John Reith, 1st Baron Reith
Encyclopedia
John Charles Walsham Reith, 1st Baron Reith, KT
, GCVO
, GBE
, CB
, TD
, PC
(20 July 1889 – 16 June 1971) was a Scottish broadcasting executive who established the tradition of independent public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom. In 1922 he was employed by the BBC (British Broadcasting Company Ltd.
) as its General Manager; in 1923 he became its Managing Director and in 1927 he was employed as the Director-General
of the British Broadcasting Corporation created under a Royal Charter
. His concept of broadcasting as a way of educating the masses marked for a long time the BBC and similar organizations around the world.
Born at Stonehaven
, Kincardineshire
, Reith was the youngest, by ten years, of the seven children of the Revd Dr George Reith, a minister
of the United Free Church of Scotland
(later amalgamated with Church of Scotland
, and not to be confused with the Free Church of Scotland
). He was to carry the strict Presbyterian religious convictions of the Kirk forward into his adult life. Reith was educated at The Glasgow Academy
then at Gresham's School
, Holt
, Norfolk
. He was an indolent child who had used his intelligence to escape hard work but he was genuinely disappointed when his father refused to support any further education and apprenticed him an engineer
at the North British Locomotive Company
. Reith had been a keen sportsman at school and only learnt to tolerate his apprenticeship through part-time soldier
ing in the 1st Lanarkshire Rifle Volunteers and 5th Scottish Rifles.
In 1914, Reith left Glasgow
for London, largely in pursuit of a 17-year-old schoolboy, Charlie Bowser, a fast friend. Though he readily found work at the Royal Albert Dock
, his commission in the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) soon found him serving in World War I
. He was struck in the cheek by a bullet in October 1915, at which time he was a Lieutenant
, and transferred to the Royal Engineers
. He spent the next two years in the United States, supervising armament contracts, and became attracted to the country, fantasising of moving there with Bowser after the war. He was promoted to Captain
in 1917, before transferring to the Royal Marine Engineers in 1918 as a Major
. He returned to the Royal Engineers as a Captain in 1919 and resigned his Territorial Army commission in 1921.
However, the end of the war saw a reconciliation, with Reith's return to Glasgow as General Manager of an engineering firm and Bowser becoming his assistant. But the lure of London proved too much for Reith and in 1922, he returned there. Dabbling in politics
, despite his family's Liberal Party
sympathies, he ended up working as secretary to the London Conservative
group of MPs
in the United Kingdom general election, 1922
. Perhaps prophetically, that election's results were the first to be broadcast
on the radio
.
Reith had no broadcasting experience when he replied to an advertisement in The Morning Post for a General Manager for an as-yet unformed British Broadcasting Company in 1922. He later admitted that he felt he possessed the credentials necessary to manage any company. He managed to retrieve his original application from the post box after re-thinking his approach, guessing that his Aberdonian background would curry more favour with Sir William Noble, the Chairman of the Broadcasting Committee.
In his new role, he was, in his own words:
. The BBC bulletins reported, without comment, all sides in the dispute, including the TUC and other union leaders. Reith attempted to arrange a broadcast by the opposition Labour Party
but it was vetoed by the government, and he had to refuse a request to allow a representative Labour or Trade Union leader to put the case for the miners and other workers. He even turned down a direct request from the Labour leader Ramsay MacDonald
who wanted to deliver a talk. MacDonald complained that the BBC was "biased" and was "misleading the public" and other Labour Party figures were just as critical. Philip Snowden, the former Labour Chancellor of the Exchequer
, was one of those who wrote to the Radio Times
to complain.
Reith’s reply also appeared in the Radio Times, admitting the BBC had not had complete liberty to do as it wanted. He recognised that at a time of emergency the government was never going to give the company complete independence, and he appealed to Snowden to understand the constraints he had been under. He wrote:
The Labour leadership was not the only high-profile body denied a chance to comment on the strike. The Archbishop of Canterbury
, Randall Davidson, wanted to broadcast a "peace appeal" drawn up by church leaders which called for an immediate end to the strike, renewal of government subsidies to the coal industry and no cuts in miners’ wages.
Davidson telephoned Reith about his idea on 7 May, saying he had spoken to the Prime Minister, Stanley Baldwin
, who had said he would not stop the broadcast, but would prefer it not to happen. Reith later wrote:
Reith asked for the government view and was advised not to allow the broadcast because he suspected if it went ahead it would give the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Winston Churchill
, an excuse to commandeer the BBC. Churchill had already lobbied Baldwin to that effect. Reith rang the Archbishop to turn him down and explain that he feared if the talk went ahead, the government might take the company over.
