With highlights from Ariel

July 2010 Number 5

page 6

‘Good morning, goodmorning, good morning’70th anniversary of ITMA

Giving tochildrenpage 8

PensionSchemedeficitpage 3

Take a taxi?page 9

News

PROSPEROJuly 2010

2 • • July • 2010

Editorial contributions

Write to: ProsperoBBC Pension and Benefits CentreBroadcasting HouseCardiff, CF5 2YQTel: 020 7765 1414

Email prospero@bbc.co.uk

Please make sure that any digitalpictures you send are scannedat 300 dpi.

Prospero is provided free toretired BBC employees. It canalso be sent to spouses ordependants who want to keepin touch with the BBC. Itincludes news about formercolleagues, pension issues,and developments at theBBC. Prospero includesclassified advertisements. To advertise in Prospero orthe BBC Staff magazine,Ariel, see page 12.

Subscription information forAriel is on page 12.

Complete the square by using the clues; these apply only to wordsrunning across. Then take these words in numerical order andextract the letters indicated by a dot. If your answers are correct,these letters will spell out a BBC programme of yesteryear.

Please send your answers in an envelope marked Crospero to TheEditor, Prospero, BBC Pension and Benefits Centre, BroadcastingHouse, Cardiff CF5 2YQ by July 16.

Clues: 1. American award (5); 2. Middle-east Country (4); 3.Particular (4); 4. Eats (5); 5. Performing platform (5); 6. Disconcert(5); 7. Bird (5); 8. Top flier (3); 9. Fish (5); 10. Not yet (5); 11. Mine (3);12. Christmas show (5); 13. Make euphoric (5); 14. U.S. State (5);15. Dramatic character (5); 16. Rim (4); 17. Ready for business (4);18. Skin inflammation (5).

Solution to Crospero No. 148: Omen; Ordeal; Iron; Amy; Axes;Knurl; Elan; Long; Ceased; ashen; Enzyme; Gown; USSR; Tryst;Ibex; Ooh; Seen; Renews; Reds. The characters were NORMANAND HENRY BONES.

The winner of Crospero 148 is Mr John Dean of London.

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5 6

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CROSPERO 149Devised and compiled by Jim Palm

Mixed SourcesProduct group from well-managedforests, controlled sources and recycled wood or fiberWWW.fsc.org Cert no. SA-COC-1468© 1996 Forest Stewardship Council

Deficit increasesThe latest summary funding statement issuedby the BBC Pension Scheme to members lastmonth gave the grim news that the fundingdeficit has increased from £470 million at 1 April 2008 to around £2 billion at 1 April 2009. In his communication to members, JeremyPeat, Chairman of the Trustees, referred to the‘extraordinary external pressures affecting theglobal economy’, which were in part to blamefor the increase in the deficit.At the latest funding check on 1 April 2009,not only had the value of the scheme’s assetsreduced as a result of falling investment returns,but its liabilities also increased due to a fall inthe yield on index-linked gilts.The 2009 funding update, he writes, tookplace at time when world stock markets were ata low point. And, although they have recoveredto a large extent since then, other pressures onthe scheme have resulted in its liabilitiesincreasing. This means that the full 2010valuation, which is currently under way, isunlikely to show a marked improvement in thefunding position. Jeremy will be retiring from the Board of theBBC Trust at the end of the year, when his termof office ends. However, he has agreed to stay onas Chairman of BBC Pension Trust Ltd until the2010 valuation is complete.

Key points from the summary report were:• The trustees wanted to avoid ‘locking inlosses’ by selling equities at the lowest pointof the financial turmoil. As the stock marketsimproved, however, the scheme made moresales of equities, with more to come

• During the year the trustees have continuedto move to more stable long-term investmentsand have looked to protect the scheme againstextreme currency fluctuations

• In the longer term, the trustees would like tosee a greater level of investment inindex-linked government bonds (see box below)

• The long-term aim is to create a portfolio thatis much less vulnerable to sharp falls in equitymarkets and a better match for the scheme’sliabilities.

• The scheme has a positive cash flow, whichmeans it can withstand falling marketswithout being forced to sell assets

As reported on page 3, the BBC has beenreviewing how active members’ benefits willbuild up in future and what pension offeringnew employees will receive. The trustees willcontinue talking to the BBC about how itwould meet any deficit costs shown up in thefull valuation and are working on a plan tosecure long-term funding.

It is important to highlight and emphasisethat the Scheme can meet its pensioncommitments as they arise without having tosell assets and will continue to pay benefits inline with the Scheme rules.

Pension schemes like to invest in index-linked gilts(commonly known as ‘linkers’), because they are a way ofprotecting the assets from being eroded by inflation. Like other gilts, index-linked gilts are basically an IOU fromthe Government. In return for the investor lending theGovernment money, it agrees to pay interest (called acoupon) until it returns the money at a future date. However,with index-linked gilts, both the interest payments on thedebt and the repayment value rise and fall in line withinflation (usually measured by the Retail Price Index, or RPI).So, in effect, investors in index-linked gilts are betting oninflation rising rather than falling.

As predicted the Pension Scheme deficit hasincreased. The credit crunch and falling bondyields are to blame.

The lowdown on ‘linkers’

This year’s Pensioners Liaison Meeting will be held theBBC’s Mailbox Building, Royal Mail Street, Birmingham B1 1AY on Tuesday, October 5, from 1.30pm to 3.30pm.

If you attend, you will have the opportunity to put questionsabout the Scheme to the Head of Pensions, Manager,Pensions Investments and a Trustee.

There are limited spaces which will be given on a ‘first come, first served’ basis.

To book call the pensions service line on029 2032 2811 (Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 5.30pm).

2010 PensionersLiaison Meeting

July • 2010 • • 3

BBC Pensions

David Allen has become chairman of the BBCPensioners’ Association. He succeeds MartinCox, who has held the post for three years.Until his retirement from the BBC nine yearsago, David was executive producer of a range ofprogrammes and as editor of the BBCComputer Literacy Project 1982-1986 he wonseven awards. He now makes documentaries forBBC R&D and for Historic Royal Palaces. He told Prospero that his aims for BBCPAwere to continue as a watchdog, early-warningsystem and advocate for those with BBCpensions and to act as the only organised voiceof Corporation pensioners.‘As the BBC Historian, Jean Seaton, says, weas a group hold much of the ‘memory capital’of the BBC and one of my aims is to encouragethe Corporation to value and tap into thisknowledge, rather than ignore us,’ he said.‘The BBC and we as a country are entering

BBCPA new chairman

BBC consults withactive membersover proposed changes

BBCPA regional meetingsVenues for this year’s regional meetings of the BBC Pensioners’ Association are:

Guildhall, Guildford October 14

Redhead room, BBC, Oxford Road, Manchester October 21

Meeting room A, BBC, Whiteladies Road, Bristol October 28

All meetings are at 2.15pm. Association members and anyone interested in joiningare welcome.

BBC pensions online

choppy – some say perilous, certainly unknown– waters. Our own pension fund is still prettybuoyant and long may it remain so, but theprospects for the future look uncertain formany, and we as an organisation need to stay,as ever, vigilant.’

To reduce the deficit and continue the current arrangements, without making any changes to the Scheme, would require the BBC’s contributions to rise from around 3.5% to around 10% of the licence fee. This, the BBC believes, is unaffordable and would not be acceptable to licence fee payers. Instead, it has proposed a package of changeswhich, it says, will both reduce the existingdeficit and help ensure the Scheme remainsaffordable and sustainable into the future. These are:• The Scheme will be kept open to currentmembers but will be closed to new joinersfrom 1 December 2010.

Existing and prospective members of the BBC Pension Scheme receiveda letter last month confirming what many may have expected, followingnews of the Scheme’s £2bn deficit in the last interim valuation.

• Employees who are currently members of theScheme will continue to build up benefitsunder the current structure. However, from 1 April 2011 future salary increases forcalculating pension benefits will be limited to1% per annum, no matter what actual salaryincreases an employee receives.

• New joiners will be given the option to join anew, flexible, defined contribution plan. Thiswill give employees a choice over the levels ofcontributions they make and the BBC willmatch or better these contributions up to acertain level.

• Existing pension Scheme members will also begiven the choice of joining the new definedcontribution plan or remaining in the existing

Scheme under the changed terms outlined above.

As a BBC pensioner, the proposed changes will not affect the pension you receive from the Scheme, which will continue to be paid as normal. The package of changes will onlyaffect the future build-up of pension by active members who are still paying into the Scheme.Starting from 1 July 2010, a 90-dayconsultation period will give these members theopportunity to share their views on the proposedchanges. During this period, the BBC isplanning to run pension seminars and provideonline support, to help staff understand how thechanges will affect them.

