Born in Windsor, David Wilmott began his broadcasting career during National Service (1950 – 1952) with the Forces Broadcasting Service in the Canal Zone of Egypt, where he rose to become the station’s chief announcer.
…Connell, Miranda
Miranda was born in Stanstead, Essex. She began acting at the age of 18, playing Maria in a 1958 production of Twelfth Night at Stratford.
…Carpenter, Harry
Harry was born in London. During World War II he served as a telegrapher in the Royal Navy. He began his journalistic career in 1946, working as a sub-editor for several national newspapers in Fleet Street.
…Roberts, John
John was born in Wellington, New Zealand. He moved to London and joined the BBC on a short-term contract as a relief BBC TV newsreader (June – November 1963).
…O’Keeffe, Meryl
Meryl was born in Nairobi, Kenya and educated in South Africa. In 1950, she began her radio career in the South African Broadcasting Corporation, based in Johannesburg and Cape Town.
…Woodall, Corbet
Corbet was born in Hampshire. He was a scholar at Eton College.
…Hewer, John
John was born in Leyton, Essex. He was an actor/writer, who was a long-time member of the London’s Players Theatre.
…Bligh, Jasmine
Jasmine was born in London. She was the niece of Esme Ivo Bligh, the 9th Earl of Darnley and a descendant of Captain William Bligh, the commander famously usurped in the Mutiny on the Bounty.
…Ellis, Norman
Norman worked at the Met Office (1947 – 1984). He was a BBC TV forecaster (March 1959 – March 1964); during the same period he was also heard on BBC Radio.
…Macintosh, Alex
Alex was born in Fulham. He was a former actor. His voice was heard on the very first advert for Gibbs SR Toothpaste shown at 8.12pm on the opening night of ITV on 22nd September 1955.
…McQueen, Barry
Barry was born in Sydney, Australia in 1932. He originally studied medicine but moved into radio as a commercial announcer (1950 – 1953). For the next six years, he worked in both television and radio for ABC as a newsreader; he also presented Thursday at One (1957), Night Out at Scott’s (1958) and Happy New Year (1959). He worked on commercial TV in Melbourne (1959 – 1960) and presented Today (1960).
…Gray, Gavin
Gavin was a senior news editor for BBC News. He also made brief on-screen appearances reading the news. In March 1957, Donald Baverstock, editor of the current affairs TV programme Tonight, introduced a short news summary within the programme, transmitted from Egton House (where BBC Radio 1 was housed for many years) and read by a senior duty news editor. Gray read the first news summary on 22nd March 1957. It turned out to be a short-lived experiment and Gray read the final (in-programme) news summary on 21st August 1957.
…Priestland, Gerald
Gerald was educated at Charterhouse and New College, Oxford. He joined the BBC in 1949 as a news sub-editor. He spent his first six months on a contract, writing obituaries.
…Scott, Avis
Avis was born in 1918, with the surname Scutt. Many people tried to persuade her to alter her name but it was Noel Coward who finally succeeded when he said “my dear, the name Scutt sounds like a great piece of rabbit!”.
…Tooth, Pauline
Pauline was an actress and a BBC TV in-vision network announcer (1955 – 1961). She also appeared in a one-off show called Afternoon Hostesses Tea-Party (20th December 1955), hosted by McDonald Hobley, with Vera McKechnie and Nan Winton amongst the contributors.
…Chalmers, Judith
Judith was born in Stockport, Cheshire. She began broadcasting for the BBC when she was only 13, after being selected for BBC Northern Children’s Hour by producer Trevor Hill.
…Edwardes, Olga
Olga was a South African-born British actress and artist. She appeared in several films and plays from the mid-1930s to the mid-1950s, including Contraband (1940), The Angel with the Trumpet (1950) and Scrooge (1951), where she played the unnamed wife of Scrooge’s nephew Fred. She was also a major character in Black Orchid (1953).
…Peters, Sylvia
Born Sylvia Lucia Petronzio, she was a former musical actress who appeared in revues including one at The Coliseum marking VE Day.
