April 2020 • Issue 2 PROSPERO

The newspaper for retired BBC Pension Scheme members • April 2020 • Issue 2

PROSPERO

REMEMBERING A GOLDEN AGE
OF FILM

PAGE 8

PENSION SCHEME

| BBC PENSIONS

PAUL BOHAN AT 100: ‘A REMARKABLE MAN’

Former BBC broadcast engineer Paul Bohan recently celebrated his 100th birthday, and BBC Volunteer Visitor Arthur Masson caught up with him to talk about the interesting times – and places – he’s seen in his long life.

aul was born in Bishop Auckland, County Durham, on 24 November 1919.
He arrived at Stoney Cross and joined a unit servicing aircraft, for approximately a year. He was then transferred to RAF Marham, and then to RAF Mildenhall. Eventually, with his service completed, he was released in March 1947. (It is perhaps worth noting that, as he had passed the Commission examinations, if he had remained in service he would have been a Commissioned Officer.)

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He was educated at a council school in Byers
Green village, where he obtained the first of many ‘accomplishments’, his 11-plus certificate!
He was then posted to Meldrum and completed

12 years as a TV engineer.
He left school at 16 and joined the RAF, completing an

18-month course at Cranwell as a wireless operator, then, after successfully qualifying, went to RAF Thornaby.
He was offered early retirement, which he accepted at the ‘ripe old age’ of 58 and joined Aberdeen University Language Laboratory as their recording engineer. He was seven years at the University and then retired at the age of 65 to spend time improving his golf. Sadly, in 1997 his wife Frances died.
After leaving the RAF he joined BOAC, which was the state airline, and was posted to Sudan (Wadi-Halfa). After a few months, the unit was renamed International Air Radio. After a year at Wadi-Halfa, he was posted to Eritrea for another year and then returned to the UK and married his schooldays sweetheart, Frances, in 1949.
After one year, he went back to Cranwell for another course and qualified as a wireless and electrical mechanic. He was then transferred to Finningley and was subsequently posted overseas to join a unit called W.I.S. (Wireless Intelligence System) – part of a convoy leaving Scotland for the Middle East.
He now happily lives, with his daughter Susan on hand, in the village of Kemnay, constantly reviewing a full and eventful life.
The convoy consisted of 42 ships which zigzagged

across towards America (USA), then headed south, down the west coast of Africa, past Cape Town and round to the Red Sea, up to Suez, where he joined another boat and sailed to Aden, where the unit was deployed.
He was then posted back to Sudan, to Malakal, but a promise of married quarters did not materialise, so he resigned and returned to the UK and joined the BBC as a technical assistant at OSE 8/9 near Penrith – where 24-hour shifts were the norm, transmitting politics and news to the world. After four years, he passed the engineer exams and became a fullyfledged broadcasting engineer.
Paul enjoyed a special trip to RAF Lossiemouth organised by the Scottish War Blind Association to commemorate his 100th birthday. The museum was opened up for photos and Paul was presented with a Spitfire memorial plaque, a special birthday cake and many other keepsakes. They provided a celebration meal and he was surrounded by invited friends, associates and well-wishers. He thoroughly enjoyed the whole occasion. Uplifted by their warm congratulations, he left with a lasting impression of a memorable day.
He sailed from Aden to Suez and the unit was deployed in the Sinai Desert, parallel to the Suez Canal. He was then posted to the Western Desert (the sharp end of activities!) to an Army air-support control, providing support for the forward troops.
He was at OSE 8/9 for eight years before he decided to join Northern Rhodesia Broadcasting as a broadcasting engineer, stationed at Lusaka for four years. He then moved to the copper belt, where he opened a new TV station and served for two years until it became Zambia, when he resigned and returned to the UK to rejoin the BBC.
He then joined a newly formed unit that eventually went to Iraq and joined the Army section of a new air-support unit, which was designed for operations in Persia. However, no war action was engaged due to the success of Russia holding Stalingrad against the advancing Germans. The unit was then ‘stood down’ in Lebanon, from where he was withdrawn and sent to establish a telecoms centre in Palestine. From there, he was posted to Aleppo. A few months later, his period of 4½ years’ service was completed, and he was posted back to the UK.

Mystery Sudoku

Complete the grid so that every row, column and 3x3 box contains the letters ACEKLMORS in some order. One row or column contains a five or more letter word, title or name with a BBC connection. Solve the Sudoku to discover what it is and send your answer to: The Editor, Prospero, BBC Pension and Benefits Centre, 3 Central Square, Cardiff CF10 1FT by Monday, 4 May 2020.
He had to wait 12 months for a vacancy to arise, but he kept busy by joining a factory in South Shields making tape recorders. Eventually the BBC vacancy appeared and he rejoined, spending time at Sutton Coldfield and Rowridge (I.O.W) while re-engineering was in progress.

