Hush Hush Hall Wood Norton In WW2 - Logo Of The BBC

03BBC Pensions customer surveyThe survey will remain open until 30 Juneand we will publish the results of the surveyin the October edition of Prospero.From time to time we ask for feedbackto help us monitor the satisfaction ofmembers in respect of the Scheme-relatedservices provided.We would be grateful if you could taketime to complete this survey. The responsesyou give are confidential and all questionsare optional. To complete the survey, pleasevisit www.bbc.co.uk/mypension.Alternatively you can request a papercopy from the pension service line on:029 2032 2811.If you have any questions about thissurvey or your pension, please contact thepension service line on: 029 2032 2811or email: myPension@bbc.co.uk.BBC MusicLibrary Exhibitionthis summerThe BBC Music Library is proud to presenta free exhibition celebrating over 90 yearssupporting the BBC’s musical output onTV, radio and at the Proms.The exhibition will take place thissummer at the Barbican Library between7 July and 28 August and will chart thehistory of the library through the yearswith many musical examples and artefacts.It will include many rare and unseentreasures from the depths of theBBC Archive.For further information, pleaseemail the music library manager:Natalie.Dewar@bbc.co.ukBBC unveils plans for heritage trailThe BBC will mark itsbroadcasting history with aseries of plaques placed onkey landmarks in London.‘We want to celebrate its reopening witheveryone, so we’re launching a brand newhistorical plaque trail, starting here andworking its way across the capital.’The blue plaques are similar in designto those used by English Heritage tocommemorate buildings with historicalsignificance.While they have been commissionedby the BBC, English Heritage has approvedthe design.Director-general Tony Hall unveiled the firstof these at Television Centre on 23 Aprilduring an event marking the arrival ofWorldwide to its new home.He was accompanied by Tess Daly, BruceForsyth, Claudia Winkleman and Worldwidechief executive Tim Davie as he showed offthe blue plaque which reads: ‘One of the firstpurpose-built television complexes in theworld’, dated 1960.Hall said: ‘Television Centre is an iconicbuilding. Countless legendary programmeswere created here – and it’s great to see ourBBC Worldwide team in such an inspiringnew space.CROSPERO the squareusing theapply only to words234569CLUES10111213141. Portent (4); 2. Grim experience (6); 3. Metal (4); 4. Pioneer flyer (3);5. Choppers (4); 6. Grippable surface (5); 7. Vivacity (4); 8. Yearn (4);9. Terminated (6); 10. Pale (5); 11. Protein substance (6);12. Apparel (4); 13. Former Soviet state (4); 14. Lovers’ meeting (5);15. Mountain goat (4); 16. Exclamation (3); 17. Observed (4);18. Generates again (6); 19. Colours (4)151618running across. Then take these words in numerical order andextract the letters indicated by the dot. If your answers arecorrect, the letters will spell out the names of two BBC charactersof yesteryear.Please send your answers in an envelope marked ‘Crospero’ to TheEditor, Prospero, BBC Pension and Benefits Centre, BroadcastingHouse, Cardiff CF5 2YQ, by Friday 10th July 2015. The winner willreceive a 10 voucher.78devised and compiled by Jim PalmSolutions to Crospero 184: There; Race; Vale; Aloes; Miner;Gesso; Ilton; Uta; Onion; Orate; Dew; Paste; Effra; Otter; Drain;Deys; Ebon; Trust.1719The TV programme was Have I Got News For You, and the winner ofa 10 voucher was Alan Pennington of Reading.BBC Threemove ‘delayeduntil 2016’Plans to moveBBC Three online havebeen delayed as theCorporation waits forthe BBC Trust toapprove its proposals.The channel was originally supposed tobecome an online-only brand in autumn2015, but its boss said the shift would notnow occur until ‘after Christmas’.‘We won’t be rushed. We will do what’sright for our fans, not to satisfy deadlines,’said Damian Kavanagh.The Trust is expected to deliver adecision on the move around September.It is currently running a public valuetest, after which it will publish provisionalconclusions and seek comment fromthe public.‘Once we have the Trust’s final decision,we’ll start doing more online and in social[media], building up to a move online,’Kavanagh told Broadcast magazine.