Reith admitted to his staff that he regretted the lack of TUC and Labour voices on the airwaves. Nonetheless, many commentators have seen Reith's stance during that period as pivotal in establishing the state broadcaster's enduring reputation for impartiality.
After the strike ended, the BBC’s Programme Correspondence Department analysed the reaction to the coverage. Some 3,696 people complimented the BBC; 176 were critical.
, General Electric
, Marconi
and Metropolitan-Vickers
. However, Reith had been in favour of the company being taken into public ownership, as he felt that despite the boards under which he had served so far allowing him a high degree of latitude on all matters, not all future members might do so. Although opposed by some (including in Government), the BBC became a corporation
in 1927. Reith was knight
ed the same year.
Reith's autocratic approach became the stuff of BBC legend. His preferred approach was one of benevolent dictator
, but with built-in checks to his power. Throughout his life Reith remained convinced that that approach was the best way to run an organisation. Later Director-General Greg Dyke
, profiling Reith in 2007, noted that the term Reithian has entered the dictionary to denote a style of management, particularly with relation to broadcasting. Reith summarized the BBC's purpose in three words: educate, inform, entertain; this remains part of the organisation's mission statement
to this day. It has also been adopted by broadcasters throughout the world, notably the Public Broadcasting Service
(PBS) in the United States.
Reith earned a reputation for prurience in sexual matters. There is an old BBC legend that he once caught an announcer kissing a secretary and decreed that in future he must not read the late night religious programme, The Epilogue. In fact this may have been inspired by his catching the Chief Engineer, Captain Eckersley, not just kissing but in flagrante with an actress on a studio table.
He was to be somewhat embarrassed when one of his staff ran off with the quite new wife of the then rising young writer Evelyn Waugh
and he also had to deal with Eckersley after he had a rather public affair with a married woman also on the staff. Up to World War II any member of BBC staff involved in a divorce could lose their job though in his biography of Reith Ian McIntyre
records that after his BBC days Reith himself may have had an affair with a colleague.
that the headlines interpreted that as Reith 'slamming the door' in disgust before Edward began broadcasting.
by being made the offer of the chairmanship of Imperial Airways
. Some commentators have suggested a conspiracy amongst the Board of Governors to remove him, but that has never been proved. He left Broadcasting House with no ceremony (at his request) but in tears. That evening he attended a dinner party before driving out to Droitwich to close down a transmitter personally. He signed the visitor's book J.C.W. Reith, late BBC.
(MP) for Southampton
. When Chamberlain fell and Churchill became Prime Minister his long running feud with Reith led to the latter being moved to the Ministry of Transport
. He was subsequently moved to become First Commissioner of Works
which he held for the next two years, through two restructurings of the job, and was also transferred to the House of Lords
by being created Baron Reith of Stonehaven
.
During that period the city centres of Coventry
, Plymouth
and Portsmouth
were destroyed by German bombing. Reith urged the local authorities to begin planning the postwar reconstruction. He was dismissed from his government post by Churchill, because, as he stated, he found Reith difficult to work with.
Understandably, Reith's animosity towards Churchill continued. When offered the post of Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
(one he had long coveted), he could not bring himself to accept it, noting in his diary: "Invitation from that bloody shit Churchill to be Lord High Commissioner."
He took a naval commission as a Lieutenant-Commander of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR) on the staff of the Rear-Admiral Coastal Services. In 1943 he was promoted to captain
(RNVR), and appointed Director of the Combined Operations Material Department at the Admiralty
, a post he held until early 1945.
, an office he held until 1951.
The BBC Reith Lectures were instituted in 1948 in his honour. These annual radio talks, with the aim of advancing "public understanding and debate about significant issues of contemporary interest" have been held every year since, with the exception of 1992.
The Independent Television Authority
was created on 30 July 1954 ending the BBC's broadcasting monopoly. Lord Reith did not approve of its creation. Speaking at the Opposition dispatch box in the Lords, he stated:
In November 1955 Cable & Wireless
moved from Electra House, Embankment
into its new headquarters in Theobalds Road, London. The building was named Mercury House
after the Roman messenger of the gods
and was officially opened by Lord Reith in December 1955.
sculpture. "A Third Programme carpenter, forsooth," he growled.
