Gerald Cock
Encyclopedia
Gerald Cock was a British broadcasting
executive, who initially worked for BBC Radio
, before being made the Corporation’s very first Director of Television
, in effect the very first Controller of the television channel initially known as the BBC Television Service
but later renamed BBC1
.
After being educated at Tonbridge School
and Seafield Park
, Cock left the UK
in 1909 to travel around North America. He went to British Columbia
, the United States
and Mexico
, working variously in such jobs as a rancher, a gold miner and even as an extra in Hollywood films, before in 1915 returning to the UK due to the First World War
. Cock joined the Royal Engineers
and served in France
and later Belgium
, being promoted to the rank of Captain in 1917.
He left the army in 1920 and worked in various jobs in London, before joining the newly formed British Broadcasting Company
(later Corporation). As the BBC began to extend its radio
service throughout the country and provide a greater scope and variety of programmes, Cock was appointed as its first Director of Outside Broadcasts in 1925. He organised several new and ambitious events, such as the coverage of live sporting events and the increasing competition with the newspapers for coverage of important news, as well as encouraging the development of new techniques and technologies.
In 1935, possibly because of his enthusiasm for new broadcasting techniques, Cock was asked if he would like to become the BBC’s Director of Television, as the Corporation was planning to introduce a new regular service using this medium the following year. Cock accepted, and this placed him charge of establishing the world’s very first regular high-definition television service from scratch.
Based at the BBC’s new television studios in a specially converted section of Alexandra Palace
in London, Cock and his team thought that they had several months to learn about what making television would involve before the planned launch in November 1936, but soon after the initial meeting he was informed that programmes would be required for the Radiolympia exhibition in August, which was then only ten days away.
Despite the tight schedule, Cock and his team were able to prepare several sample programmes, and the Radiolympia event was a great success in advertising the potential of the new medium and encouraging the audience to purchase sets in the run-up to the launch proper. On 2 November 1936 that launch took place, the new television service broadcasting in theory only within a twenty-five mile radius of Alexandra Palace, although in practice the transmissions could be picked up a good deal further afield than this.
Initially two competing technical systems, the Marconi
405-line
and the Baird 210-line intermediate film system, were used in alternate weeks, but the Marconi system was vastly superior and Baird’s was quickly abandoned. Cock oversaw an increasingly ambitions programme of scheduling including various variety shows, the popular magazine programme Picture Page
, and an increasingly varied number of dramas. These achievements are all the more impressive when it is considered that, apart from a couple of demonstration films and some newsreels, everything had to be transmitted live as at the time no broadcast-quality format existed for the recording of television programmes.
Cock also made impressive forays into outside broadcasts, including coverage on 12 May 1937 of the coronation parade of King George VI
, which used every single camera the television service had available and a huge length of cable to relay the pictures back to Alexandra Palace for broadcast. He also established the coverage of prominent sporting events, including the first ever televising of Wimbledon (21 June 1937), the Boat Race (2 April 1938), the FA Cup Final
(30 April 1938) and test match cricket
(24 June 1938). Major live news events also began to be covered – BBC television cameras were present when Neville Chamberlain
returned from Munich to deliver his infamous “peace in our time” speech in October 1938.
This increasingly varied and ambitious schedule put together by Cock and his small but inventive team of producers meant that television very quickly grew in popularity, despite at the time being an expensive luxury limited to the London area. By September 1939 there were estimated to be 25,000 television sets in use – however, that month also saw the BBC Television Service unceremoniously shut down by the government for the duration of the war, following the broadcasting of a Mickey Mouse
cartoon on 1 September, two days before hostilities commenced. There were two main reasons for this – the first and principal reason was the fear that German bombers could use the VHF transmission waves of television as a perfect guiding beam for homing into the centre of London. However, there was also a great need for many of the technical and engineering staff of the service to be used on war efforts such as the RADAR
programme, and so the young BBC Television Service was blacked-out until 1946.
During the war, with no television service to run, Cock was appointed as the North American representative of the BBC in New York
from 1940 to 1941, and then later from 1942 to 1945 was the Corporation’s Pacific Coast representative, working in California
. While in the USA he took the opportunity of seeing the developments made in television broadcasting by the new American broadcasters, compiling a report upon his return home to the UK entitled “Report on the Conditions For a Post-War Television Service.” Although this report was very important in helping to re-establish the BBC Television Service in 1946, Cock did not return to control it. Instead he had retired, as he was in poor health, although he went on to live in retirement until his death in 1973.
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...
executive, who initially worked for BBC Radio
BBC Radio
BBC Radio is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927. For a history of BBC radio prior to 1927 see British Broadcasting Company...
, before being made the Corporation’s very first Director of Television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
, in effect the very first Controller of the television channel initially known as the BBC Television Service
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
but later renamed BBC1
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
.
After being educated at Tonbridge School
Tonbridge School
Tonbridge School is a British boys' independent school for both boarding and day pupils in Tonbridge, Kent, founded in 1553 by Sir Andrew Judd . It is a member of the Eton Group, and has close links with the Worshipful Company of Skinners, one of the oldest London livery companies...
and Seafield Park
Seafield Park
Seafield Park is a football ground in Grantown-on-Spey, Highland. It is home stadium of Highland Football League side, Strathspey ThistleThe stadium has a maximum capacity of 1,600 with 150 seats after adding a stand and floodlights during the summer of 2009 when Strathspey Thistle were elected...