…Hobley, McDonald
McDonald was born in Stanley, Falkland Islands. He began his acting career in repertory theatre, under the stage names Val Blanchard and Robert Blanchard, using his mother’s maiden name.
…Malcolm, Mary
Mary was bought up in Poltalloch, Argyll and was the granddaughter of Victorian socialite Lillie Langley, mistress of King Edward VII.
…Snagge, John
John was born in Chelsea and educated at Winchester College and Pembroke College, Oxford where he obtained a law degree. Having applied to join the British Broadcasting Company Limited in 1924 – and in the absence of a reply from the BBC – Snagge’s father, the redoubtable judge Sir Mordaunt Snagge, called on Reith’s deputy, Admiral Charles Car-Pendale, at Savoy Hill to ask what was happening. The admiral explained that a great number of people had written to the BBC, and he was having to go through 1,500 applications. “I am not interested in the other 1,499,” said Sir Mordaunt loftily. Snagge was engaged and in 1924 sent to be the assistant director of the newly opened local radio station at Stoke-on-Trent. He broadcast his first sports commentary in January 1927 (Hull City v Stoke City football match). In 1928, he moved to Savoy Hill in London to work as one of BBC Radio’s announcers, alongside Stuart Hibberd. Listeners heard his distinctive resonant voice on the Home Service (1928 – 1933, 1940 and 1944).
…Trace, Christopher
Chris – a former actor – was born in Hambledon, Surrey. After working as a farm labourer, he joined the British Army and trained at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and in 1953 received a commission in the Royal Regiment of Artillery of the British Army. He was promoted to lieutenant in February 1955, but resigned his commission in September 1956. He had a relatively undistinguished acting career – his greatest screen role being Charlton Heston’s body double in Ben-Hur (1959). He later appeared as an interviewer in Ask Mr Pastry (1961) and as himself in Mr Pastry’s Pet Shop (1962).
…Singleton, Valerie
Valerie trained as a dancer at the Arts Education School. She studied for two years at RADA (winning a one-term scholarship) and spent a year at Bromley Repertory as an assistant stage manager, playing small parts.
…Winton, Nan
Born Nancy Wigginton, Nan was co-presenter on BBC TV’s Information Desk (1955 – 1956) and Mainly for Women (1957).
…Pitts, Valerie
Valerie was an actress. She was RADA-trained (1955 – 1957) and worked in the theatre initially.
…Mitchell, Leslie
Leslie was a BBC radio announcer (1934 – 1936) and was the first BBC TV in-vision announcer, based at Alexandra Palace (1936 – 1938). During the war, he was a regular narrator for the British Movietone News newsreel, shown in cinemas across the UK. When BBC Television opened up again after World War II, he was preoccupied with prospects in the film business. He became an interviewer on BBC TV’s Picture Parade (1946 and 1948 – 1951) and also presented Come Dancing (1950).
…Muncaster, Martin
Martin was born in Tillington, near Petworth, Sussex and was educated at Stowe.
…Dimmock, Peter
Peter was a pioneering sports broadcaster and a senior BBC television executive during the formative years of the medium in the 1950s. He was born in London and at the outbreak of war, joined the Royal Army Service Corps territorial unit and was called up only two months later to serve in France, during the retreat from Dunkirk. In March 1941, he was allowed to transfer into the Royal Air Force and qualified as a pilot officer. Then in 1943, he became a flying instructor on Tiger Moth and Miles Magister at various flying training schools, with the rank of Flight Lieutenant, and in February 1944 was appointed as a staff officer at the Air Ministry.
…Hall, Terry
Terry appeared with the Lenny the Lion puppet in the 1950s and 1960s.
…Webb, Gillian
Gillian was a BBC TV in-vision network announcer (1946 – 1947). Born in Leicester, in 1926, Gillian became a student at RADA soon after she left school in 1943. When she was called up for National Service she enlisted in ENSA and began touring England with Twelfth Night. She then toured the Middle East with the play Nine to Six, in which her part was of a mannequin with a few lines, but it took her to Cairo, Alexandra, Basra, Damascus, Aleppo, Beirut and Jerusalem.