In the interview he expressed his disappointment at not being "fully stretched" in his life, especially after leaving the BBC. He claimed that he could have done more than Churchill gave him to do during the war. He also disclosed an abiding dissatisfaction with his life in general. He admitted not realising soon enough that "life is for living," and suggested he perhaps still did not acknowledge that fact. He also stated that since his departure as Director-General, he had watched almost no television and listened to virtually no radio. "When I leave a thing, I leave it," he said.
In his later years he also held directorships at the Phoenix Assurance Company
, Tube Investments Ltd
, the State Building Society
(1960–1964) and was the vice-chairman of the British Oxygen Company (1964–1966).
He took a personal interest in the preservation of the early 19th century frigate HMS Unicorn
in 1962.
He was also appointed Lord Rector of Glasgow University from 1965 to 1968. In 1967 he finally accepted the much-cherished post of Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. His final television appearance was in a three-part documentary series entitled Lord Reith Looks Back in 1967, filmed at Glasgow University.
At the age of 81, he died in Edinburgh
after a fall. In accordance with his wishes, his ashes were buried at the ancient, ruined chapel of Rothiemurchus
in Inverness-shire
.
and other anti-appeasement
Conservatives off the airwaves.
Order of the Thistle
The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle is an order of chivalry associated with Scotland. The current version of the Order was founded in 1687 by King James VII of Scotland who asserted that he was reviving an earlier Order...
, GCVO
Royal Victorian Order
The Royal Victorian Order is a dynastic order of knighthood and a house order of chivalry recognising distinguished personal service to the order's Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, any members of her family, or any of her viceroys...
, GBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
, CB
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
, TD
Territorial Decoration
The Territorial Decoration was a medal of the United Kingdom awarded for long service in the Territorial Force and its successor, the Territorial Army...
, PC
Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, usually known simply as the Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the Sovereign in the United Kingdom...
(20 July 1889 – 16 June 1971) was a Scottish broadcasting executive who established the tradition of independent public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom. In 1922 he was employed by the BBC (British Broadcasting Company Ltd.
British Broadcasting Company
The British Broadcasting Company Ltd was a British commercial company formed on 18 October 1922 by British and American electrical companies doing business in the United Kingdom and licensed by the British General Post Office...
) as its General Manager; in 1923 he became its Managing Director and in 1927 he was employed as the Director-General
Director-general
The term director-general is a title given the highest executive officer within a governmental, statutory, NGO, third sector or not-for-profit institution.-European Union:...
of the British Broadcasting Corporation created under a Royal Charter
Royal Charter
A royal charter is a formal document issued by a monarch as letters patent, granting a right or power to an individual or a body corporate. They were, and are still, used to establish significant organizations such as cities or universities. Charters should be distinguished from warrants and...
. His concept of broadcasting as a way of educating the masses marked for a long time the BBC and similar organizations around the world.
Early life
Stonehaven
Stonehaven is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It lies on Scotland's northeast coast and had a population of 9,577 in 2001 census.Stonehaven, county town of Kincardineshire, grew around an Iron Age fishing village, now the "Auld Toon" , and expanded inland from the seaside...
, Kincardineshire
Kincardineshire
The County of Kincardine, also known as Kincardineshire or The Mearns was a local government county on the coast of northeast Scotland...
, Reith was the youngest, by ten years, of the seven children of the Revd Dr George Reith, a minister
Minister of religion
In Christian churches, a minister is someone who is authorized by a church or religious organization to perform functions such as teaching of beliefs; leading services such as weddings, baptisms or funerals; or otherwise providing spiritual guidance to the community...
of the United Free Church of Scotland
United Free Church of Scotland
The United Free Church of Scotland is a Scottish Presbyterian denomination formed in 1900 by the union of the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland and the Free Church of Scotland...
(later amalgamated with Church of Scotland
Church of Scotland
The Church of Scotland, known informally by its Scots language name, the Kirk, is a Presbyterian church, decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation....
, and not to be confused with the Free Church of Scotland
Free Church of Scotland (post 1900)
Free Church of Scotland is that part of the original Free Church of Scotland that remained outside of the union with the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland in 1900...
