by CBC News Posted: Sep 02, 2014 1:49 PM ET
As CBC’s Second World War correspondent, Peter Stursberg brought Europe’s front lines into Canadian homes. He has died at age 101, his son said Tuesday. (CBC)
Peter Stursberg saw first-hand the liberation of Holland from Nazi occupation, and was one of the last reporters in Adolf Hitler’s bunker.
Stursberg began his war coverage in Sicily in 1943, as allied troops began to invade. He was the first correspondent to cover the Canadian troops in action.
Stursberg saw first-hand the liberation of Holland from Nazi occupation and was one of the last reporters in Hitler’s bunker. (CBC)
“People remember my voice, and the voice of Matt Halton and others who covered the war,” Stursberg said of his reporting. “It made them feel like they were much closer to events than reading about it in the newspaper.”
Stursberg turned 101 on Sunday.(and died that day, Aug. 31)
“We are very sad to hear about the passing of Peter Stursberg,” said Jennifer McGuire, editor-in-chief of CBC News. “His reporting brought the war home and brought Canadians to the front-lines of Europe. Peter Stursberg helped pave the way for a generation of war correspondents who continue to risk their lives so we can better understand our world.”
Last year, Stursberg met his great-grandchildren for the first time at his 100th birthday party in Vancouver, where he lived.
From left, Alister Fraser, Ross Munro (Canadian Press), Dave McLellan, Peter Stursberg in Sicily in July 1943. Stursberg was one of three Canadian correspondents who landed on the shore of Sicily with the first invasion barges. (CBC Still Photo Collection)
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Stursberg’s son, Richard, was head of CBC’s English services from 2004-2010.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/peter-stursberg-former-cbc-correspondent-dead-at-101-1.2753293
It’s too bad the CBC has so few people who remember Peter Stursberg. Not only did he report on CBC radio during the war, he rejoined the Corp. in the 1950’s as their correspondent at the UN.
He worked for a time for both the Victoria Daily Times and the Vancouver Province, and at an age when most people would be in retirement, in the 1980’s became a professor at Simon Fraser University.
In 1996 he was awarded the order of Canada.
He was an initial co-anchor of CTV National News, and worked for a time for Prime Minister John Diefenbaker.
You’d think the obituary writers could do a little research and come up with more detail than the very bare bones story above. I well remember his distinctive speaking voice and accent, and appreciate the contributions this man made to our country.
PS .. I have since discovered a much better story on the passing of Peter Stursberg in the Globe and Mail.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/radio-brought-peter-stursberg-to-the-front-lines/article20317197/