Children's Hour
Encyclopedia
- for the Australian radio program, see Argonauts ClubArgonauts ClubThe Argonauts Club was an Australian children's radio program, first broadcast in 1933 on ABC Radio in Melbourne. Its format was devised by Nina Murdoch who had run the station's Children's Hour on 3LO and stayed on when that station was taken over by the Australian Broadcasting Commission...
Children's Hour—at first: "The Children's Hour", from a verse by Longfellow
Longfellow
Longfellow may refer to:* Longfellow, Minneapolis, United States** Longfellow , Minneapolis, United States* Longfellow, Oakland, California, United States* Longfellow , one of America's first great thoroughbred racehorses...
—was the name of the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's principal recreational service for children (as distinct from "Broadcasts to Schools") during the period when radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
dominated broadcasting
Broadcasting
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and video content to a dispersed audience via any audio visual medium. Receiving parties may include the general public or a relatively large subset of thereof...
.
Children's Hour was broadcast from 1922 to 1964, originally from the BBC's Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
station 5IT
5IT
5IT was a BBC radio station which broadcast from Birmingham, England, between 1922 and 1927. It was the BBC's second station, going live at 17.20 on 15 November 1922, the day after 2LO started daily BBC broadcasting from London and one hour forty minutes before 2ZY launched BBC broadcasting in...
, soon joined by other regional stations, then in the BBC Regional Programme
BBC Regional Programme
The BBC Regional Programme was a UK radio network which operated from the end of the 1920s until the outbreak of World War II in 1939.-Foundation:...
, before transferring to its final home, the new BBC Home Service
BBC Home Service
The BBC Home Service was a British national radio station which broadcast from 1939 until 1967.-Development:Between the 1920s and the outbreak of The Second World War, the BBC had developed two nationwide radio services, the BBC National Programme and the BBC Regional Programme...
, at the outbreak of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Parts of the programme were also rebroadcast by the BBC World Service
BBC World Service
The BBC World Service is the world's largest international broadcaster, broadcasting in 27 languages to many parts of the world via analogue and digital shortwave, internet streaming and podcasting, satellite, FM and MW relays...
. For the last three years of its life (from 17 April 1961 until 27 March 1964), the title Children's Hour was no longer used, the programmes in its "time-slot" going out under the umbrella heading of For the Young.
In the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Children's Hour was broadcast from 5pm to 6pm every day of the week with the biggest listening figures being at weekends when parents joined in too. It was the time of day during the week when children could be expected to be home from school, and was aimed at an audience aged about 5 to 15 years. Programming was imbued with Reithian
John Reith, 1st Baron Reith
John Charles Walsham Reith, 1st Baron Reith, KT, GCVO, GBE, CB, TD, PC was a Scottish broadcasting executive who established the tradition of independent public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom...
virtues, and Children's Hour was often criticised, like "Auntie" BBC itself, for paternalism and middle-class values. It was nonetheless hugely popular, and its presenters were national figures, their voices instantly recognisable. Derek McCulloch
Derek McCulloch
Derek Ivor Breashur McCulloch OBE was a BBC Radio presenter and producer, who is best remembered as "Uncle Mac" in Children's Favourites and Children's Hour and for playing 'Larry the Lamb' in Toytown.-Early life:...
was closely involved with the programme from 1926, and ran the department from 1933 until 1950 when he had to resign for health reasons. From 1928 to 1960, Children's Hour in Scotland was organised and presented by Kathleen Garsgadden
Kathleen Garsgadden
Kathleen Mary Evelyn Garsgadden was a Scottish radio broadcaster and presenter who became famous as presenter of the Scottish Children's Hour programme on the BBC Home Service which later became Radio Four. She was known as 'Auntie Kathleen' and her popularity turned her into a celebrity...
who was known as 'Auntie Kathleen' and whose popularity brought crowds to the radio station in Glasgow. Popular nature study
Nature study
The nature study movement was a popular education movement in America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Nature study attempted to reconcile scientific investigation with spiritual, personal experiences gained from interaction with the natural world...
programmes on the Scottish Children's Hour were presented by Tom Gillespie (the 'Zoo Man'), James Douglas-Home (the 'Bird Man'), and Gilbert Fisher
Gilbert Dempster Fisher
Gilbert Dempster Fisher was a Scottish broadcaster, writer and naturalist who achieved prominence on BBC Scottish Radio as a naturalist under the persona of ‘the Hut Man’.- Life :...