The winner gets a £10 voucher. Many thanks to Neil Somerville for providing this puzzle.

2020 pension increase

From 1 April 2020, pensions will increase as follows:

You can log into myPension online to view your combined April payslip and P60 document from Thursday, 9 April.
• Old and New Benefits members’ pensions

in payment and deferred pensions: 2.2%. Old Benefits members who elected to receive the Pension Increase Exchange will receive a lower increase, and in some cases, no increase.

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If you have not registered for the service, you will need to contact the pension service line on 029 2032 2811 to obtain your personal security number to complete the registration process.

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• Career Average Benefits (‘CAB’) 2006 members’ pensions in payment: 2.2%.
Paper copies will be posted on Wednesday, 8 April, so should arrive with you by Tuesday of the following week.

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• CAB 2011 members’ pensions in payment: 1.3%.

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No discretionary increase over and above those detailed above has been agreed.

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Grace Wyndham Goldie (BBC) Trust Fund:

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Application window now open

The Sudoku winner in February 2020 was Dave Kenny. The answer was 'Ramblings'.
Applications are invited for grants for educational and hardship purposes and should be returned by 31 July 2020.

WIN
£10

The Trust Fund exists to help those engaged in broadcasting or an associated activity, now or in the past, as well as their children and dependants.

You can request an application form from the BBC Pension and Benefits Centre or download one here:

bbc.co.uk/charityappeals/appeals/grants/grace-wyndham-goldie

2

| BACK AT THE BBC

CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19)

PROSPERO

Advice for people who have travelled back

What are the symptoms?

Prospero is provided free of charge to retired Scheme members, or to their spouses and dependants. to the UK from the main affected areas and some other countries has been issued by the government.
The Covid-19 disease can cause a fever, cough and breathing problems. It takes five days on average for people to start showing the symptoms.
Prospero provides a source of news on former colleagues, developments at the BBC and pension issues, plus classiﬁed adverts. It is available online

at bbc.com/mypension

What if someone self-isolating shares a home?
What you need to do

To help reduce the general risk of spreading the virus, please make sure you:
If you are self-isolating and share a kitchen, try to avoid using it when other people are there and take your meals back to your room to eat. Clean all the surfaces at home with household cleaning products daily.
To advertise in Prospero, please enclose a cheque made payable to: BBC Central Directorate. Rate £6 for 20 words. Please include your pension number in a covering letter.

Although you might not be able to entirely separate yourself from family members or flatmates, the advice is to limit contact as much as possible.

Please send your editorial contributions, or comments/feedback, to:

Prospero, BBC Pension and Beneﬁts Centre,
If possible, stay at least 2m (6ft) from other people you live with and sleep alone. Keep away from vulnerable people.
Central Square, Cardiﬀ CF10 1FT

Email: [email protected]

Please make sure that any digital pictures you send are scanned at 300dpi. Please also note that the maximum word count for obituaries is 350 words.

Do I need to self-isolate?

Everyone with flu-like symptoms – defined as a fever of above 37.8C or a persistent cough – is being asked to stay at home for at least seven days.
People living with someone in isolation should wash their hands often, using soap and water for at least 20 seconds – especially after coming into contact with them.
Patients with mild symptoms are being asked to self-isolate at home. But people are being advised not to ring NHS 111 or their GP to report their symptoms, unless they are worried.
You shouldn’t share towels, toiletries or other household items with someone in isolation and they should have a separate bathroom. If that is not possible, the isolated person should use the bathroom last, cleaning it thoroughly afterwards if they are able.

Contents

Anyone who has travelled to an affected area, or who has been in close contact with an infected person, has already been asked to self-isolate for 14 days.

Letters

4-5

6-9

Any rubbish that the isolated person has been in contact with should be double-bagged and kept. If the person tests positive, you will be told what to do with their waste
Spending 15 minutes within 2m (6ft) of someone with the virus, or having face-to-face contact, is judged as close contact and a significant risk.

Memories

Prime target: on secondment to South Arabian Broadcasting Services

This advice was correct at the time of going to print but you are encouraged to check the latest advice via the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/topical-events/coronavirus-covid-19-uk-government-response

A Golden Age of Film Cliﬀs and riggers Stories from the Sudan

Sam’s ‘station squabble’ goes global

Obituaries

10-11

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BBC researcher, Sam Rowley’s amazing photo of mice squabbling hit headlines around the world in February, when it was picked from more than 48,000 images to claim Wildlife Photographer of the Year LUMIX People’s Choice award.