As this issue of Prospero was going to print, the new Chancellor GeorgeOsborne was delivering his ‘emergencybudget’ to tackle the UK's budgetdeficit and to restore confidence in theeconomy. As well as an increase in VATand changes to personal allowancesand income tax affecting everyone, the Coalition Government’s Budgetcontains some key measures that will affect pensioners.

Basic State Pensionslinked to earningsFrom April 2011, the link to earnings forthe Basic State Pension (BSP) will berestored as part of a ‘triple guarantee’.Each year the BSP will be increased bythe highest of price inflation, earningsinflation and 2.5%. The April 2011increase to the BSP will be based onthe increase in the Retail Prices Index(RPI), if higher, but in subsequent yearsthe Consumer Prices Index (CPI) will beused in the triple guarantee as themeasure of price inflation. The increasein the CPI tends to be much lower thanthe increase in the RPI because itexcludes household costs such asmortgage payments. The CPI is alsogoing to be used from April 2011 toincrease other benefits and tax credits,rather than the RPI as now, in order tosave money.

Increase in State Pension AgeThe Government will review the timingof the planned increase in StatePension Age (SPA) to age 66 and willquickly launch a ‘call for evidence’ inorder to press ahead with thesechanges fairly. SPA is the age fromwhich benefits, including the BasicState Pension, are payable. Underexisting legislation, SPA will beequalised at age 65 for both men andwomen by 2020 and will then rise instages to age 68 by 2046. SPA was dueto increase to age 66 by 2026 and thenew Government has committed not tobring forward the increase to age 66,before 2016 for men and before 2020for women.

Abolition of the defaultretirement ageThe Government will also consult onquickly phasing out the defaultretirement age of 65, which companiescan use to force their staff to retire, toensure that those who want to workpast age 65 are able to do so.

Compulsory‘annuitisation’ droppedPeople with money purchase/definedcontribution retirement savings are nolonger compelled to buy an annuitywith their pension pot by the age of 75.

The CoalitionGovernment’sfirst Budget

Martin Cox, who held senior posts in news and current affairs until his retirement,will continue to serve on the association’smanagement committee, joining other past chairmen Brenda Horsfield and Tom Rivers.

The BBC pensions website was relaunched last month with a newdesign that brings it more in line with the main bbc.co.uk style.

‘The site was first launched six years ago, so it was in need of arefresh,’ says Jeff Webley, Pension Communications Manager. ‘Justlike the main BBC website, users can see all the different sections onthe homepage, so it makes it easier for them to find the informationthey are interested in.’

The website is updated regularly, which gives members the latestnews about their pension scheme and pensions in general.

You can also download back issues of Prospero online, by clickingon the ‘Pensioners’ tab on the homepage and following the links.

Letters

Visiting SchemeIf you would like a visit or information onhow to become a volunteer visitor, pleasering 0845 712 5529. You will be chargedonly as a local call.

QueriesFor benefit and pension payroll queries,call the Service Line on 029 2032 2811.

ProsperoTo add, or delete a name from the distribution list, ring the Service Line(number above). Prospero is provided freeof charge to retired BBC employees. Onrequest, we will also send it to spouses ordependants who want to keep in touchwith the BBC. Prospero is also available onaudio tape for those with sight impairment.

To register, please ring the Service Line on 029 2032 2811.

BBC ClubThe BBC Club in London has a retired category membership costing £24 a yearfor members; and £36 a year for familymembership. Pre-1997 life members arenot affected. Regional clubs may have different arrangements.

Please call BBC Club London administration office on 020 8752 66 66 oremail member.relations@bbcclub.com.

Benevolent FundThis is funded by voluntary contributionsfrom the BBC and its purpose is to protectthe welfare of staff, pensioners and theirfamilies. Grants are made at the discretionof the trustees. They may provideassistance in cases of unforeseen financialhardship, for which help from othersources is not available.

Prospero SocietyProspero Society is the only section of theBBC Club run by and for retired BBC staffand their spouses. Its aims are to enableBBC pensioners to meet on a social basisfor theatre visits, luncheons, coach outingsetc. Prospero is supported by BBC Clubfunds so as to make events affordable.

The only conditions (apart from paying a small annual subscription) are that youmust be a BBC pensioner and a memberof the BBC Club. Write for an applicationform to: Graham Snaith, 67 NewberriesAvenue, Radlett, Herts. WD7 7EL. Telephone: 01923 855177 Mobile: 07736 169612 Email: graham.snaith@yahoo.co.uk

BBC productsBBC retired staff are entitled to a 30% discount off the RRP of most productsin the BBC TV Centre shop. There is apostage charge of £2.95 per order (notper item). Pensioners must quote theirBBC pension number when ordering.Contact: BBC Shop, Audience Foyer,Television Centre, Wood Lane, LondonW12 7RJ. Tel: 020 8225 8230. Email: tvc.shop@bbc.co.uk.Other ways to order (quoting yourpension number when ordering):

By phone: 08700 777 0018.30am-6pm weekdays. By post: BBCShop, PO Box 308, Sittingbourne, KentME9 8LW. Email: bbcshop@bbc.co.uk.

Or visit BBC Shops in Eastbourne,Brighton, Leicester, Birmingham orLiverpool. UK postage £2.45 for telephone, post and email orders.Overseas: £4.50 for one item and £2 foreach additional product for telephone,post and email orders.

BBC PAFor details of how to join the Pensioners’Association, see panel on page 5.

Contacts T h i s i s s u e … T h e f u t u r e o f B B C l o c a l r a d i o ; B e a t r i c e H a r r i s o n ;

4 • • July • 2010

One of a kindI was saddened to read of Joan Bratley’s death– she was one of a kind. ‘The Queen ofJamieson Street’ – MA during the early years ofRadio Humberside – she ruled with a rod ofiron and counted the pennies.But she was also warm-hearted and one of theproudest of what the station achieved duringsome tough times – the loss of the Trawler Gaul,the Flixborough Explosion, the first of Britain’sbig prison riots.Joan would do anything to help out in anemergency. In the mid-70s, allegations weremade about Humberside Police, which broughtthe national press running. A young, local,gifted, investigative reporter called John Drurywas commissioned by The Sunday Times tofollow-up the police stories, while at the sametime doing freelance shifts in the Humbersidenewsroom. For months, the Radio HumbersideSunday morning bulletins were more thanusually exciting.John spent those Saturday nights in Londonwith the ST subs and lawyers, checking andrechecking explosive material. He rang me oneSaturday evening asking for help. The STlawyers were insisting that Humberside Policerespond to the following day’s story – even if itwas a ‘No comment.’The Press Office had clocked off, so theysuggested someone go to the Chief Constable’shome to push a note through his door askinghim to ring London – his phone wasex-directory.The Chief Constable lived in a village west ofHull – as luck would have it, the same villagewhere Joan lived, so I was persuaded to ring herand ask her to do the dirty deed – and of courseshe agreed. By the time the letter was copied, itwas dark and Joan asked her husband toaccompany her on her mission. It was cold andwet so Frank apparently put on a pair of blackleather gauntlets as they set off.The Chief Constable’s house was up a longdrive, with a deep porch and no lights. Whilsttrying to find the letterbox, Joan dropped theletter. She and Frank were on their knees in thedark, scrabbling for it, muttering and blamingeach other, when all the lights went on, thefront door opened and the Chief Constable, hiswife in curlers peering over his shoulder,

demanded to know what the ****** was going on.It was then that Joan uttered the immortalwords – ‘Don’t worry sir, it’s only Radio Humberside.’No Christmas cards from Humberside Policeafter that.Jim Latham

Losing trust in local radioRoy Corlett is right to worry about the futureof BBC local radio (June Prospero) but I fear itmay be closer to the tipping point than hewould wish. At the point it becomes barelydistinguishable from its commercial rivals itceases to justify its existence as a genuinealternative.Roy is concerned by the threat of sharingprogrammes, but this is already happening bythe backdoor. Much of the news output comesfrom the national newsroom, the rest fromconvenient sources like police press offices. Areporter out covering a local patch is a rare andexpensive luxury. As for daytime programming,much of it is as local as my local high streetshopping experience, with its transatlantic DJsand visiting celebrities.Local radio has always operated on ashoestring and been very innovative as aconsequence, but there comes a point whereresources are so threadbare that the uniquelylocal service is not sustainable.The last bastion of local radio – what makes itindispensable – is emergency information: badweather, school closures, traffic chaos and powercuts. Fail on that, lose trust and the listener goeselsewhere. Recent experience suggests local radiois struggling to cope – traffic news outside citycentres relies on listeners, the weather expertdoubles up as a TV reporter; neither can providea comprehensive service – and I, for one, havelost confidence in what I hear.I’m too out of touch to know whether theproblem lies with ‘head office’ or localmanagement, but I am sure that furthereconomies will threaten the viability andultimate survival of local radio.John Lavis