(the 'Hut Man') during the 1940s and 50s.
The definitive history of the programme can be found in the book "BBC Children's Hour" by Wallace Grevatt, edited by Trevor Hill and published by The Book Guild in 1988. With a foreword by David Davis, who became synonymous with the programme, its 21 chapters trace the chronological history and also deal with the six regions: Midland, Northern, West of England, Welsh, Scottish and Northern Ireland.
Trevor Hill was one of the key producers on "Children's Hour" and was based in Manchester but later moved across to BBC Television where he introduced "Children's Television Club", the original Northern-based presenters being Geoffrey Wheeler
Geoffrey Wheeler
Lieutenant-Colonel Geoffrey Edleston Wheeler CIE was a British soldier and an historian of Central Asia.- Life :...
and Judith Chalmers
Judith Chalmers
Judith Chalmers OBE is an English television presenter who is best known for presenting the travel programme Wish You Were Here...? in the 1970s and 1980s, where she often appeared in a bikini.-Early life and career:...
, before it moved to London. A full account of Hill's wide-ranging career can be found in his autobiography "Over the Airwaves" published by The Book Guild in 2005, which includes much detail about "Children's Hour". He was later asked by the BBC to write and produce radio programmes in tribute to three Children's Hour regulars, Derek McCulloch (Uncle Mac), Wilfred Pickles
Wilfred Pickles
Wilfred Pickles OBE was an English actor and radio presenter.Born in Halifax in the West Riding of Yorkshire, Pickles was a proud Yorkshireman, and having been selected by the BBC as an announcer for its North Regional radio service, went on to be an occasional newsreader on the BBC Home Service...
and Violet Carson
Violet Carson
Violet Helen Carson OBE was an English actress, best known for playing Ena Sharples, one of the original characters in the British soap opera Coronation Street.-Early life and career:...
.
Programmes
Among popular series on Children's Hour were:- Jennings at SchoolJennings (novels)The Jennings series is a collection of humorous novels of children's literature concerning the escapades of J C T Jennings, a schoolboy at Linbury Court preparatory school in England. There are 25 in total, all written by Anthony Buckeridge...
- Just So StoriesJust So StoriesThe Just So Stories for Little Children were written by British author Rudyard Kipling. They are highly fantasised origin stories and are among Kipling's best known works.-Description:...
- ToytownToytownToytown was a British radio series for children, based around a set of puppets created by SG Hulme Beaman, broadcast by the BBC for Children's Hour, which ran from 17:00 to 18:00 on the Home Service. There were also some short films made during the 1970s which were broadcast on ITV...
- Inishban
- Mary PlainMary PlainMary Plain is a bear character in British children's literature who features in a series of novels based around her adventures. The character was created by the Welsh authoress Gwynedd Rae and first appeared in the book Mostly Mary in 1930. The last original book, Mary Plain's Whodunnit, was...
- Norman and Henry Bones
- Nature Parliament
- Out with RomanyGeorge Bramwell EvensThe Rev. George Bramwell Evens was, under the pseudonym Romany , a British radio broadcaster and writer on countryside and natural history matters - quite possibly the first to broadcast on such issues...
- Sherlock HolmesSherlock HolmesSherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
- Worzel GummidgeWorzel GummidgeWorzel Gummidge is a British children's fictional character who originally appeared in a series of books by the novelist Barbara Euphan Todd. A walking, talking scarecrow, Gummidge has a set of interchangeable turnip, mangel worzel and swede heads, each of which suit a particular occasion or endow...
- Winnie the Pooh
and serialisations of stories by children's authors such as Malcolm Saville
Malcolm Saville
Leonard Malcolm Saville was an English author born in Hastings, Sussex. He is best known for the Lone Pine series of children's books, many of which are set in Shropshire. His work places emphasis on place, with the books including many vivid descriptions of English countryside, villages and...