Odds & ends

Red button switch oﬀ Poetry in Prospero Classiﬁeds
Sam is currently working on a new documentary series for BBC Studios’ Natural History Unit in Bristol.

Caption competition

It’s not every day that someone is able to capture such an incredible photo – how did it come about?

It’s always been a dream of mine to be in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition and I wanted to do a story on urban wildlife in London.
On the cover: Filming beside a replica Viking ship for

the series The Vikings (1979).

My friend was on her way home from a night out and she messaged me a clip of some mice running around her feet. The penny kind of dropped and I was like, right that’s what I’m going to do.
That fight was only about a tenth of a second and

without a photograph you wouldn’t really appreciate it.
I spent a spare week down on the tube and

hoped I would get something – and thank god I did otherwise it would have been a bit embarrassing!
I didn’t really like the photo at first. I took it three years ago. I thought, ‘I don’t love it, but I'll save it’.

Prospero April 2020 The next issue of Prospero will appear in June 2020. The copy deadline is Friday, 1 May 2020.

I usually take a burst of photos and I got lucky with this shot, but then I had spent five days lying on a platform so it was probably going to happen at some point.
A couple of years later, I went back to them and I actually quite liked them so I thought I would start entering them into competitions.

Were you prepared for that sort of reaction and how has it been dealing with all the media attention?
The photo topped the ‘People’s Choice poll’ with 28,000 people voting for it – why do you think it made such an impression?

I didn’t think in my wildest dreams it would get anywhere, let alone win! I have done 37 interviews about it now, from Columbian radio to Canadian news – it’s been crazy.
I think it speaks to people. It’s an animal that everyone knows, and it kind of applies to their day-to-day lives.

PROSPERO APRIL 2020 | 3

| LETTERS

BBC Schools Radio

On browsing recently through my husband’s latest edition of Prospero, I was interested to read about Douglas Coombes and the BBC Schools Radio programmes.

David MV Jones

Does anyone remember David MV Jones, the former Head of TV Activities at the BBC? And if you do, are you in contact with his family/descendants?
In the early 1950s, I attended a small Victorian-era primary school and our education was enhanced by the weekly BBC Schools Radio programmes. We listened and sang along with ‘Singing Together’, learned about the world in ‘Travel Talks’ but my favourite was ‘Adventures in Music’.
The Royal Aeronautical Society (RAS) library holds a series of recordings that David Jones carried out in 1975-76 (not BBC recordings) where he interviewed early Qantas/Imperial Airways pilots. The RAS library is developing a sound archive and has been advised they should seek formal permission to use the recordings from the descendants of the speakers.
Throughout my time listening to these programmes, I was introduced to

Handel's 'Messiah', Mozart's 'Marriage of Figaro', Haydn's 'Surprise' Symphony, Schubert's 'Trout' Quintet, (I remember learning a song about fishes which we sang to the tune of the 1st movement). I also became familiar with the works of many other composers. I remember Beethoven's 5th Symphony having a huge impact on me and later on, I cajoled two school friends to accompany me to my first Symphony concert where it was being performed.
If you are in contact with his family, please ask them to contact Brian Riddle – Chief Librarian at the RAS Library.

You can contact Brian by email at: [email protected], telephone: 01252 701060 or write to him at: National Aerospace Library, The Hub, Fowler Avenue, Farnborough Business Park, Farnborough GU14 7JP.

These programs also encouraged me to widen my knowledge by listening to other works by these composers.

More 40-year anniversaries

Over the years, listening to classical music and attending concerts has enhanced my life and given me such great pleasure and I cannot thank the BBC Schools Radio enough for giving me this opportunity.
Radio Norfolk (September 1980) and Radio Lincolnshire (November 1980) celebrate their 40th anniversary this year. Mike Chaney, formerly of T o day, was the first manager at Norfolk and I started the Lincolnshire station.

Maureen Woolley

They were the first of what the BBC described as a new wave of local stations with smaller staffs and budgets. The then MD Radio Aubrey Singer told the governors he could build them for half a million each and they would have only 20 staff. But Lincolnshire went on to produce, in its early days, two BBC notables – Roger Mosey, who become Head of Sport, and John Inverdale.

Graham Webb’s letter,

Prospero October 2019

The people in the front row of the Nationwide photo on page 8 of October 2019

Prospero are:

Roy Corlett

Left to right: Michael Barratt, Frank Bough, Val Singleton, Bob Wellings, Sue Lawley and Richard Stilgoe.