). He was to carry the strict Presbyterian religious convictions of the Kirk forward into his adult life. Reith was educated at The Glasgow Academy
The Glasgow Academy
Founded in 1845, the Glasgow Academy is the oldest fully independent school in Glasgow, Scotland. It is located in the Kelvinbridge area and has approximately 1300 pupils, split between three preparatory school sites and a senior school....
then at Gresham's School
Gresham's School
Gresham’s School is an independent coeducational boarding school in Holt in North Norfolk, England, a member of the HMC.The school was founded in 1555 by Sir John Gresham as a free grammar school for forty boys, following King Henry VIII's dissolution of the Augustinian priory at Beeston Regis...
, Holt
Holt, Norfolk
Holt is a market town and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The town is north of the city of Norwich, west of Cromer and east of King's Lynn. The town is on the route of the A148 King's Lynn to Cromer road. The nearest railway station is in the town of Sheringham where access to the...
, Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
. He was an indolent child who had used his intelligence to escape hard work but he was genuinely disappointed when his father refused to support any further education and apprenticed him an engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
at the North British Locomotive Company
North British Locomotive Company
The North British Locomotive Company was created in 1903 through the merger of three Glasgow locomotive manufacturing companies; Sharp Stewart and Company , Neilson, Reid and Company and Dübs and Company , creating the largest locomotive manufacturing company in Europe.Its main factories were...
. Reith had been a keen sportsman at school and only learnt to tolerate his apprenticeship through part-time soldier
Soldier
A soldier is a member of the land component of national armed forces; whereas a soldier hired for service in a foreign army would be termed a mercenary...
ing in the 1st Lanarkshire Rifle Volunteers and 5th Scottish Rifles.
In 1914, Reith left Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
for London, largely in pursuit of a 17-year-old schoolboy, Charlie Bowser, a fast friend. Though he readily found work at the Royal Albert Dock
Royal Albert Dock
The Royal Albert Dock is one of three docks in the Royal Group of Docks of east London, now part of the redeveloped Docklands.-History:The dock was constructed to the east of the earlier Victoria Dock by the St Katharine and London dock companies and opened in 1880...
, his commission in the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) soon found him serving in World War I
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...
. He was struck in the cheek by a bullet in October 1915, at which time he was a Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
, and transferred to 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....
. He spent the next two years in the United States, supervising armament contracts, and became attracted to the country, fantasising of moving there with Bowser after the war. He was promoted to Captain
Captain (British Army and Royal Marines)
Captain is a junior officer rank of the British Army and Royal Marines. It ranks above Lieutenant and below Major and has a NATO ranking code of OF-2. The rank is equivalent to a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy and to a Flight Lieutenant in the Royal Air Force...
in 1917, before transferring to the Royal Marine Engineers in 1918 as a Major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
. He returned to the Royal Engineers as a Captain in 1919 and resigned his Territorial Army commission in 1921.
However, the end of the war saw a reconciliation, with Reith's return to Glasgow as General Manager of an engineering firm and Bowser becoming his assistant. But the lure of London proved too much for Reith and in 1922, he returned there. Dabbling in politics
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
, despite his family's Liberal Party
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
sympathies, he ended up working as secretary to the London Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
group of MPs
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
in the United Kingdom general election, 1922
United Kingdom general election, 1922
The United Kingdom general election of 1922 was held on 15 November 1922. It was the first election held after most of the Irish counties left the United Kingdom to form the Irish Free State, and was won by Andrew Bonar Law's Conservatives, who gained an overall majority over Labour, led by John...
. Perhaps prophetically, that election's results were the first to be broadcast
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...
on the 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...
.
The BBC
- See also British Broadcasting CompanyBritish Broadcasting CompanyThe British Broadcasting Company Ltd was a British commercial company formed on 18 October 1922 by British and American electrical companies doing business in the United Kingdom and licensed by the British General Post Office...
.
Reith had no broadcasting experience when he replied to an advertisement in The Morning Post for a General Manager for an as-yet unformed British Broadcasting Company in 1922. He later admitted that he felt he possessed the credentials necessary to manage any company. He managed to retrieve his original application from the post box after re-thinking his approach, guessing that his Aberdonian background would curry more favour with Sir William Noble, the Chairman of the Broadcasting Committee.
In his new role, he was, in his own words:
The General Strike
In 1926 Reith famously came into conflict with the Government during the 1926 United Kingdom general strike1926 United Kingdom general strike
The 1926 general strike in the United Kingdom was a general strike that lasted nine days, from 4 May 1926 to 13 May 1926. It was called by the general council of the Trades Union Congress in an unsuccessful attempt to force the British government to act to prevent wage reduction and worsening...