Connaissez-vous James Darcy?I am putting together a critical edition of theradio broadcasts of Philippe Henriot, who wasVichy’s Minister for Propaganda in 1944. In hisbroadcasts, he targeted the French at the BBC,as well as British workers in the BBC’s FrenchService. I’ve done a fair bit of work at the writtenarchives at Caversham, and successfullyidentified most of the people Henriot mentions,but am stumped on one name in particular.This is one James Darcy (the spelling may notbe correct, and it may also be a pseudonym). Hewas, I believe, a French Service broadcaster in1944 (and possibly before then). I’m wonderingif you have any record of him, or if I might beable to contact your readers via Prospero and seeif anyone can help.Dr Kay Chadwick

If anyone is able to help Kay, please get in touchwith Prospero and we will pass on your details.

TFS Hog RoastThrough the pages of Prospero, I would like tothank Michael Spencer and Richard Merrick fororganising the ‘Hog Roast’ on May 8 at theDuke of Kent Public House in Ealing. Over300 people who had worked at TFS attended.The weather was overcast but the rain held off.To say it was an enjoyable event would be anunderstatement. Everyone was chatting toeveryone. I spent the afternoon talking tofriends I hadn’t seen for ages, catching up withwhat we’d been up to since we last met. I’m stillin film and film making after 47 years. SpeakingI think for everyone who came along, I hope itisn’t a one-off but can be repeated next year.Neville Withers

Ty’s dream for TVCI would just like to say that I fully endorse TyDavies’ dream as reported in Prospero. What aloss it would be if TVC was just sold off to developers. Christopher Cameron

Going through some old papers, BarbaraMartin found this newspaper cutting from1986, which recounted the story of the CrystalPalace fire 50 years previously, as told by DavidHowarth, who had been a young RichardDimbleby’s sound engineer, and the chance itgave a young Richard Dimbleby to make radio history.Barbara wrote in her letter to Prospero: ‘Myfamily lived in South Norwood and I was 11and remember the Crystal Palace fire well. Mybrother called my mother to see the sunset, butshe realised it was a dreadful fire.‘We used to travel on open top trams andattend food exhibitions there. Our annualschool sports days were held there, too. TheBBC built a transmitter there.’

Letters

T V C ’ s o p e n i n g d a y

July • 2010 • • 5

According to the online version of TheEvening Standard, some pension potshave been severely affected by the recentoil spill chaos. I should, therefore, begrateful to learn if the BBC Pensions have been affected in any way!Arthur Lincoln

Prospero asked the BBC Pension andBenefits Centre to comment. Here istheir reply to Arthur’s letter.

There has been widespread coverageabout the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexicoand the potential affect this may have onpension schemes that hold investmentswith BP.BP is a large constituent of the FTSE

100 stock index and therefore we haveholdings through our passive equitymanagers and active equity managers.

As at 31 March 2009 we had aninvestment in BP of £68.9m. Our BPholding as at 31 March 2010 was down to£64.0m, despite the share price risingfrom 457.5p to 623.0p over the financialyear. BP is less than 1% of the Schemeassets. The actual number of shares heldis substantially lower than last year as anumber of our active managers reducedtheir holding before the current crisis.BP’s share price at time of writing is

374.0p. However, equities rise and falland in the short term and in the face ofuncertainty the market often overreacts.There is no knowing what the final bill isfor the oil spill and indeed who will be deemed responsible.Once there is clarity around the

situation, our active managers will makedecisions as to the long-term viability ofcontinuing to hold BP shares.

1948 questionRecently I have been asked to help with anyinformation about Mrs Marie Stara, one of thefirst air stewardesses of the Czech Airlines whowas interviewed for the BBC TV by LeslieMitchell in January 1948. The lady concernedapparently left Czechoslovakia in that year withher mother. I should be most grateful for any detail abouther so that I could pass it on to the listener, anamateur historian who is trying to put togetherher life story. He also sent me her picture fromthe interview. Milan Kocourek

Milan974@btinternet.com Formerly BBC Czech SectionBBC World ServiceBush House

Is our pension plan in deep water?

TVC’s opening dayMy memory of the opening of the TelevisionCentre is not of its studios nor programmes,but of my husband queuing up with thewhite-tied guests with his toolbox!He was nearly turned away, but received around of applause when he arrived – in theBBC Club to mend the refrigerator!Mrs M Legg

I CERTAINLY REMEMBER the openingshow (called First Night) from TVC, as I wasworking on it in the role of AFM. There wasan enormous last minute panic to geteverything organised – especially as there hadonly been two days’ rehearsal prior to the dayof transmission.The principal people appearing on the showwere David Nixon, Arthur Askey, Richard

Hearne, Alfred Drake, Elizabeth Larner, IrvingDavies, The Leslie Roberts Silhouettes, TheTelevision Toppers and The George Mitchell Singers.However I do remember that on the day there were some additional ‘names’suddenly added, which caused a lot ofproblems rehearsal wise. In fact, there was such a panic that I was asked to take these people off to another area andrehearse their material with them. I can’t recall who they all were, but I do rememberthat one of them was Chico Marx (one of the famous Marx brothers). The show wentvery well and afterwards the cast andproduction team went into Studio 4 for drinks and snacks.Harold Snoad

Chico Marx playing cards with himself

NightingalesI was very interested to read RobertSeatter’s article regarding the cellist andthe nightingale. Although these events of1924 were before my time, I thought youmight like to know that a few years ago, I came across an original 78 recording,made in Beatrice Harrison’s garden inOxted of the ‘duet’ between her and the bird.The music featured is ‘Chant Hindu’and ‘The Londonderry Air’. Fortunately, I am able to play this on a machinewhich incorporates a facility for playing78s, even though the playing surface issomewhat worn!John Harman

Monday Night’s deliberate mistake?I am surprised that in all the correspondence about Monday Night At Eight, I haveseen no reference to the one item which had my father and I glued to the radio forevery show – Ronnie Waldman’s ‘deliberate mistake’.Mike Broadbent

THE MENTION OF Beatrice Harrisonand her cello duets with the nightingalesin her garden prompted me to dig outtwo records of this phenomenon whichwere issued by HMV in 1927, B 2469and 2470. These proved to be evenmore popular than the broadcasts: B 2469 remained in the catalogue until 1959!Jim Palm

Memories

North 3 steals the showThe 41-year-old colour mobile controlroom CMCR 9, the former North 3,which retired from BBC service inManchester in 1982, was on display tothe public at the Kelsall Steam andVintage Vehicle Rally near Tarvin,Cheshire, on June 26. It is believed to be the first time aformer BBC type-2 colour scanner hasbeen seen in public since 1987.North 3 is one of only two survivingscanners of this type and is inremarkably original condition. The otherone is in storage for the National MediaMuseum, but is not available to be seenby the public.The unit only just made it to the show,having been short of its radiator grilleand two wheels until Thursday and onlyable to be road-tested late on Fridayafternoon. It was displayed at the showas a ‘restoration in progress’ exhibit andwas a huge success with the public,who were able to walk through thevehicle and chat with the owner, SteveHarris, a former Harlech TelevisionLighting Director and various formerBBC staff who turned up at the event. In the production control room, visitorswere able to listen in to Barney Colehandirecting a rehearsal of ‘The Good OldDays’ programme back in 1972. Peopleseemed to relish the opportunity oflooking round an unusual vehicle whichwas unique at the show amongsthundreds of immaculately restoredlorries and buses, not to mentiontraction engines and steam rollers. North 3, which weighs in at 14 tonnesand does about seven miles on a gallonof diesel, was driven to the show onL-plates by its owner Steve Harris,overseen by a friend who is a fullyqualified LGV driver. Work continues on the restoration andSteve has hopes of returning North 3 toits former base at New BroadcastingHouse in Manchester for a nostalgicfinal visit, before the BBC moves toSalford Quays early next year.Jerry Clegg