Lifts and ladies

Bryan Bayliss

When I first joined the BBC in 1958, BH London had lift attendants. I had a little ritual with one. I would get in and ask him how his day was going. ‘Oh, up and down you know.’ We would laugh and then go on to discuss the weather. As a recording engineer, I was booked to record an interview with Lady Churchill (Winston’s wife) but it was delayed, as the ball of wool she was carrying had unravelled down the lift shaft and the SM was laboriously hauling it up yard by yard. Who on earth would bring their knitting to an interview?

If you were on a very early shift, you would be escorted across the road to The Langham by a commissionaire and locked in this completely huge, empty building to sleep in a little bedroom on the third floor. Occasionally, in the wee small hours, you would hear the lift doors jangle shut and the lift then slowly rattle and clatter up the shaft. Me? I would snuggle under the blanket and hope it didn’t stop at my floor. Apparently, there are still tales of ghosts being seen, now it has returned to being a hotel.

Friends with beneﬁts

Regarding your Benefits Update article on Marriage Allowance, this is just to let you know I acted on the information provided and have had a very

rewarding outcome!

Many years ago, I met Lady Langham at her home, Tempo Manor, County

Fermanagh. During our conversation, she told me John Nash originally meant Regent Street to continue up to Regent’s Park but Langham and he fell out, so Langham built his hotel on that particular site just to annoy Nash and thwart his plans. Not that I can see the logic of that story but that is the tale I was told.
Without that information, we would not have known that we could claim. Thank you very much!

A satisfied BBC pensioner

Regards to anyone who remembers me.

Brian Willis Country Antrim

The malpractice of musak

On Radio 4 today, Tuesday 14 January 2020, at 11am, I listened to an episode of Science Stories: ‘How an eel sparked our interest in electricity’. It was a thoroughly enjoyable, interesting programme.

It was followed half an hour later by ‘Art of Now: the Last Exposure’. As usual, there was a too invasive, distracting music track added it, even when they were on Dartmoor! Where was the orchestra on Dartmoor?

The musak was so distracting that I turned the programme off. Then I realised why I had enjoyed the Science Stories but not the Art of Now, although both were of interest to me.

Science Stories had NO added background musak! To make sure, I listened again to Science Stories on BBC Sounds – there was no distracting added music. The episode was released on 13 January 2016.

I’m sure we old-timers have been whingeing on about the unnecessary, distracting added music track from before then. So it can be done: programmes can be produced without the distracting music. Why does this malpractice continue?

Bryan Bayliss

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Were you involved in Moonbase 3

and A Ghost Story for Christmas?

My name is Marcus Harmes, an Australian writer on British science fiction and fantasy television.

I have been asked to write production histories of the 1970s BBC programmes Moonbase 3 and

A Ghost Story for Christmas.

Canal cruising

BBC Club’s narrow boat is now available to hire at greatly reduced rates for Club members and sleeps up to seven in three separate cabins. You can take friends and family as crew! This year, it is moored at Alvechurch near Birmingham. Training is given at the start of your week. See the website for details:

bbcclub.com/connect/canal-cruising

Much has been written about both, however my particular focus is on the production and what happened behind the cameras. That makes the insights and memories of those who were there in the crew crucial.

Golf

Would anyone who worked on these be willing to
The Golf Society costs £30 per year for Club members. This year’s programme sees visits to some great courses. See the website for more

details: bbcclub.com/connect/golf

share their memories with me? I would ask for no more than either 10-15 minutes of your time, or a short email. It would enable documenting for posterity the creative and technical achievements of people working in the studio or on location with film on these well-remembered shows.

Rambling

BBC Rambling Club organises rambles (usually circular) of between 6 and 12 miles every 3rd Sunday in the Home Counties. Lunch will be at a local pub or bring your own. All abilities welcome! See the website for more details:

Please contact me on [email protected]

Bill Holt

regarding Bill’s calm demeanour.

bbcclub.com/connect/rambling

Roy Corlett’s obituary of Bill Holt (Prospero, December 2019) was spot on

Prospero

The Prospero Society speciﬁcally for our retired members has its AGM in April. All details are in the Prospero Society’s newsletter. If you are a retired BBC Club member, you can get the Prospero Society newsletter by email. If you would like a postal copy, you must be a Prospero Society member. Please contact the Club to be added to the email distribution list or to join the Prospero Society.
When I was returning to the Radio Merseyside offices in Sir Thomas Street with the radio car (a Hillman Hunter, I think), it was in the days when you could drive the car even when the aerial/radio mast on top of the car wasn’t fully retracted.

I drove into the underground car park and heard a loud thud. The mast had hit the ceiling and got stuck, with bricks tumbling down. I abandoned the car and went to tell Bill what I had done. Bill smiled, shrugged his shoulders and mumbled under his breath, ‘Journalists!’