. The BBC bulletins reported, without comment, all sides in the dispute, including the TUC and other union leaders. Reith attempted to arrange a broadcast by the opposition Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
but it was vetoed by the government, and he had to refuse a request to allow a representative Labour or Trade Union leader to put the case for the miners and other workers. He even turned down a direct request from the Labour leader Ramsay MacDonald
Ramsay MacDonald
James Ramsay MacDonald, PC, FRS was a British politician who was the first ever Labour Prime Minister, leading a minority government for two terms....
who wanted to deliver a talk. MacDonald complained that the BBC was "biased" and was "misleading the public" and other Labour Party figures were just as critical. Philip Snowden, the former Labour Chancellor of the Exchequer
Chancellor of the Exchequer
The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters. Often simply called the Chancellor, the office-holder controls HM Treasury and plays a role akin to the posts of Minister of Finance or Secretary of the...
, was one of those who wrote to the Radio Times
Radio Times
Radio Times is a UK weekly television and radio programme listings magazine, owned by the BBC. It has been published since 1923 by BBC Magazines, which also provides an on-line listings service under the same title...
to complain.
Reith’s reply also appeared in the Radio Times, admitting the BBC had not had complete liberty to do as it wanted. He recognised that at a time of emergency the government was never going to give the company complete independence, and he appealed to Snowden to understand the constraints he had been under. He wrote:
The Labour leadership was not the only high-profile body denied a chance to comment on the strike. The Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
, Randall Davidson, wanted to broadcast a "peace appeal" drawn up by church leaders which called for an immediate end to the strike, renewal of government subsidies to the coal industry and no cuts in miners’ wages.
Davidson telephoned Reith about his idea on 7 May, saying he had spoken to the Prime Minister, Stanley Baldwin
Stanley Baldwin
Stanley Baldwin, 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley, KG, PC was a British Conservative politician, who dominated the government in his country between the two world wars...
, who had said he would not stop the broadcast, but would prefer it not to happen. Reith later wrote:
Reith asked for the government view and was advised not to allow the broadcast because he suspected if it went ahead it would give the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
, an excuse to commandeer the BBC. Churchill had already lobbied Baldwin to that effect. Reith rang the Archbishop to turn him down and explain that he feared if the talk went ahead, the government might take the company over.
Reith admitted to his staff that he regretted the lack of TUC and Labour voices on the airwaves. Nonetheless, many commentators have seen Reith's stance during that period as pivotal in establishing the state broadcaster's enduring reputation for impartiality.
After the strike ended, the BBC’s Programme Correspondence Department analysed the reaction to the coverage. Some 3,696 people complimented the BBC; 176 were critical.
The British Broadcasting Corporation
The British Broadcasting Company was part-share owned by a committee of members of the wireless industry, including British Thomson-HoustonBritish Thomson-Houston
British Thomson-Houston was a British engineering and heavy industrial company, based at Rugby, Warwickshire, England. They were known primarily for their electrical systems and steam turbines. They were merged with the similar Metropolitan-Vickers company in 1928, but the two maintained their own...
, General Electric
The General Electric Company plc
The General Electric Company or GEC was a major British-based industrial conglomerate, involved in consumer and defence electronics, communications and engineering. The company was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. It was renamed Marconi Corporation plc in 1999 after its defence arm,...
, Marconi
Marconi Company
The Marconi Company Ltd. was founded by Guglielmo Marconi in 1897 as The Wireless Telegraph & Signal Company...
and Metropolitan-Vickers
Metropolitan-Vickers
Metropolitan-Vickers, Metrovick, or Metrovicks, was a British heavy electrical engineering company of the early-to-mid 20th century formerly known as British Westinghouse. Highly diversified, they were particularly well known for their industrial electrical equipment such as generators, steam...
. However, Reith had been in favour of the company being taken into public ownership, as he felt that despite the boards under which he had served so far allowing him a high degree of latitude on all matters, not all future members might do so. Although opposed by some (including in Government), the BBC became a corporation
Corporation
A corporation is created under the laws of a state as a separate legal entity that has privileges and liabilities that are distinct from those of its members. There are many different forms of corporations, most of which are used to conduct business. Early corporations were established by charter...
in 1927. Reith was knight
Knight
A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
ed the same year.
Reith's autocratic approach became the stuff of BBC legend. His preferred approach was one of benevolent dictator
Dictator
A dictator is a ruler who assumes sole and absolute power but without hereditary ascension such as an absolute monarch. When other states call the head of state of a particular state a dictator, that state is called a dictatorship...