6 • • July • 2010

It’s That Man Again

Last year was the seventieth anniversary of It’sThat Man Again (ITMA). It was thebrainchild of Liverpudlian comedian TommyHandley, who together with scriptwriter TedKavanagh and BBC radio producer FrancisWorsley, came up with an idea for a newcomedy show with a title inspired by mediareferences to the ranting of Adolf Hitler. It wasa revolution in radio and would soon beknown forever more as ITMA.Tommy Handley, already a popular radioentertainer from the late 1920s, became anational treasure and overnight institution and,for an all-too-brief time I had the great privilegeof sharing in the fun as one of the backroomstaff.The first show opened with Tommy’s words,spoken on the telephone: ‘Hello, is that Turner,Turner and Turtle? It is? Then good morning,good morning, good morning. It’s that managain – that’s right it’s Tommy Handley.’Performed in Studio 1 at the BBC Maida Valecomplex in London and transmitted on theBBC National Programme on Wednesday July

12, 1939, it was originally scheduled to runfortnightly from 8.15 to 9.00pm for sixprogrammes – but the outbreak of war broughtit to an abrupt end after only four editions.The rebirth of ITMA was broadcast on theBBC Home Service on Tuesday September 19,1939. By then the BBC Variety Departmenthad been evacuated to Bristol, where the newshows would be staged in the Clifton ParishHall. With a revised duration of 30 minutes anda scheduled run of 21 weeks they had no fixedtime slot, being transmitted at varying timesbetween 6.30 and 9pm. It was this series thatintroduced Jack Train as FUNF the GermanSpy, and also the inimitable sound of its famousdoor with the rattly doorknob. That seriesended on February 6, 1940 and by then Tommy& Co. were firmly established in the hearts ofthe British public – but it was to be nearly 17months before the fun factory would once morebe back in business.Having received devastating attention fromthe Luftwaffe, Bristol was no longer a safehaven, so the Variety Department had movedits entire operation to Bangor, North Wales,some 240 miles from London where the thirdseries began at 8.30pm on Friday June 20,1941. Initially broadcast from the PenrhynHall, it was strangely titled It’s That Sand Again,with Tommy’s character being the Mayor ofFoaming-at-the-Mouth. The name change didnot find favour and after only six weeks arethink was undertaken and thankfully the nextseries reverted to the original title.It recommenced on Friday September26,1941 for 32 weeks, during which time ittransferred to the County Theatre.

Series five commenced on Friday September18, 1942, finishing in February 1943. Such wasthe public demand for its homely quick-firecomedy that, after only a two-month gap, thesixth series appeared on Thursday April 15,1943 for 16 weeks – and the change of day toThursdays at 8.30pm became its fixed placingright through to the bitter end.The BBC Variety Department returned toLondon during the Autumn of 1943 andestablished itself in Aeolian Hall in New BondStreet where series seven was conceived.Broadcast from the Criterion Theatre atPiccadilly Circus, the new show commenced a36-week run on Thursday 7 October. Series eight ran for 39 weeks, beginning onSeptember 21, 1944 through to June 14, 1945and the ninth commenced a similar run onSeptember 20, 1945, not only by introducing anew format featuring Tommy as the Mayor ofTomtopia, but also coming from its newpermanent studio, The Paris, a convertednewsreel cinema in Lower Regent Street.I had a lifetime career with the BBC,beginning as a ‘Sound Effects Boy’. Part of myinitiation had been a visit to one of the showsin the Criterion Theatre during 1944, but it wasat The Paris in 1945 that I joined the ITMAteam as part of the technical crew – theproducer’s brother, Bill Worsley, was on soundcontrol, and I and colleague Bill Flanagan wereon stage to provide the sound of theall-important rattly doorknob, plus whistles,crashes and bangs, ringing telephones, horseshooves, the diver’s bubbles and any other noisesthat might be required. Actress Joan Harben,who played ‘Mona Lott’, also played a character

Brian Willey, retired Executive Producer, Radio 2,penned this article about the legendary BBC radioshow ‘ITMA’, which first went on air 70 years ago.Originally published in the Evergreenmagazine,and reprinted with their kind permission, it tells the tale of this ‘revolution in radio’.

The restorers: former Audio Supervisor JerryClegg (left) with the owner Steve Harris

Veteran cameraman Con Jones renews hisacquaintance with an EMI 2001 camera

Posing in front of North 3 are former AudioSupervisor Jerry Clegg (left), with retired BBCcameramen John Chester (centre) and ConJones (right), with an EMI 2001 camera

Brian Willey

Memories

July • 2010 • • 7

who appeared to be nameless. She was a‘do-gooder’ who seemed to speak withoutpausing except to occasionally say ‘DownUpsey!’ to her pretend pekinese dog. I did theyapping for him!Being in my late teens, my world was centredon the show, only ever missing working on oneof them. It was the day I had to attend myNational Service ‘Medical’ – but I did get a sortof mention on the transmission. The characternamed Ali Oop was asked where he had beenand, after his long-winded explanation, Tommycommented, ‘Oh and I thought you’d been foryour medical.’ Having previously received a

copy of the script I knew it was an ad-lib!Each edition contained a lively orchestral interlude and it was during the ninthseries that the conductor, Charles Shadwell,retired (who could forget his infectious laugh?)and the baton for the BBC Variety Orchestrawas taken over by Rae Jenkins, a brilliantmusician who later became PrincipalConductor of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. On his first rehearsal of the ITMA signaturetune, in the excitement he took the tempo sofast that the cast was barely able to sing the words:

It’s that man again, yes that man again,Yes sir, Tommy Handley is here.You know the guy, he plays ‘I Spy’With furtive Funf, here’s mud in his eye.Mother’s pride and joy, Mrs Handley’s boy,Oh it’s useless to complain.When trouble’s brewing it’s his doing,That man, that man again.Sadly for me it was the only series I dealt with– for I was called-up for National Service inearly September 1946 just before the tenthseries commenced on September 19. My job,dealing with the sound effects and the essentialdoor, was taken over by Johnny Ammonds who,

in later years, became the TV producer for theMorecambe & Wise shows. He and I have oftenexchanged recollections of the fun we had in ouryounger days, and those memories still give usgreat joy.Series eleven ran for 39 weeks from September25, 1947 and series twelve took us fromSeptember 23, 1948 to January 6, 1949. It wasthe sixth episode of this run that the 300thedition was celebrated on October 28, 1948.Comedy has undoubtedly changed a greatdeal since those days and to present-day listenersit may all seem very corny – but I guaranteethat, if you were around during the war years,you would have been hooked on the fun,laughter and characters with their catch-phrasetrademarks and voices becoming as familiar inthe house as those of your own family.

On Sunday January 9, 1949 ITMA wasbrought to an untimely end with Tommy’ssudden death. He had dropped a collar-studwhile dressing and, bending down to pick it up,he suffered a cerebral haemorrhage brought onby high blood pressure. He died only three daysafter the last transmission and just eight daysbefore his 57th birthday.The news came immediately after the Sundayafternoon repeat broadcast and, seen as anational tragedy, it was the main item of allnews bulletins that night. Memorial services were held in LiverpoolCathedral and in London’s St Paul’s Cathedral,where thousands of mourners crowded in. Theservice was broadcast and also relayed to some2,000 mourners outside the cathedral. Such wasthe affection in which Tommy Handley was heldthat, on the day of his cremation at GoldersGreen Crematorium, there were an estimated10,000 mourners lining the streets six deep.Tommy was a delight to work with, totallysincere and self-effacing. When praised for hishumour he would modestly say, ‘My success isthe show and everybody taking part.’As a morale-booster it was claimed it helpedto win the war, for it certainly gave enormouscheer to a war-weary and long-suffering Britishpopulace. It was even jokingly said that, if aGerman invasion had started between 8.30 and9pm on a Thursday night, there would havebeen no opposition because everybody waslistening to ITMA. One cannot say fairer than that!

ITMA’s catch-phrasesJack Train as Funf, ‘Dis is Funfspeaking’, and ‘I don’t mind if I do’ astipsy Colonel Chinstrap. HoracePercival’s ‘Don’t forget the diver Sir’and ‘I go, I come back’ as Ali Oop.Hattie Jacques was also there asgreedy Sophie Tuckshop: ‘But I’malright now’; Sydney Keith’s ‘Say Boss,sompin’ terrible’s happened’; ClarenceWright’s ‘Good morning, nice day’; anddear Dorothy Summers as Mrs Moppwith ‘Can I do yer now Sir?’ and herfarewell ‘TTFN, ta-ta for now’.