, Rosemary Sutcliff
Rosemary Sutcliff
Rosemary Sutcliff CBE was a British novelist, and writer for children, best known as a writer of historical fiction and children's literature. Although she was primarily a children's author, the quality and depth of her writing also appeals to adults; Sutcliff herself once commented that she wrote...
and Arthur Ransome
Arthur Ransome
Arthur Michell Ransome was an English author and journalist, best known for writing the Swallows and Amazons series of children's books. These tell of school-holiday adventures of children, mostly in the Lake District and the Norfolk Broads. Many of the books involve sailing; other common subjects...
. Well-known musicians such as Peter Maxwell Davies
Peter Maxwell Davies
Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, CBE is an English composer and conductor and is currently Master of the Queen's Music.-Biography:...
composed music for the programme.
People
Among actors and presenters who were famous for their work on Children's Hour were:- Arthur BurrowsArthur BurrowsArthur Burrows was one of the first employees of the British Broadcasting Company and was the first to hold the position of Director of Programmes. Burrows was previously a journalist and also a keen wireless enthusiast...
('Uncle Arthur' - also the first London wireless Uncle) - Violet CarsonViolet CarsonViolet Helen Carson OBE was an English actress, best known for playing Ena Sharples, one of the original characters in the British soap opera Coronation Street.-Early life and career:...
- David DavisDavid Davis (broadcaster)William Eric Davis , was a British radio executive and broadcaster. From 1953 to 1961 he was the head of the BBC's Children's Hour....
- Norman EllisonNorman EllisonNorman F. Ellison was an English radio presenter and author who made radio programmes about nature and the countryside for the BBC's Children's Hour, under the pseudonym Nomad the Naturalist, and wrote on the same subjects both as Nomad and in his own name.Born in Liverpool in 1893, he signed up...
, aka Nomad the Naturalist. - Carleton HobbsCarleton HobbsCarleton Percy Hobbs was an English actor with many film, radio and television appearances. He portrayed Sherlock Holmes in 80 radio adaptations between 1952 and 1969, and also starred in the radio adaptation of Evelyn Waugh's Sword of Honour.Hobbs was born in Farnborough, Hampshire, into a...
- Stephen King-HallStephen King-HallSir William Stephen Richard King-Hall, Baron King-Hall of Headley was a British naval officer, writer, politician and playwright. -Life:...
('The Stargazer') - Derek McCullochDerek McCullochDerek Ivor Breashur McCulloch OBE was a BBC Radio presenter and producer, who is best remembered as "Uncle Mac" in Children's Favourites and Children's Hour and for playing 'Larry the Lamb' in Toytown.-Early life:...
('Uncle Mac') - Kathleen GarsgaddenKathleen GarsgaddenKathleen Mary Evelyn Garsgadden was a Scottish radio broadcaster and presenter who became famous as presenter of the Scottish Children's Hour programme on the BBC Home Service which later became Radio Four. She was known as 'Auntie Kathleen' and her popularity turned her into a celebrity...
('Auntie Kathleen') - Jon PertweeJon PertweeJohn Devon Roland Pertwee , was an English actor. Pertwee is best known for his role in the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who, in which he played the third incarnation of the Doctor from 1970 to 1974, and as the title character in the series Worzel Gummidge...
- Wilfred PicklesWilfred PicklesWilfred Pickles OBE was an English actor and radio presenter.Born in Halifax in the West Riding of Yorkshire, Pickles was a proud Yorkshireman, and having been selected by the BBC as an announcer for its North Regional radio service, went on to be an occasional newsreader on the BBC Home Service...
- David Seth-SmithDavid Seth-SmithDavid Seth-Smith FZS, MBOU was a British zoologist, bird artist, broadcaster and author.His career included spells as Curator of Mammals and Birds for the Zoological Society of London and editor of the Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club.He presented nature programmes on the BBC's...
, aka The Zoo Man - Norman ShelleyNorman ShelleyNorman Shelley was an English actor, best known for his work in radio, in particular for the BBC's Children's Hour. He also had a recurring role as Colonel Danby in the long-running radio soap opera The Archers....
- Barrie Hesketh