, but with built-in checks to his power. Throughout his life Reith remained convinced that that approach was the best way to run an organisation. Later Director-General Greg Dyke
Greg Dyke
Gregory "Greg" Dyke is a British media executive, journalist and broadcaster. Since the 1960s, Dyke has a long career in the UK in print and then broadcast journalism. He is credited with introducing 'tabloid' television to British broadcasting, and reviving the ratings of TV-am...
, profiling Reith in 2007, noted that the term Reithian has entered the dictionary to denote a style of management, particularly with relation to broadcasting. Reith summarized the BBC's purpose in three words: educate, inform, entertain; this remains part of the organisation's mission statement
Mission statement
A mission statement is a statement of the purpose of a company or organization. The mission statement should guide the actions of the organization, spell out its overall goal, provide a path, and guide decision-making...
to this day. It has also been adopted by broadcasters throughout the world, notably the Public Broadcasting Service
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
(PBS) in the United States.
Reith earned a reputation for prurience in sexual matters. There is an old BBC legend that he once caught an announcer kissing a secretary and decreed that in future he must not read the late night religious programme, The Epilogue. In fact this may have been inspired by his catching the Chief Engineer, Captain Eckersley, not just kissing but in flagrante with an actress on a studio table.
He was to be somewhat embarrassed when one of his staff ran off with the quite new wife of the then rising young writer Evelyn Waugh
Evelyn Waugh
Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh , known as Evelyn Waugh, was an English writer of novels, travel books and biographies. He was also a prolific journalist and reviewer...
and he also had to deal with Eckersley after he had a rather public affair with a married woman also on the staff. Up to World War II any member of BBC staff involved in a divorce could lose their job though in his biography of Reith Ian McIntyre
Ian McIntyre
Ian McIntyre is the head men's soccer coach at Syracuse University. On January 6, 2010, he was named as the 15th soccer coach in school history. He previously coached at Hartwick College from 2003 to 2009, posting four 10 win seasons. He compiled a 71-36-25 record as the head coach of the Hawks...
records that after his BBC days Reith himself may have had an affair with a colleague.
The Abdication Broadcast
In 1936 Reith directly oversaw the abdication broadcast of Edward VIII. By then his style had become well-established in the public eye. He personally introduced the ex-King (as 'Prince Edward'), before standing aside to allow Edward to take the chair. Doing so, Edward accidentally knocked the table leg with his foot, which was picked up by the microphone. Reith later noted in an interview with Malcolm MuggeridgeMalcolm Muggeridge
Thomas Malcolm Muggeridge was an English journalist, author, media personality, and satirist. During World War II, he was a soldier and a spy...
that the headlines interpreted that as Reith 'slamming the door' in disgust before Edward began broadcasting.
Departure
Reith was invited to resign his post at the BBC in 1938 by Neville ChamberlainNeville 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...
by being made the offer of the chairmanship of Imperial Airways
Imperial Airways
Imperial Airways was the early British commercial long range air transport company, operating from 1924 to 1939 and serving parts of Europe but especially the Empire routes to South Africa, India and the Far East...
. Some commentators have suggested a conspiracy amongst the Board of Governors to remove him, but that has never been proved. He left Broadcasting House with no ceremony (at his request) but in tears. That evening he attended a dinner party before driving out to Droitwich to close down a transmitter personally. He signed the visitor's book J.C.W. Reith, late BBC.
Reithianism
The term 'Reithianism' describes certain principles of broadcasting associated with Lord Reith. These include an equal consideration of all viewpoints, probity, universality and a commitment to public service. It can be distinguished from the free-market approach to broadcasting, where programming aims to attract the largest audiences or advertising revenues, ahead of - and, in practice, often contrary to - any artistic merit, impartiality, educative or entertainment values, that a programme may have.Wartime activities
In 1940 Reith was appointed Minister of Information in Chamberlain's government. So as to perform his full duties he became a Member of ParliamentMember of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP) for Southampton
Southampton (UK Parliament constituency)
Southampton was a parliamentary constituency which was represented in the British House of Commons. Centred on the town of Southampton, it returned two Members of Parliament from 1295 until it was abolished for the 1950 general election....
. When Chamberlain fell and Churchill became Prime Minister his long running feud with Reith led to the latter being moved to the Ministry of Transport
Secretary of State for Transport
The Secretary of State for Transport is the member of the cabinet responsible for the British Department for Transport. The role has had a high turnover as new appointments are blamed for the failures of decades of their predecessors...