Brian the ‘Sound Effects Boy’

8 • • July • 2010

Back at the BBC

MONEYMATTERSGiving to children By Kay IngramToday’s pensioners have benefited fromgrowth in house prices and generouspensions. This appears unlikely to beshared by their children andgrandchildren who face increasinglevels of personal debt and lessgenerous pension schemes.How then can you help futuregenerations to overcome these financialobstacles without leaving yourself shortof capital or paying too much tax whenyou eventually pass on your estate?A financial plan will allow you to take arealistic look at your own income needsnow and in the future so you know howmuch you can afford to give away now. Making larger gifts during your lifetimecan eventually reduce your estate ondeath and the tax paid on it, which islevied at 40%. The following gifts areexempt from inheritance tax:• £3,000 per year per donor and £250 per donee

• Up to £325,000 per person or£650,000 per married couple/civilpartner per lifetime

• Outright capital gifts made sevenyears before death

• Regular payments made fromsurplus income.

To qualify for exemption, gifts must beoutright and with no strings attached. Gifts made to minor children andyoung adults can be especially taxefficient on a regular basis. Each childhas their own personal income tax andcapital gains allowances (£6,475 and£10,100 respectively). By skipping ageneration, you can help grandchildrensave for their future, and little tax maybe paid on the gift or on the accruedsavings. The drawback with this type ofdirect gift is that at 18 the child canspend the money as they wish.A trust can give more control. Trusts,however, pay income tax at a rate ofbetween 42.5% and 50% and onlyhave a £5,050 capital gains taxallowance (but less if more than onetrust is established). Some investmentsthough are exempt from this. Gifts of regular smaller amounts canbe useful. These are exempt frominheritance tax immediately and do notuse up any of the allowances. They alsoenable grandparents to time paymentsto grandchildren and to stop orsuspend them if need be, and certainsavings vehicles can be establishedwhich do not require any personal taxto be paid by the grandparent or child. (N.B. Please note that tax rates, allowancesand exemptions are subject to change andthat the FSA does not regulate some formsof inheritance tax planning.)Kay Ingram is a Chartered FinancialPlanner at LEBC Group Ltd, one of apanel of independent financialadvisers selected by the BBC. Furtherdetails can be found onwww.bbc.co.uk/mypension. LEBCGroup Ltd is an appointedrepresentative of Sesame Ltd, whichis authorised and regulated by theFinancial Services Authority.Telephone: 0203 036 0515.

MONEYMATTERS

Glastonbury Archive onlineAs Glastonburycelebrated its 40thanniversary, a newwebsite depicting thehistory of the festivaland the BBC’sinvolvement with it was launched. Each of the 26 festivals held since 1970 has itsown webpage on Glastonbury – Established1970, which showcase the BBC’s presence inPilton, Somerset. Visitors to the site can now access BBC archivefootage of interviews with founder MichaelEavis, Radio 1 coverage from 1985 to 1997 andBBC Two programmes spanning the past decade. Each year features a list of that festival’s keyevents and the musical line up. Visitors caninput their festival experiences and uploadphotos. Senior content producer Tim Clarke says thiswas the ideal time to launch the site: ‘It is the40th anniversary, so there’s a lot of work in tvand radio around the history and it made perfectsense to join up these activities.’ ‘We also have new technical systems, likeiBroadcast, which allow us to future proof andeasily reuse the video we upload. We’ve got reallyearly stuff from 1970 with Michael Eavis sayinghe’s running the festival to pay off his overdraft.And we’ve mined the audio archive, which goesback to 1985. Andy Kershaw’s description of themessage wall, which people used to find eachother before mobile phones, is a reminder ofhow technology changes culture.’

Share themoment The latest ‘evolution’ of the BBC iPlayerhas launched with fanfare, offering ahost of new features, including theability to customise the page, accesssocial media and connect to otherbroadcasters’ sites.Initially available only in beta, the newlook enables users to do things like selectone episode of a favourite programmeand have the iPlayer automaticallydownload the next available episode,while links to Facebook and Twitter meanyou can comment on what you arewatching and recommend output to yourfriends online. In the coming months the BBC willexperiment further with social media byadding Windows Live messenger sousers can log in through iPlayer andchat while they watch.Radio and tv now have separatesections making it easier to channelhop and browse for content and, fromthe summer, the iPlayer will providelinks to rival channels such as ITVPlayer, 4oD, Clic, Demand Five andSeesaw. So viewers can search for anyprogramme and iPlayer will link to it,helping drive up traffic to external sites.

BBC independenceconcerns over plansfor audit oversightThe new coalition’s plan to give ‘full access’ tothe BBC’s accounts to the National Audit Officewould be an unprecedented move, and one thatthe BBC Trust has flagged in the past as apotential threat to BBC independence.The determination to ‘give the NAO full accessto the BBC’s accounts to ensure transparency’ –alongside maintaining the independence of theBBC – heads up the Conservative-LiberalDemocrat legislative programme.The agenda makes no mention of the trustitself, but leaves the door open to using licencefee switchover money to fund roll out ofsuperfast broadband to remote areas. The trustsaid it ‘looked forward’ to discussing that withthe new government.The move to open the BBC’s books was nosurprise. It was a pledge in both parties’ electionmanifestos and the Public Accounts Committeesaid last month that not allowing the NAO fullaccess was ‘anomalous and untenable’.But it could profoundly alter the longstandingrelationship the BBC has had with the NAO,which is overseen by the PAC.The trust has regularly asked the NAO tocomplete value for money (VFM) studies onsignificant areas of BBC spending – mostrecently the BBC major estates projects,including the Broadcasting House development,and big sporting events. The NAO has been given free access to all

accounts relevant to those areas and reportedback to the trust.It is still unclear exactly what the coalitionmeans by ‘full access’, but to stick to the termsof the charter, any auditor of the BBC accountswould have to report to the trust, which isresponsible for VFM and the BBC’sindependence from parliament. Any other arrangement would need a changeto the charter and that has never happenedduring a ten-year charter period.Could ‘full access’, for instance, meanautomatic disclosure of star salaries? Trusteesaren’t talking specifics. Last week, theysupported the government’s emphasis ontransparency, but said only: ‘We will continue towork with the NAO to ensure they have fullaccess to BBC information so they can carry outtheir work for us on securing value for moneyfor licence fee payers.’However, the NAO has had access to details ofpresenter pay before, as when it reported onmajor events in February, revealing then that 20percent of one event’s budget had been spent onpresenters. Only the aggregated amount was published.Ultimately, concerns about independence aremore likely to be about public perception thatthe BBC’s separation from government – and soits ability to scrutinise what government does –is being challenged.

July • 2010 • • 9

Back at the BBC

Review crazy?As the BBC Trust chews over public and industry responses to thestrategy review proposals, it has launched its seventh service licencereview, to find out if Radios 3, 4 and 7 could serve licence payers better.

All three networks have increased listeningfigures and their value and distinctiveness werestrongly endorsed in Mark Thompson’s strategyreview proposals, which suggest closer alignmentof Radio 4 and 7, and a rebranding of the digitalstation as Radio 4 Extra.The trust’s latest 12-week consultation, whichcloses in August – when trustees also could bedelivering their interim conclusions on the muchbroader BBC-wide review – would takeThompson’s proposals into account, said DavidLiddiment, who is leading the new servicelicence study.‘For instance, the rebranding of Radio 7 getsonly a brief mention, so we will ask what licencepayers think about the idea and ask managementto flesh it out.‘In that sense, the service review can act as asupport to the BBC’s broader thinking,’ he told Ariel.A former head of BBC tv entertainment, whocommissioned Pop Idol while at ITV and execproduced Coronation Street, Liddiment admitsthat there may be a sense of review fatigue, giventhe number the trust undertakes.

‘There is a perception that we’re review crazy,but each has a distinct purpose; they’re notreviews for reviews’ sake,’ he said. With more than 20 services funded by acompulsory fee, the BBC had to be accountable,he added, and five yearly service licence reviewsare stipulated in the BBC charter.‘It’s a price worth paying for the extraordinaryprivilege of having £3.4bn in public funding. Wemake no apology for what is a right and properprocess which, on outcomes to date, has provedto be constructive and positive. It’s no SpanishInquisition.’The new service review would also involve‘extensive discussions with management’, so staffwishing to raise issues for consideration can doso through their line managers or, as licencepayers, via the consultation. A final report will be published early next year,after the final strategy review conclusions, duethis autumn. The findings of an earlier service review, intoBBC One, Two, Four and the Red Button, aredue soon.

