he had secured a seat on one of the first aircraft to leave the war torn city, the cargo aircraft was shot down moments after take off killing everyone on board.
Ian was just 24 years old and at the beginning of what I know would have been an illustrious career as a photojournalist. I flew from London to Bucharest on a private plane to collect Ian’s coffin, with me on that flight were Ian’s brother Charles and my dear friend Tom Stoddart who we lost last year.
That heartbreaking journey was both terribly sad and eerily surreal as we sat in silence beside Ian’s coffin flying back to London.
For the past 30 years I have been running the Ian Parry Memorial Fund which I set up in Ian’s memory in order to turn something so tragic into something positive. Over these three decades we have helped hundreds of young aspiring photojournalists. I think Ian would be proud of what we have achieved in his name.
Today I returned to Bucharest to attend an unveiling of a monument dedicated to Ian and two other journalists who lost their lives covering the revolution.
This return to Bucharest has been intense and full of emotion - a bittersweet mix of both fond and dark memories but a wonderful way to remember and pay tribute to my friend.