. He was subsequently moved to become First Commissioner of Works
First Commissioner of Works
The First Commissioner of Works and Public Buildings was a position within the government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It took over some of the functions of the First Commissioner of Woods and Forests in 1851 when the portfolio of Crown holdings was divided into the public...
which he held for the next two years, through two restructurings of the job, and was also transferred to the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
by being created Baron Reith of Stonehaven
Stonehaven
Stonehaven is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It lies on Scotland's northeast coast and had a population of 9,577 in 2001 census.Stonehaven, county town of Kincardineshire, grew around an Iron Age fishing village, now the "Auld Toon" , and expanded inland from the seaside...
.
During that period the city centres of Coventry
Coventry
Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
, Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
and Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
were destroyed by German bombing. Reith urged the local authorities to begin planning the postwar reconstruction. He was dismissed from his government post by Churchill, because, as he stated, he found Reith difficult to work with.
Understandably, Reith's animosity towards Churchill continued. When offered the post of Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
The Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is the British Sovereign's personal representative to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland , reflecting the Church's role as the national church of Scotland, and the Sovereign's role as protector and member of...
(one he had long coveted), he could not bring himself to accept it, noting in his diary: "Invitation from that bloody shit Churchill to be Lord High Commissioner."
He took a naval commission as a Lieutenant-Commander of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR) on the staff of the Rear-Admiral Coastal Services. In 1943 he was promoted to captain
Captain (Royal Navy)
Captain is a senior officer rank of the Royal Navy. It ranks above Commander and below Commodore and has a NATO ranking code of OF-5. The rank is equivalent to a Colonel in the British Army or Royal Marines and to a Group Captain in the Royal Air Force. The rank of Group Captain is based on the...
(RNVR), and appointed Director of the Combined Operations Material Department at the Admiralty
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
, a post he held until early 1945.
Post-war
In 1946 he was appointed chairmanship of the Commonwealth Telecommunications Board, a post he held until 1950. He was then appointed chairman of the Colonial Development Corporation which he held until 1959. In 1948 he was also appointed the chairman of the National Film Finance CorporationNational Film Finance Corporation
The National Film Finance Corporation was a film funding agency in the United Kingdom which operated from 1949 until it was wound up in 1985...
, an office he held until 1951.
The BBC Reith Lectures were instituted in 1948 in his honour. These annual radio talks, with the aim of advancing "public understanding and debate about significant issues of contemporary interest" have been held every year since, with the exception of 1992.
The Independent Television Authority
Independent Television Authority
The Independent Television Authority was an agency created by the Television Act 1954 to supervise the creation of "Independent Television" , the first commercial television network in the United Kingdom...
was created on 30 July 1954 ending the BBC's broadcasting monopoly. Lord Reith did not approve of its creation. Speaking at the Opposition dispatch box in the Lords, he stated:
In November 1955 Cable & Wireless
Cable & Wireless
Cable & Wireless Worldwide PLC is a global telecommunications company headquartered in Bracknell, United Kingdom. Cable & Wireless specialises in providing communication networks and services to large corporates, governments, carrier customers and resellers...
moved from Electra House, Embankment
Thames Embankment
The Thames Embankment is a major feat of 19th century civil engineering designed to reclaim marshy land next to the River Thames in central London. It consists of the Victoria and Chelsea Embankment....
into its new headquarters in Theobalds Road, London. The building was named Mercury House
Mercury House (London building)
Mercury House is an office building at 124, Theobalds Road, Holborn, London, and has been headquarters to Cable & Wireless from 1955. It was opened by John Reith and was named after the Roman god....
after the Roman messenger of the gods
Mercury (mythology)
Mercury was a messenger who wore winged sandals, and a god of trade, the son of Maia Maiestas and Jupiter in Roman mythology. His name is related to the Latin word merx , mercari , and merces...
and was officially opened by Lord Reith in December 1955.
Later years
In 1960 he returned to the BBC for an interview with John Freeman in the television series Face to Face. When he visited the BBC to record the programme, work was being undertaken, and Reith noticed with dismay the 'girlie' pin-ups of the workmen. However one picture was of a Henry MooreHenry Moore
Henry Spencer Moore OM CH FBA was an English sculptor and artist. He was best known for his semi-abstract monumental bronze sculptures which are located around the world as public works of art....
sculpture. "A Third Programme carpenter, forsooth," he growled.