, Cock left the UK
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...
in 1909 to travel around North America. He went to British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, working variously in such jobs as a rancher, a gold miner and even as an extra in Hollywood films, before in 1915 returning to the UK due to the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. Cock joined the Royal Engineers
Royal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers , and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army....
and served in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and later Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, being promoted to the rank of Captain in 1917.
He left the army in 1920 and worked in various jobs in London, before joining the newly formed British Broadcasting Company
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...
(later Corporation). As the BBC began to extend its 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...
service throughout the country and provide a greater scope and variety of programmes, Cock was appointed as its first Director of Outside Broadcasts in 1925. He organised several new and ambitious events, such as the coverage of live sporting events and the increasing competition with the newspapers for coverage of important news, as well as encouraging the development of new techniques and technologies.
In 1935, possibly because of his enthusiasm for new broadcasting techniques, Cock was asked if he would like to become the BBC’s Director of Television, as the Corporation was planning to introduce a new regular service using this medium the following year. Cock accepted, and this placed him charge of establishing the world’s very first regular high-definition television service from scratch.
Based at the BBC’s new television studios in a specially converted section of Alexandra Palace
Alexandra Palace
Alexandra Palace is a building in North London, England. It stands in Alexandra Park, in an area between Hornsey, Muswell Hill and Wood Green...
in London, Cock and his team thought that they had several months to learn about what making television would involve before the planned launch in November 1936, but soon after the initial meeting he was informed that programmes would be required for the Radiolympia exhibition in August, which was then only ten days away.
Despite the tight schedule, Cock and his team were able to prepare several sample programmes, and the Radiolympia event was a great success in advertising the potential of the new medium and encouraging the audience to purchase sets in the run-up to the launch proper. On 2 November 1936 that launch took place, the new television service broadcasting in theory only within a twenty-five mile radius of Alexandra Palace, although in practice the transmissions could be picked up a good deal further afield than this.
Initially two competing technical systems, the Marconi
Marconi Company
The Marconi Company Ltd. was founded by Guglielmo Marconi in 1897 as The Wireless Telegraph & Signal Company...
405-line
405-line
The 405-line monochrome analogue television broadcasting system was the first fully electronic television system to be used in regular broadcasting....
and the Baird 210-line intermediate film system, were used in alternate weeks, but the Marconi system was vastly superior and Baird’s was quickly abandoned. Cock oversaw an increasingly ambitions programme of scheduling including various variety shows, the popular magazine programme Picture Page
Picture Page
Picture Page is a British television programme, broadcast on the BBC Television Service from 1936 to 1939, and again after the service's hiatus during the Second World War from 1946 until 1952...
, and an increasingly varied number of dramas. These achievements are all the more impressive when it is considered that, apart from a couple of demonstration films and some newsreels, everything had to be transmitted live as at the time no broadcast-quality format existed for the recording of television programmes.
Cock also made impressive forays into outside broadcasts, including coverage on 12 May 1937 of the coronation parade of King George VI
George VI of the United Kingdom
George VI was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death...
, which used every single camera the television service had available and a huge length of cable to relay the pictures back to Alexandra Palace for broadcast. He also established the coverage of prominent sporting events, including the first ever televising of Wimbledon (21 June 1937), the Boat Race (2 April 1938), the FA Cup Final
FA Cup Final
The FA Cup Final, commonly referred to in England as just the Cup Final, is the last match in the Football Association Challenge Cup. With an official attendance of 89,826 at the 2007 FA Cup Final, it is the fourth best attended domestic club championship event in the world and the second most...
(30 April 1938) and test match cricket
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
(24 June 1938). Major live news events also began to be covered – BBC television cameras were present when Neville Chamberlain
Neville Chamberlain
Arthur Neville Chamberlain FRS was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from May 1937 to May 1940. Chamberlain is best known for his appeasement foreign policy, and in particular for his signing of the Munich Agreement in 1938, conceding the...
returned from Munich to deliver his infamous “peace in our time” speech in October 1938.
This increasingly varied and ambitious schedule put together by Cock and his small but inventive team of producers meant that television very quickly grew in popularity, despite at the time being an expensive luxury limited to the London area. By September 1939 there were estimated to be 25,000 television sets in use – however, that month also saw the BBC Television Service unceremoniously shut down by the government for the duration of the war, following the broadcasting of a Mickey Mouse
Mickey Mouse
Mickey Mouse is a cartoon character created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks at The Walt Disney Studio. Mickey is an anthropomorphic black mouse and typically wears red shorts, large yellow shoes, and white gloves...
cartoon on 1 September, two days before hostilities commenced. There were two main reasons for this – the first and principal reason was the fear that German bombers could use the VHF transmission waves of television as a perfect guiding beam for homing into the centre of London. However, there was also a great need for many of the technical and engineering staff of the service to be used on war efforts such as the RADAR
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
programme, and so the young BBC Television Service was blacked-out until 1946.
During the war, with no television service to run, Cock was appointed as the North American representative of the BBC in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
from 1940 to 1941, and then later from 1942 to 1945 was the Corporation’s Pacific Coast representative, working in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. While in the USA he took the opportunity of seeing the developments made in television broadcasting by the new American broadcasters, compiling a report upon his return home to the UK entitled “Report on the Conditions For a Post-War Television Service.” Although this report was very important in helping to re-establish the BBC Television Service in 1946, Cock did not return to control it. Instead he had retired, as he was in poor health, although he went on to live in retirement until his death in 1973.