It was at Habbaniya Airport in Iraq that she met her future husband, Lieutenant Wilson of the United States Army Air Force and, in the course of just seven days, got engaged to him. Upon returning to England in May 1946, Gillian began to see agents and film directors. It was after little success she was given an introduction to the BBC and she got the job of female television announcer. She began her new job on 17th July 1946.
Gillian never saw her announcing job as long term. In an interview published in December 1946 she stated that she was currently reading all she could about America and “has all the states off by heart and can point them out on the map.” In between reading about the US, Gillian also listed her interests as “reads thrillers, plays tennis, and waits for her visa to the United States which in any case won’t be of any use before January when she is twenty-one.” Gillian finally left Alexandra Palace and her announcing job on 20th March 1947 and never returned to television again. Her vacancy was filled by Sylvia Peters after an extensive search for a new female announcer. Sylvia was the youngest of the entrants at 21 years of age.
Gillian’s whereabouts at the current time are not known. Thanks to Simon Vaughan of the APTS for the background information above.
Armour, Downie
Downie was a BBC TV national weather forecaster (1956 – 1958). He died in 1979.
Sharpe, Brian
Brian was a BBC TV in-vision network announcer (1956) and BBC Midlands announcer (late-1950s).
Parker, Mary
Mary was a relief BBC TV in-vision network announcer, 1955.
Gray, Donald
Donald was an accomplished actor. He was a relief BBC TV in-vision network announcer (1952 – 1953, 1955). He later announced at ATV in London at the weekends. Gray also provided the voice of Colonel White in the cult 1960s children’s television classic, Captain Scarlet.
…Armstrong, Jack
Jack was a BBC TV national weather forecaster (1956 – 1965). He worked at the Met Office for 36 years (1947 – 1983). He died in 1984.
Gregg, Anne
Anne was born in Belfast. In October 1959, aged 19, she joined Ulster TV at its launch, as an announcer. She later presented the local news magazine programme Roundabout.
…Elwes, Polly
Born Mary Freya Elwes and known as Polly. She attended the Central School of Speech and Drama, now part of the University of London.
…Grey, Monica
Monica was an actress.
…Shotter, Winifred
Winifred was a BBC TV announcer (1946 – October 1947). She died on 4th April 1996.
Hofman, David
David was a BBC TV in-vision announcer at Alexandra Palace briefly during the pre-World War II years. His voice was also heard on radio, on the BBC Empire Service.
Haigh, Peter
Middleton, Noëlle
Born in Sligo, Ireland, Noëlle Middleton came to the performing arts through a path of both academic ambition and instinct.
…Maconochie, Kenneth
Kenneth was a BBC TV network announcer (1950s).
Cowell, Elizabeth
Cowell was among the original trio of BBC TV in-vision announcers at Alexandra Palace (31st August 1936 – 28th August 1939).
…Tracy, Sheila
Born as Sheila Lugg in Mullion, Cornwall. Sheila studied piano, violin and trombone at the Royal Academy of Music.
…Mills, John
John was a BBC TV (voice-only) network announcer (1961 – 1965).
Crawford, Carol
Carol was a relief BBC TV in-vision network announcer (1952).
Carse, Duncan
Duncan was a BBC Radio Overseas/Home Service announcer in 1941 and a BBC TV in-vision announcer in the 1950s.
…McNab, Bernard
Bernard was a relief BBC TV network announcer (1952).
Trevor, John
John was a BBC TV network announcer for 22 years (1960 – 1982) – senior announcer from 1966. After retiring he appeared on Showcable, the BBC’s London cable service for Visionhire Ltd.
…(Lucas) Maskell, Trevor
Trevor Maskell worked as a freelance BBC TV voice-only announcer from 1962 to 1963.
…Cavendish, Kay
Kay was a BBC TV in-vision announcer in 1939 and a BBC Radio announcer in 1940. She was also a famous stage, radio and TV pianist.
Kay died on 21st January 2000.