New move to increase numberof managers with disabilitiesA pilot scheme is aiming to increase the numbersof people with disabilities at management levelin the BBC.From November, eight placements for disabledmanagers with the potential to take their careersfurther within the organisation are being offeredin London, Cardiff, Birmingham and Bristol.A sister scheme to the long running Extendprogramme, BBC ManageAble is seeking peoplewith a proven track record, qualified to take oneight-month paid placements across journalism,technology, finance, project and businessmanagement.The vacancies – open to external candidatesand internal applicants as an attachment – rangefrom a project development producer inentertainment to a local radio business managerand senior commercial manager.

The BBC Trust has raised the cashallowed for property rental this financialyear by £23m, to reflect an expected risein those costs as the BBC moves frombuildings it owns to leased property. In the longer term the BBC will free upcapital from the buildings it owned, andthe Trust says this is ‘a much more costeffective approach, giving the BBC cashto invest and greater flexibility’.The extra money for rent comes in areview by the Trust of the service licencesof the BBC’s 28 services. Service licencesare an account of each service’s remit,scope, budget, aims and objectives andessential activities. They also show howthe Trust assesses performance and arereviewed every five years. As part of this review the Trust hasdecided on accounting changes, usingnew methodology to reallocate existing

costs. There are also a number of one-offrevisions to licences, including an £8.5mincrease in the budget for children’sservices. Local radio gets an extra £2m,after a change to the nations and regionstv and radio services licences. Themoney will come from cuttingnon-content costs. The Trust has also asked 6 Music to‘articulate better’ its brand identity, andto safeguard existing levels of live music.The service licences for both 6 and Radio2 will be amended to try to minimisesong overlap between the two stations,and with Radio 1 and commercial radio.The Trust acknowledges that theexecutive has proposed closing 6 Music,but, noting its own review of the idea,says: ‘We feel it is appropriate to actionthe existing recommendations now.’

More money to spend on rent

United insupport of 6 Music andAsian NetworkIt was, perhaps, the most politedemonstration of recent times, withcakes, music and banner slogans suchas ‘Would you mind awfully if we kept6Music, we’re rather fond of it’. Some1,000 people rallied outsideBroadcasting House to hear presenterJon Holmes read out messages ofsupport for the digital station frommusicians, speeches from CerysMatthews, Liz Kershaw and ShaunKeaveny among others and a ‘rant’from comedian Ed Byrne. Nor was 6 the only digital stationbeing supported, with a ‘flash mob’ forthe Asian Network adding to thenumbers in Portland Place and bringingbhangra dancing to the stage. After therally protestors headed to a free ‘Save6 Music’ gig nearby.

Funded by the BBC diversity centre andinvolving the BBC Academy’s college ofleadership, the scheme offers training anddevelopment opportunities, with an emphasison transferrable skills. As with the entry levelExtend scheme, people can compete forpermanent jobs at the end of the eight months.Almost 70% of disabled people in Extendplacements have gone on to further BBCemployment.The BBC now has a senior manager disabilitytarget of 4.5%, to be reached by 2012. Currently3.4% of senior managers declare a disability.The BBC Disabled Staff Forum has criticisedthe first ever senior manager target asunambitious, but deputy chairman GeoffAdams-Spink said the BBC ManageAble pilotwas to be commended.

Taxi bills on generous sideBBC expenses policy on taxis is ‘particularlygenerous’, compared with other organisations, anew study has found.But most of the rules around BBC expensesare in line with best practice in the private andpublic sector, the benchmarking review byaccountants KPMG concludes.The BBC-commissioned report draws specialattention to the late night/early morningtransport policy which allows staff to bookminicabs from preferred suppliers for journeysof up to 40 miles.KPMG admits that it had been difficult to getdetailed comparable information from othercompanies in order to comment accurately. Butthey judged that the BBC was ‘particularlygenerous to employees when compared to otheremployers’. Comparator organisations includedother media companies and the Treasury.‘The nature of these expenses could leave the

BBC open to criticism if scrutinised by the ‘manon the Clapham omnibus’, who might notreadily appreciate the operational need for suchexpenses,’ the review says, recommending ananalysis of journeys above 25 miles.The senior executive taxi bill for the lastquarter of 2009 was £39,000, according to thelast BBC expenses disclosure.A BBC spokeswoman said: ‘As a 24-hourbroadcaster, the BBC has a late night/earlymorning transport policy to enable staff to travelto and from work at hours when publictransport is not available. The value of this wasrecognised in the report.’On 12 other areas reviewed, including businesstravel, entertainment and overseas expenses, theBBC was broadly in line with best practice, andhad lower limits on overnight accommodationthan some companies.

Obituaries

10 • • July • 2010

Pioneering televisionreporterDavid Allen was one of the original band ofpioneering television reporters on the BBCWales nightly news programme Wales Today – now the world’s longest running news programme.He was one of a generation of journalists whobegan their careers straight out of grammarschool and learned the craft of grassrootsnewsgathering still in their teens on the streetsof their communities and in the newsrooms oflocal and regional newspapers.David’s first job was at 12/6d a week (62.5p)on the local paper in Narberth, Pembrokeshire– a salary which equated exactly with the 12/6dit cost him to get to work each week by bus. Theeditor promised him an extra half-a-crown aweek (12.5p) if he learned shorthand.There was one snag. The shorthand lessonswould cost him half a crown a week – but oncehe’d finished the course he could keep the extra.No one ever learned shorthand faster than David.David made the move from newspapers toradio in the late fifties at a time when hot metalmen tended to look down on broadcast news asnot ‘real’ journalism. But the launch of regionaltelevision news magazines including WalesToday in 1962 began to change old attitudesand David took to the new medium as a natural.In those days television reporting was new.There were no rules, no precedents. Nobodyhad done it before. It was David Allen and hisgeneration who, by trial and error, developedmany of the techniques still in use today.David’s talent didn’t go unnoticed in London.

He was soon offered a regular role on the BBC1nightly magazine programme Tonight, whichthen regularly drew audiences of over sevenmillion. But after a year in TV Centre the pullof his native Pembrokeshire proved too strongand he returned to work for BBC Wales and toset up his is own magazine publishing company.At the age of 77 David has now left us. He wasone of the first – and one of the best – but hislegacy, his lilting cultured Welsh voice, his filmreports and his unique way with words live on,archived, digitised, and now part of the verywarp and weft of 20th century Welsh history.David Morris Jones

Master TV/OB GolfPlannerAt the funeral of Sam Branter (TV/OBSEngineering Manager), over 200 colleagues,golfing friends and neighbours paid farewell toa much loved friend. Sam joined the BBC in Londonderry in 1944as a Youth in Training. He was involved in allkinds of outside broadcasts including theplanning for the football World Cup in Mexico,royal state events and other major events. In hislatter years, he specialised in making thecomplex technical arrangements for all themajor golf tournaments including the Mastersin Atlanta, Georgia. He was an excellent golferhimself and a great sportsman. Sam was a verypopular man with a great sense of humour. Our condolences go to his wife Joan, sonsMartin and Richard, daughter Beverley and grandchildren.Bert Robinson

Making a difference

Robin Woodbridge died at St Albans on March8, 2010, at the age of 75, having spent his entirecareer with the BBC. After an engineeringdegree at Peterhouse, Cambridge, he joined asa sound engineer, following the advice of histutor to choose a career ‘where he could make adifference’. He later moved into humanresources, and became Head of Personnel forCentral Services, retiring in 1992. In hisyounger days Robin was a noted sportsman,playing rugby for his county, but his greatestlove was for early music. He was anaccomplished amateur musician on the viol,recorders and flute, and in retirement manyhappy hours were spent playing in viol consortsand chamber music groups. His first wife, Ann,predeceased him, and he married Margaret in2004. He leaves two sons, Mike and Mark, andfive grandchildren.Dr Margaret Woodbridge