‘You simply can’t turn aroundsomething as groundbreaking asthis overnight.’The youth channel was earmarkedfor closure as a linear TV channel by BBCdirector-general Tony Hall last year.Under current proposals, it will beremodelled as an online platform, offeringtailored content based around comedy andthought-provoking programming.Programmes will not just liveon iPlayer, but will be distributed onthird party sites including YouTubeand Facebook.The removal of the channel from digitalterrestrial television will make room for aBBC One 1 service, while CBBC will beextended by two hours in the evening.But critics have said the delay inapproving the proposals have turnedBBC Three into a ‘zombie channel’,with confusion over its future leadingto a ‘logjam’ in commissioning newprogrammes.Jimmy Mulville, managing director ofHave I Got News For You production companyHat Trick, argued that the channel wasalready being dismantled.‘Already assets are being taken offBBC Three. They are destroying thevalue of BBC Three as we speak,’ hetold the Guardian.‘They are actually setting up andputting resources into a BBC onlinechannel which is yet to be ratified by thetrust. This speaks to the very heart of howthe BBC is governed.’Mulville, along with Jon Thoday ofAvalon productions, has approached theBBC Trust with a plan to buy BBC Threeand run it independently.The Corporation has insisted thechannel ‘is not for sale’.PROSPERO JUNE 2015

04 LETTERSCluttered voiceoversNot sure about ‘MOB rule’ (Prospero Letters,April 2015) but, together with many otherviewers of current BBC programmes, I feelthere is much left to be desired in thequality of the sound mix of most recentlymade programmes.For example, there must be a directivesent to directors/editors/sound mixerswhich instructs them always to put music(often at a high level) under commentaryor voiceover links in documentaries.However, without the visual help of seeingthe speaker’s lips in PTCs, it is surely evenmore important to keep the intelligibilityof voiceovers as good as possible withoutcluttering them with often unnecessary andinappropriate music. Short links especiallyshould be kept clear.A prime example of unnecessary andinappropriate music is the otherwiseexcellent Michael Portillo series of Great BritishRailway Journeys where, now very predictably,odd snippets of music seem to clutter eachand every voiceover – and most are the sameold links recycled over and over again! Worse,they are often of a strident solo electric pianowhich completely fights both the voiceoverand the pictures. Has the skill of using prerecorded and Foley FX on archive footagebeen lost forever?There was even one sync shot of a heritagesteam train puffing by with music plasteredall over it – what’s wrong with hearing thesync sound alone?Never mind, forget the sound: we nowwatch the series using sub-titles only!My view is that probably the directivefor squeezing music into every productionwhenever possible came from the samesource as the one which tells all VT editorsto speed up leisurely drifting clouds so thatthey hurtle past at 100mph!John HaleLord Hall respondsto music complaintsI recently had cause to write to the directorgeneral about the increasing use of excessiveand unsuitable music that spoils many BBCdocumentaries for me and others.I’m pleased to say that in his reply Lord Hallexplained how seriously he took my concerns.He went on to stress how the BBC continuesto monitor their documentary output throughDanny Cohen and his executive producers andthey are always looking for ways to improve.Interestingly enough, a month later aseason called BBC4 Goes Slow was screened.These documentaries had no music ornarration, just the pictures telling the storyand therefore were unhindered by thosebreathless reminders of what was at stake.This practice is not new of course. As aformer staff film editor and later freelancedirector of two South Bank Shows for LWT inthe 80s, I, like most producers then, madedocumentaries that created drama andatmosphere without resorting to a pointlessand incessant music track.In the light of BBC Four’s bold experimentI would hope that in the future somedocumentaries would avoid those ‘in yourface’ techniques where everything is up frontand immediate. Somewhere between thetwo production methods is the goal that willachieve the correct balance in order to reducePROSPERO JUNE 2015a diet of spoon-fed TV. It is worth noting thatthis BBC4 venture was rightly praised bymany television critics. Perhaps in due coursethe Corporation will consider rewriting partsof their ‘best practice guide’. We can but waitand hope.Paul FoxallLondon Lunch 2015The annual ‘London Lunch’ was held recentlyat the Victory Services Club when around 60retired staff gathered for a splendid lunch.This year the guest speaker was RichardTait CBE who delivered a wide-rangingspeech, initially reminiscing about his yearsat the BBC where he appreciated the skillsand advice of engineers whilst workingon Nationwide, The Money Programme, Newsnightand General Elections. He then compared thatexperience with his time at ITN as Editor-inChief and Channel Four News as