Terence Spencer

Terence 'Terry' Spencer (1918-2009) was born in Bedford, England. He took an engineering degree at Birmingham University, and served as a Royal Air Force fighter pilot during the Second World War, before starting his photographic career in South Africa. Together with his wife, actress Lesley Brook, he ran an aerial photographic business outside Johannesburg. In 1952, he started working for Life magazine, covering war stories on the African continent, including the Sharpeville massacre, the Congo Crisis, the Nigerian Civil War and the horrors of Apartheid. Life also sent him on assignments to other wars, such as the Vietnam War, crises in the Middle East, Indonesia and Cuba. In 1963, Terry Spencer returned to England where he started to photograph 'swinging London'. He photographed many celebrities, politicians, artists, writers and pop groups, such as The Beatles, whom followed and documented while their career was taking off. His photos were published in People magazine among others.