From BBCcritic to Headof PublicityGeorge Campey OBE was thegamekeeper turned poacher. He starteda distinguished career on The Hull DailyMail followed by The Daily Telegraph,Manchester Guardian and finally astelevision editor of The London EveningStandard where he became thesternest critic of the BBC.One of his biggest journalistic scoopscame in 1953, the year before he joinedthe BBC. The establishment was hotlydebating the merits of televising theCoronation of the Queen live ontelevision. The Churchill Governmentwas not keen and George reported onevery twist and turn in the controversyon whether cameras would be allowedin Westminster Abbey. One morning acaller, muffling his voice with ahandkerchief, tipped off George to ‘getdown to the Abbey now!’ Breathless, hearrived to see the Duke of Norfolk, theEarl Marshall, and Peter Dimmock, thenBBC assistant head of OutsideBroadcasts, picking out the camerapositions. George had his story andwas the first to report on the plans for atelevised Coronation which was totransform the image of British televisionand BBC television.A year later from fierce critic, heswitched to become television publicity,challenged to bring BBC televisionpublicity up to date and succeedingHuw Wheldon. His task was formidable.BBC television facing a new challengein 1955, ITV. He had to change the BBCfrom an organisation dominated byradio into a new force to stand up toand compete with the brash newcomer,commercial (independent) television.He succeeded in helping the BBCbecome a more competitive force andbecame head of Information Division in1958. Drawing on his journalisticbackground, he forged an efficientdepartment. At his headquarters inCavendish Place, he established apressroom where Fleet Street’sbroadcasting correspondents waitedfor the latest word from George. It wasthere they camped each day, not at ITV.With his wry Yorkshire humour andstrong journalistic background, he dealtwith every controversy for 22 yearsfrom That Was The Week That Was andMary Whitehouse, to the greatbroadcasting enquiries, serving andadvising three Directors General – SirIan Jacob, Hugh Carlton Green andCharles Curran.Even as he retired in 1976, he was stillat the centre of BBC events. As hehanded over the keys of his office to hissuccessor, another journalist PeterWoon, the BBC faced another barrageof press enquiries as viewers blockedthe switchboards with complaints that anewsreader was slurring his words sohe sent the BBC spokesmen andwomen back to man the phones.Peter Rosier

Parliamentary correspondentwho covered the last yearsof Churchill’s premiership

Roland Fox MBE, who died at the age of 97on May 12, was a BBC ParliamentaryCorrespondent throughout the fifties – onlythe second in the post. With ER Thompson,whom he succeeded in 1955, and with ConradVoss Bark, he covered the last years ofChurchill’s premiership, the heated Suezdebates, the first televised State Opening ofParliament in 1958, toured Africa with Harold Macmillan, and made importantbreakthroughs in coverage of party conferences.During the war he spent most of his six years in the army on the staff of General Montgomery at 21st Army GroupHeadquarters, where his knowledge of

shorthand was regarded by his superiors asmore important than his training as a Sergeantgunner. He was appointed MBE (Mil.) for hisservices.Edward Roland Ruthven Fox (known to hisfriends as ‘Roly’) was born in Derby in 1913,the son of an insurance manager. He left DerbyMunicipal Secondary School at 14 and startedin a coal office at 10/- a week. He went to nightschool to learn shorthand, which was regardedby colleagues as impeccable, and became acopytaker on the Derby Evening Telegraph, thenmoved as a reporter to the Stoke EveningSentinel until the outbreak of war. When hewas demobbed, he joined the Press Association,moving on to the BBC. He became assistant to‘Teddy’ Thompson, who had reported thewhole of the ‘45 Labour government fromParliament single-handed, and soon foundhimself on the air, although he had never beenvoice-tested, and was never told he would berequired to broadcast. The BBC operated from a small telephonebooth in the Central Lobby – once, the eccentricright-winger Sir Waldron Smithers wrenchedopen the door as Fox was phoning copythrough, and shouted ‘Tell them they’re all a lotof Commies!’ After some ‘craft resistance’ fromnewspaper journalists, he and Thompson wereallocated two seats in the press gallery and asmall office; in 1958 he was the first broadcasterto be elected Chairman of the Gallery. Fox also joined the Lobby, for which hisdiscreet and friendly manner fitted himadmirably, and he got to know Churchill,Attlee, Eden and Macmillan. He was once sentto Hyde Park Gate to interview Churchill at

home (thinking the meeting there withconstituency chairmen might lead to aresignation announcement) but when the PMspotted the recording box and microphone hecourteously told Fox: ‘I am sorry you have beentroubled – but thank you for coming!’Churchill eventually resigned during anewspaper strike, so the news of this and ofEden’s succession came from the BBC and itsparliamentary staff.When TV news began, it often meant a longjourney by cab up to Alexandra Palace in northLondon – they learned their lines by heart onthe way. Later the Westminster studio wasadapted for TV, and Fox did the first ever liveTV broadcast fed in by remote control. On oneoccasion the studio lights failed suddenly in themiddle of his piece, but he knew what hewanted to say and gamely continued to the endof his live report in total darkness. He neverhad any editorial supervision – all that wasrequired, he said, was that he come out on time!In 1960 Fox left Parliament, where he wasalways supportive and kind to youngercorrespondents, and went on to perform severalbehind-the-scenes roles for the BBC, as deputyto the Head of Publicity (see George Campey’sobituary, left), and to the Editor of News andCurrent Affairs, retiring in 1974.Roland Fox was first married to JosephineJohnson, who died in 1992, by whom he hada daughter and a son. He later moved toNorfolk. In 2000 he married a long-timefriend, Joan Auders, when they were both intheir eighties. She died in 2008.Peter Hill

Obituaries

July • 2010 • • 11

moving around the country because his fatherran city centre hotels), mischievous wit and anability to give those around him in the studiofits of the giggles.He was also famous for his ability to arrive justin time to start recording, and give a nearfaultless performance even though there waslittle opportunity to prepare or read through the script.It did not always go smoothly as anothercolleague, Peter Harrison, recalled. He said:‘Peter was a seat-of-your-pants-last-minute-let’swing-it-it’s bound to be more fun-that-waybroadcaster. And I remember he himself toldme the story that made the point. ‘He breezes in late to rehearse a Radio 4 playin New Broadcasting House with, I think, TonyCliffe directing and starts to apologise. Tonywaves him to his chair and carries on with the rehearsal.‘Peter settles down and studies the script,waiting for his cue. But there is somethingabout the script he finds unsettling. He starts tosay something but Tony raises a hand to silencehim. The read-through proceeds right throughto the end but Peter is never called upon for hiscontribution. He has got the wrong time, thewrong day – and the wrong play!’A career freelance, Peter also worked for ITVand became a familiar voice on Granada in thenorth of England as a newscaster, reporter and interviewer.More recently, Peter worked in thecommercial and corporate sector, providingmedia training and guidance for clients aroundthe world.Peter’s family were delighted to see so manyold BBC colleagues and friends at histhanksgiving service at the United ReformedChurch in Wilmslow on June 1.Anyone who wishes to leave a message of condolence can do so atwww.p-w-a.co.uk/remembering.aspChris Wheeler

Come DancingTo some, Peter Wheeler was the host of CallMy Bluff or Come Dancing, to others The Sunrottweiler on What The Papers Say, or a familiarvoice on countless television and radioproductions.Peter’s career in broadcasting spanned over 50 years, and it is a measure of his devotion towork that he was in a business meeting on theday of his sudden death from a heart attack atthe age of 75 on May 18.Peter started out in radio as a teenager whenhe and his brother Geoffrey – who went on tohost Songs of Praise for many years – wereintroduced to a junior drama group inManchester that included Judith and SandraChalmers, Brian Trueman and Billie Whitelaw. They performed in radio plays and wereregular contributors to Children’s Hour.Peter was known for his range of accents(honed to some extent from a childhood spent

A giant of a manIt was the autumn of 1979 when I metJohn Merrick, and goodness what asurprise! Anyone who thought thatpeople in Personnel were demurewomen in pearls, pen pushers orfaceless bureaucrats had not reckonedwith Mr John Charles Merrick. A veritable giant of a man; hale, heartyand as direct and rumbustious a fellowas you could imagine.John joined the Grading department atthe BBC after a long and distinguishednaval career. This job gave him a greatintroduction to the work of theCorporation. With assignments toevery part of the country, John’sunderstanding and fascination with theBBC grew, and so did his love of theplace. He took to his new world withrelish, tackling personal cases,reorganisations and Industrial Relationswith vigour – and a refreshing northerncandour.To say John’s approach to Personnelwas non-traditional would be quite anunderstatement. He found many of theregulations and procedures in force atthe time to be petty and unnecessary,he hated pomposity and he did notsuffer fools gladly. But he had a greatappetite to get real problems sortedand he was fearless! Staff, managers,union reps and colleagues – well mostof them! – loved his straightforward,no-nonsense and decent approach. When he finally retired John loved totravel, and he gave his time freely toothers as an active member and thenchair of the BBC’s PensionersAssociation and a CAB adviser.John’s happiness seemed to grow ashe got older; he was fulfilled in hisprofessional life, respected andappreciated by friends and colleaguesand loved by his family.John was a wonderful man and atremendous colleague who will begreatly missed. His unmatchedcapacity for friendship and ability toenjoy life are rare qualities indeed.Those of us who spent so many happyhours with him will do our very best tocarry on his fine tradition. Kate Smith

Bob Kingscote died suddenly at his home in Penrith on Tuesday 27April, aged 91. Bob, who was born in Gloucestershire and educated atWeston Super Mare, joined the Corporation at Daventry in 1938 as aJunior Maintenance Engineer. After the war, he rejoined the Corporation at Skelton Transmitter,working in the Day Maintenance Workshop. Bob was duly promotedto SME in charge of day maintenance, a role in which he developed hisskills and oversaw many large projects. He was highly respected amonghis fellow engineers as well as those from Head Office.