Editor. Hemoved on to tell us a little about his time asa BBC Governor, and then BBC Trustee. Sincethen, he has concentrated on teaching thenext generation of broadcast journalists andundertaking advisory roles.As he speculated about the 2015 GeneralElection, BBC Charter renewal and the longerterm radical changes that the BBC mighthave to undergo, his speech became morechallenging yet stimulating for the retiredstaff who had fond memories of their oldBBC days.On behalf of the appreciative audience,Keith Harlow thanked Richard for his addresswhich had magnificently evoked the BBC’smission ‘to inform, educate and entertain’.Keith HarlowSuperbRichard DimblebyWatching the funeral of Sir WinstonChurchill on 30 January (BBC Parliament)made me realise what a superb commentatorRichard Dimbleby was.As usual he had all the facts at hisfingertips, able not only to name all theofficers etc in the procession, but, beingRichard, even able to name the drum horsesand their riders. At St. Paul’s he listed thedignitaries and their duties, also naming theVIPs as they arrived.However, the one thing I noticed abouthis commentary was – and I wish moderncommentators would take note – he knewinstinctively when to keep quiet and let thepictures do the work.Neville WithersSeaton unseated?Professor Peter Hennessy’s article in the lastedition of Prospero is very complimentary ofJean Seaton’s publication, Pinkoes and Traitors.I also read Richard Brooke’s column in arecent edition of The Sunday Times CulturalMagazine. This reports 30 spelling mistakesand several factual inaccuracies reported inPrivate Eye and the open Democracy website ofDavid Elstein.I now have more faith in the PensionAssociation’s history project for a morereliable account of the BBC’s history ratherthan that of the BBC’s official historian.Ty DaviesProspero received a few similar letters from readers, butunfortunately space precludes us from publishing them.Remembering NancyThomas & Poets on PoetryHow lucky I was to have worked as aproducer’s assistant for both Nancy Thomasand her great friend Brenda Horsfield(whose obituary appeared in the Februaryedition of Prospero), neither of whom wouldtake ’No’ for an answer.In the summer of 1973 Nancy producedand directed Poets on Poetry, in whichcontemporary poets read and discussedtheir poems with Patrick Garland. One ofthe poets was WH Auden.I was tasked to find visuals both for thebiographical introduction and images thatmight have been the stimulus for the poemsbeing discussed.For WH Auden I located delightfulphotographs of him as a young teacher ata school in Helensburgh, Scotland, in the1920s, standing with young boys in largesun hats having a biology lesson in a stream.Nancy had sent Auden a list of poemsshe wished to include one of which was‘Musée des Beaux Arts’. Auden sent a letterto say that it was an ‘Old war horse andtherefore forbidden’. Nancy replied thather researcher had found some wonderfulphotographs but was having difficultydeciding which of the Brueghels he wasdescribing and ‘won’t you relent?’ He did.He arrived at the studio as we wererehearsing the photos and held our breathwaiting his response to these particularphotos. Not a murmur and we relaxed.Before the evening recording we had aprivate dinner provided by Hospitality andin those days spirits were available. Auden’sdrink was ‘Gin and It’ which drew thecomment ‘If you give me more of these ITracing colleaguesI am trying to trace former colleagues ofLaura Rowe who I understand used to workat BBC Radio Merseyside. She was born inthe 1920s so I’m assuming she is no longerwith us but I could be wrong. A cousinof mine is tracing her family tree and hasdiscovered she’s related to Laura and is keento find out more about her and her careerif possible.Belinda ArtingstollEmail: Home@belinda4.plus.comContributorAccess updateDavid Buckton wrote in to say that his letterto Prospero (April) appears to have provoked aresponse after two-and-a-half-months’ silence.I got a message to the Archive Manager,mentioning that I’d had a letter published inProspero, and it’s possible that did the trick,as I have now had an acknowledgement andpromise of a reply. My acknowledgementemail dated 12th May said, ‘I may need tocheck current procedures with others as theresponses cover current and historic archivepolicy as well as services supplied by S&PP’.I’m still awaiting the full reply. One troubleis that we don’t know any more whetherwe’re dealing with the BBC or some sortWH Auden.won’t stop talking’. With a reputation foranswering questions with a ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ wethus gave him more. The resulting interviewwas wonderful.Auden died on 23 September beforeour programme