A History of the BBC in Other Archives: 1941
A History of the BBC in Other Archives: 1940
On the 18th February 1940, the BBC Forces radio station began transmissions at 11am with A Short Morning Service followed by a summary of the day's programmes, which consisted of music from numerous genres interspersed with Home Service opt-ins (mostly also musical). This was followed at 4pm with second half coverage of an "Association Football" match between The French Army v. The British Army, commentated by Raymond Glendenning from Lille (which wouldn't be occupied by the Germans until the end of May).
Introducing the service, the Radio Times explains, much care was taken in selecting the programmes for the service, between national security concerns and just how to entertain troops who could be called to action at any moment, often in difficult circumstances. After a consultation, which included the BBC's DG himself visiting various forces including the RAF in France, it was decided to keep the tone light, with music which could not easily be disrupted and "may even be enhanced by communal enjoyment and a running exchange of comments."
The final day of broadcasting, 26th February 1944 contains much the same mix of content as the opening day, of gramophone records, live music and a second half coverage of a couple of rugby matches, England v. Scotland and England v. Wales. The biggest change is an extra programme at 8pm, Home is on the Air, in which "men of the Service tell how they and their comrades are listening now and will be listening in the future together with you at home" as the channel transitioned to General Forces Radio, which also catered to US forces and the Home Front.
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BBC Programmes
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A History of the BBC in Other Archives: 1938
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A History of the BBC in Other Archives: 1937
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A History of the BBC in Other Archives: 1936
Television
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Predictions 2022.
That Day We reach the time when I assess how well I predicted the ups and downs of the year and look forward to the next. Here we go again:
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A History of the BBC in Other Archives: 1934
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Christmas Links #24
"After years in the pop wilderness, the original Sugababes trio is about to drop new album The Lost Tapes – a collection of songs that were leaked as demos in 2013."
Christmas Links #23
"A couple have created a model village and decorated their house for Christmas to raise money for charity."