Bob was a gentleman of the old school – holding open doors andstopping his car to help old people across the road – even though theywere much younger than him! His funeral took place at thecrematorium at Carlisle and was attended by many friends and by excolleagues. We extend our sympathies to his wife Hilda and to his daughterSallyann and her children.Ken Shepherdson

A designer with anoperatic visionThe set designer David Myerscough Jonesjoined the BBC Design department in 1965,having worked in the theatre, most notably atGlasgow Citizens and at The Mermaid in London.David was at the BBC at a time of greatexpansion following the creation of BBC2. Earlyproductions included episodes of Dr Who andthe Paul Temple crime series. Major recognitionof David’s considerable talent came when he wasasked to design the sets for a televisionproduction of Britten’s opera Peter Grimes in1969. This was followed by the world premiereof the Britten opera commissioned by the BBC,Owen Wingrave. During the 1970s several moreopera projects took place at Television Centreeither directed by Jonathan Miller (The Beggar'sOpera and Cosi Van Tutti) or Brian Large (LaTraviata, Macbeth and The Flying Dutchman).As well as opera, David was a leading figure inthe design of TV drama, particularly where histheatrical style was appropriate. Among manyawards, David received a BAFTA for ThereseRaquin and an RTS award for The Flying Dutchman.David left the BBC in 1990, and the last yearsof his life were spent living in France. His housewas filled with pictures, books and a vastcollection of recordings which included manyWagner Ring cycles for which he had a great passion.David was immensely generous and warmhearted and everyone who worked with himremembers him with affection. All his manyfriends offer his wife Pelo and the four childrenour deepest sympathy.A memorial service celebrating David’s lifewill be held at St Paul's Church, Covent Gardenat mid-day on Saturday 9 October. Graham Lough

Voice of the nationTom Fleming, the BBC’s voice of the nationon great occasions, has died aged 82. He was aman of extraordinary talent; an actor (stage,television and film) and a theatre director whofounded both the Lyceum Theatre Company ofEdinburgh and the Scottish Theatre Company.He was a writer and poet but was best knownand loved by the public as a broadcaster – thevoice of the BBC on state occasions for morethan 50 years.His rich voice, unique style and poetic waywith words brought as much to our nationaloccasions as did the live pictures over which he spoke.Tom’s first major commentary was on theQueen’s Coronation in 1953 and the final oneon the Edinburgh Military Tattoo of 2008. In

55 years, among others, he covered the Queen’sSilver Jubilee, the Royal Weddings of PrincessAnne and Prince Charles, the Enthronementsof Popes and Archbishops, the Bafta and RTSaward winning VE and VJ Daycommemorations in 1995, the funerals of theDuke of Windsor, Diana Princess of Wales andQueen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. Tom’s words, which were particularlypoignant on solemn occasions, set the moodand tone of the event for the viewer. He careddeeply about Remembrance Sunday at theCenotaph. He particularly liked to bring outstories of individual people to contrast with theanonymity of Whitehall. He was a man of great professionalism andintegrity, meticulous in all his preparation for a

commentary, determined to be accurate, doinghis own research. He would arrive at thecommentary box with sheaves of beautifullyhand written notes, short and eloquent phraseswhich were the core of his live commentary,while adding well chosen words off the cuff asthe event unfolded. Paradoxically, Tom was a very private person.He believed passionately that the commentatorshould be heard as an anonymous voice andshould not be seen. It was a privilege to knowsuch a remarkable broadcaster, a warm andfunny man, who was held in great affection byall of us who worked with him. We will beforever grateful for all that he brought to us andto the BBC’s coverage of great national events.Philip Gilbert

Respected Skelton engineer

We were unfortunately inundated with obituaries for this issue of Prospero.Among the many that we have been unable to publish due to space constraintsare Radost Pridham, Maurice Everitt, Robert Hudson, Robert Milne-Tyte, StephenHearst, Ronald Johnson, Bernie Andrews, Laurie Mason, Ted Clark and AnthonyQuaddy. We hope to publish these in the August issue.

12 • • July • 2010

Talking point

The next issue will

appear in August

ARIEL SUBSCRIPTIONS

UK: 6 months £26 1 year £50Overseas: 6 months £36 1 year £60 Please phone 01709 768 199

Pebble MillThere will be a BBC Pebble Mill Camera Department Reunion onWednesday August 11 from noon onwards, to be held at Ye OldeSaracens Head, Balsall Common, West Midlands CV7 7AS. Allex-Pebble Mill staff are very welcome. For more details contactKeith Salmon (Tel: 01564776747; k.sam@tiscali.co.uk).

Design & Scenic Services GroupThe 30th annual reunion lunch for ex-members of BBC TelevisionDesign & Scenic Services Group, spouses, partners and friendswill take place at noon on Friday October 1 at Ealing Golf Club,Greenford, Middlesex. For further information please contactHilary Worrall (Tel: 020 8677 3067).

The plan is to sell the landmark premises, parts of whichare listed, by 2013, but at a Creative London conferenceon June 21, hosted by the BBC at White City, chiefoperating officer Caroline Thomson painted a picture of afuture in which the ‘concrete doughnut’ figuredprominently.Even after its disposal by the corporation, it couldcontinue to ‘live on’, she suggested, as the centrepiece of anew creative hub of media organisations, arts groups,facility providers and even fashion houses.‘Our vision is to turn this area [W12] into a global centrefor London’s creative industries with the BBC at its heart,’

she said. ‘In doing so, we shall be shaping an entirecommunity, replacing the buzz of Television Centre withthe buzz of an entire neighbourhood.’A fresh approach was needed, she explained, becausealthough TVC, which opened on June 29 1960, ‘wasbrilliantly future-proofed’ for its time, it had outlived its usefulness.‘It is clear that a building that was envisaged as aself-sufficient island for public service broadcasting cannotfulfil everything the BBC needs in today’s mediaenvironment,’ she said. ’Now that the UK is home to athriving independent production sector, the ‘Fortress Beeb’mentality is rightly consigned to history.’The inward-facing circle, which gave TVC its distinctivelook, was also wrong in terms of broadcasters’ relationshipwith the audience, Thomson believed. ‘Modern audiencesnot only expect to be able to watch whenever and whereverthey want –they want to be involved, to engage withproducers and see what is going on. That wasn’t the way itwas supposed to work in 1960.’Echoing this view, Chris Kane, head of Workplace, toldMonday’s conference that the world’s most famous tvcomplex was ‘no longer fit for purpose’, and thatsomething ‘more open and outward-facing’ was required.‘Television Centre served a broadcasting age but this is adigital age,’ he said.He added that the BBC had ‘learned a lot’ from itsexperiences of establishing ‘creative clusters’ in other partsof the UK such as Glasgow and Cardiff and he hoped thatthe event, which was attended by around 150 business andcreative industry representatives, would be ‘the start of abig conversation’ about the regeneration of W12.

Television Centre has had its day; long live TelevisionCentre. That is the message this week for the iconicbuilding, symbol of a golden age of programme making,as it prepares to celebrate its 50th anniversary.

Does it have a goldenfuture after all?

Helios, the iconic statue at Television Centre

So why is it called the ‘doughnut’?Television Centre is known for its unusual shape aka the‘Doughnut’ centre. How did it end up looking the way it does?

Well, there is a bit of a story attached to its appearance. ArchitectGraham Dawbarn, who was commissioned to design the building in1949, was given a 50-page brief but was stuck for ideas. Hoping forinspiration, he went to a local pub, pulled out an old envelope anddrew the triangular shape of the west London site on the back.

He then drew a question mark in the middle of the triangle. Howcould he design a centre with eight studios, production galleries,dressing rooms, camera workshops, recording areas and offices tosupport them, he wondered.

The complex also needed anarea to bring in trucks withsets and a separate space tobring in audiences and guests.

He looked at the question markand in a flash of inspirationrealised that it would make theperfect design.

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