was transmitted, and weendeavoured to have the programme andthe unedited recording held in the archive.I doubt they remain.Nancy and Brenda were inspirational,always encouraging and nurturing thosewho worked with them. I would neverhave embarked on my OU degree withouttheir encouragement, for which I am evergrateful – and as for Figaro, Nancy’s parrot!He came to stay when Nancy was onholiday. Used to the ‘tree canopy’ daylight ofher top floor flat, he disliked the gloom ofthe basement kitchen of the house where Ilived in Chelsea. It was possible to hear himscreeching in the King’s Road!Elizabeth McDowellof outsourced department, or ‘fully ownedsubsidiary’. Although it’s no doubt today’sprice, the costs for these copies are notcheap, at 132 for a first copy and 29 forany others ordered at the same time.Early retirementHaving been retired from Bush House studiomanagers for over 20 years, thanks to MargaretThatcher, who ordered John Birt to imposeearly retirement on staff there over 50 (twocolleagues committed suicide), it’s sad toimagine how my career might have developedwithout such unexpected curtailment.The saddest part is not having sufficientpost-retirement achievements, except perhapsstudying for an Arabic Degree, to merit a Prosperoobituary. One useful thing I did learn whilespending seven years with the Arabic Servicewas to always remember to thank God whendriving through a green traffic light. Accordingto Allah: ‘La inshakartum la asidinacum’ ‘Ifyou thank me I will give you more!’Barry MitchellWorthingBarry, Prospero publishes every obituary thatwe receive, and everyone – from DGs tocleaners – is given the same coverage (thatis, max 350 words).

05Bing soundsI was delightedto read in theBing CrosbyFebruary 2015master tapeI read with interest John F Burton’s articleissue of Prosperoabout the Sounds Natural programmeChris O’Brien’swith Bing Crosby in the October 2014issue of Prospero.follow-up toBefore I retired seven years ago Iused to work for BBC Information andmy article aboutArchives in Bristol and for the last four orfive years catalogued all the regional optBing Crosby andout television programmes and networkradio tapes stored in the Bristol vaults.the Sounds NaturalAlthough not officially part of theradio series, andBBC’s archive, many programmes fromthe 1970s on (and some even dating backam most grateful to the 1950s) were retained in Bristol andhad not been destroyed.to him for theThese included an almost completerunof Down Your Way, various poetryinformation heseries including Time for Verse and PoetryPlease,as well as many radio dramas –has supplied.including an early Dennis Potter play.Among the numerous Natural HistoryI hadn’trealised thatmany mastertapes of natural history radio programmeshad actually been retained in the vaultsof BH, Bristol, and had been cataloguedby him. When I am in England in June, Iwill make a point of contacting the BBC’sarchive storage facility at Perivale whereChris states that they are now stored. Aswell as the Bing Crosby Sounds Natural, Ihave CD and/or cassette copies of theprogrammes I produced in the series withthe late Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands,the late Lord Home of the Hirsel, the lategolf commentator Henry Longhurst, theformer Miss World Eva Rueber-Staier and thecartoonist the late Norman Thelwell.The number of celebrities who haveembraced a keen interest in bird-watchingand other branches of natural history andwildlife conservation has escalated and, had Inot retired in 1988, I could have produced agood many more Sounds Natural programmes!The series revealed a quite different andoften surprising aspect of their lives fromthat usually known to the public and, in myview, for that reason was certainly worthpreservation, especially as many of them are,sadly, no longer with us.John F BurtonHeidelberg, GermanySandy ChalmersI was saddened to read of the death ofSandra Chalmers who, as station manager,was my first boss when I joined theBBC at Radio Stoke-on-Trent as a newsreporter in the mid 1970s. Memories ofher bring back lots of smiles and a greatsense of indebtedness.I remember arriving many a morningaround 5 for the early shift to find Sandyon the floor of her office surroundedby paper; ‘I’m just catching up with theadmin,’ she would quip. She shared aninfectious passion for radio and wasfiercely proud that Radio Stoke had someof the highest audiences in the country,as Michael Barton recalled in his epitaphin April’s Prospero. Her office and ournewsroom looked out over the rooftopsof Hanley and beyond, and she wouldpoint to this scene and tell staff andvisitors alike how proud she was thather station was serving ‘all the peopleout there’.Sandy had a voice like velvet and I willalways be indebted to her for the timeshe spent mentoring me in presentationskills, which I carried with me into mysubsequent roles in radio and televisionreporting and presenting. I feel privilegedto have known such a special person.John RobertsReclamation manRex Hipple was delighted to see so manynames mentioned in Peter Ceresole’s andothers’ recent letters about the DubbingTheatre at Lime Grove.Rex worked on Tonight from 1959-62,when he used the Dubbing Theatre on adaily basis.