In the interview he expressed his disappointment at not being "fully stretched" in his life, especially after leaving the BBC. He claimed that he could have done more than Churchill gave him to do during the war. He also disclosed an abiding dissatisfaction with his life in general. He admitted not realising soon enough that "life is for living," and suggested he perhaps still did not acknowledge that fact. He also stated that since his departure as Director-General, he had watched almost no television and listened to virtually no radio. "When I leave a thing, I leave it," he said.
In his later years he also held directorships at the Phoenix Assurance Company
Phoenix Fire Office
Phoenix Assurance or Phoenix Fire Office was a fire insurance company founded in 1680 in England.The history of the company includes the nostalga of red-coated attendants clattering to the fires of London on horse-drawn tenders....
, Tube Investments Ltd
TI Group
TI Group plc was a holding company for specialised engineering companies. It was based in Abingdon, Oxfordshire. It was registered as Tube Investments in 1919, combining the seamless steel tube businesses of Tubes Ltd, New Credenda Tube , Simplex and Accles & Pollock. In 1928 Reynolds Tube joined...
, the State Building Society
Abbey National
Abbey National plc was a UK-based bank and former building society, which latterly traded under the Abbey brand name. It became a wholly owned subsidiary of Grupo Santander of Spain in 2004, and was rebranded as Santander in January 2010, forming Santander UK along with the savings business of the...
(1960–1964) and was the vice-chairman of the British Oxygen Company (1964–1966).
He took a personal interest in the preservation of the early 19th century frigate HMS Unicorn
HMS Unicorn (1824)
HMS Unicorn and her near-sister ship, HMS Trincomalee, are surviving sailing frigates of the successful Leda class, although the original design had been modified by the time that the Unicorn was built, to incorporate a circular stern and "small-timber" system of construction...
in 1962.
He was also appointed Lord Rector of Glasgow University from 1965 to 1968. In 1967 he finally accepted the much-cherished post of Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. His final television appearance was in a three-part documentary series entitled Lord Reith Looks Back in 1967, filmed at Glasgow University.
At the age of 81, he died in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
after a fall. In accordance with his wishes, his ashes were buried at the ancient, ruined chapel of Rothiemurchus
Rothiemurchus Forest
Rothiemurchus Forest is a remnant of the Caledonian Forest at near Aviemore, Badenoch and Strathspey, Highland, Scotland.The forest is popular for recreation, but contains some of the most important wildlife in Europe, including the osprey, Scottish crossbill, capercaillie, crested tit and wild...
in Inverness-shire
Inverness-shire
The County of Inverness or Inverness-shire was a general purpose county of Scotland, with the burgh of Inverness as the county town, until 1975, when, under the Local Government Act 1973, the county area was divided between the two-tier Highland region and the unitary Western Isles. The Highland...
.
Biographical works
Reith wrote two volumes of autobiography: Into The Wind in 1956 and Wearing Spurs in 1966. Two biographical volumes appeared shortly after his death: Only the Wind Will Listen by Andrew Boyle (1972), and an edited volume of his diaries (1975). It was not until The Expense of Glory (1993) by Ian McIntyre that Reith's unexpurgated diaries and letters were published.Pro-fascist sympathies
In 1975 excerpts from Reith's diary were published which showed he had, during the 1930s, harboured pro-fascist views. On 9 March 1933 he wrote: “I am pretty certain… that the Nazis will clean things up and put Germany on the way to being a real power in Europe again. They are being ruthless and most determined.” After the July 1934 Night of The Long Knives, in which the Nazis ruthlessly exterminated their internal dissidents, Reith wrote: “I really admire the way Hitler has cleaned up what looked like an incipient revolt.” After Czechoslovakia was invaded by the Nazis in 1939 he wrote: “Hitler continues his magnificent efficiency.” Reith also expressed admiration for Mussolini.. Reith's daughter, Marista Leishman, revealed how her father in the 1930s did everything possible to keep Winston ChurchillWinston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
and other anti-appeasement
Appeasement
The term appeasement is commonly understood to refer to a diplomatic policy aimed at avoiding war by making concessions to another power. Historian Paul Kennedy defines it as "the policy of settling international quarrels by admitting and satisfying grievances through rational negotiation and...
Conservatives off the airwaves.
Further reading
- My Father - Reith of the BBC by Marista Leishman, published by St Andrew Press 29 September 2006. Illustrated.