‘I was delighted to have worked onTonight. It relied so much on outside filmmaterial but film suppliers began to blackthe programme because they couldn’t gettheir film back – simply because no onehad the time to put it back together!‘Alasdair Milne had me transferredfrom Film Department into Talks to dowhat I call the ‘reclamation job’ of puttingoutside films back together, to helpmaintain relationships with the suppliers.‘It was an exciting time. I don’t think Icould do it now though!’Rex, who is now 87, remembers withgreat fondness the crews he worked withat Lime Grove: Alan Tetzner, RichardBigham – who later became Lord Mersey,Mike Tuchner – ‘a very gifted film editor’,George Inger and Alan Martin ‘They were all lovely and talentedpeople. How they stood up to the pressureI’ll never know – it was ‘push push push’all the time.’In 1962 Tony Essex made Rex unitmanager on the Great War programme. ‘Itwas a series that used up a lot of outsidefilm – as well as the eyewitness andveterans’ accounts, we used an enormousamount of unusual archive footage thatwas sourced from all over the world. Youjust soaked it up on a series like that.’After Rex left the BBC, he worked forITV in Birmingham for two years, buthe hated it there; ‘there was nothing butdisputes and arguments’.After a period of unemployment, afriend encouraged him to put an advert inthe Church Times. It was seen by the Deanand Chapter of Bristol Cathedral, whoinvited him down for a visit and thenoffered him the post of sub-sacrist andhead verger.Rex remained in the post for 22 yearsand retired in 1993 at the age of 65.South Today correctionsMay I correct some of the assertions that havebeen made about early South Today presenters inthe recent columns of Prospero?In 1961, Martin Muncaster, not ‘Anthony’,was the first presenter of South at Six (as itthen was) with Valerie Pitts and Meryl O’Keefealso presenting.Other subsequently well-knownbroadcasters such as David Waine, HughScully, Bob Wellings and David Lomax didsome stints until around 1966-7 when CliveJacobs and I shared the presentation.When Clive left for London in 1970,I did single presentation until 1979when I was joined by Jenni Murray (nowDame Jenni) and then Debbie Throwerfollowed by Sally Taylor.Other occasional presenters with me wereKate Adie, Michael Buerk, Andrew Harvey,Tim Hurst and Caroline Hall. When we hada news bulletin within the programme, thesewere mainly presented by Sheila Tracey, PeterMcCann, Paul Harris and John Leeson.There have been others more recently.Bruce ParkerIN PETER HILL’S letter, headed ‘It’s the Pitts’(Prospero, April 2015), he mentions the regularpresenter of South Today as being one AnthonyMuncaster. I have recently contacted MartinMuncaster, who WAS the regular presenter, andhe has never heard of this phantom AnthonyMuncaster. Could this be a mistake I wonder?He does though remember Peter Hill!Lloyd SilverthorneCONTACTSVisiting SchemeIs available to BBC pensioners over 70,those recently bereaved, and anyone inpoor health. The scheme is a method ofkeeping in touch and operates throughoutthe UK. Visitors are BBC pensionersthemselves. If you want to be visited,receive a phone call or meet up somewheremutually convenient call 029 2032 2811.The contact is the same if you would like tobecome a visitor.QueriesFor benefit and pension payroll queries,call the Service Line on 029 2032 2811or email mypension@bbc.co.ukProsperoTo add or delete a name from thedistribution list, ring the Service Line on029 2032 2811. Prospero is providedfree of charge to retired BBC employees.On request, we will also send it to spousesor dependants who want to keep in touchwith the BBC. Prospero is also available onaudio disc for those with sight impairment.To register, please ring the Service Line.Alternatively, it is also available onlineat www.bbc.co.uk/mypension,under ‘Documents’.BBC ClubThe BBC Club in London has a retiredmembership costing 3 per month or 36per year. Members can als

Hush Hush Hall Wood Norton in WW2 Page 8 Location filming Page 7 BBC Pensions customer survey Page 2 Lime Grove Dubbing Theatre Page 6. PROSPERO UNE 2015 02 BACK AT THE BBC Prospero is provided free of charge to retired BB