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BEHIND the WIRELESS a History of Early Women at the BBC

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BEHIND the WIRELESS a History of Early Women at the BBC BEHIND THE WIRELESS A History of Early Women at the BBC KATE MURPHY Behind the Wireless Kate Murphy Behind the Wireless A History of Early Women at the BBC Kate Murphy Bournemouth University Poole , United Kingdom ISBN 978-1-137-49171-8 (hardback) ISBN 978-1-137-49172-5 (paperback) ISBN 978-1-137-49173-2 (eBook) DOI 10.1057/978-1-137-49173-2 Library of Congress Control Number: 2016936509 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2016 The author(s) has/have asserted their right(s) to be identifi ed as the author(s) of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Design and Patents Act 1988. This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifi cally the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfi lms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specifi c statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the pub- lisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. Printed on acid-free paper This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by Springer Nature The registered company is Macmillan Publishers Ltd. London For Dorothy Torry (née Singer), with love ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS There are a great many people to thank for their part in the creation of this book. Firstly, without the Women’s Development Initiative (a BBC mentoring scheme for which I was fortunate to be selected in 2000), I would not have had the bravado to request an attachment to the Diversity Unit to carry out the research for my 2002 report ‘Women in the BBC: A History’. Kathy Butcher and Liz Kennedy, my mentors on the scheme, were pivotal in this. The research led to my decision to embark on a part- time PhD at Goldsmiths in 2005. My supervisor, Sally Alexander, was a total inspiration and I was also greatly helped by Vivienne Richmond. Pat Thane and Jean Seaton also offered valuable advice. I formed recipro- cal friendships with a number of women at this time, all of whom have gone on to gain doctorates or MPhils: Helen Glew, Helen McCarthy, Mari Takayanagi, Fiona Hackney, Judith Bourne, Valerie Johnson and Judy Faraday. At the BBC, Jill Burridge, the Editor of Woman’s Hour , was immensely supportive, essential when trying to juggle a PhD with a family and an almost full-time job. Through Woman’s Hour , I met Juliet Nicolson who very generously allowed me to borrow the letters that Hilda Matheson wrote to her grandmother, Vita Sackville-West. Juliet is Executor of the Estate and I would like to formally acknowledge my thanks for permission to quote from the letters. More recently, I had the good fortune to meet Liz and Mark Somerville and their mother Judy Henderson, who shared with me memories of their grandmother/mother-in-law, Mary Somerville. They also loaned me a selection of illuminating private papers. Back in 2008 I was privileged to conduct an interview with Dorothy Torry (née vii viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Singer) who joined the BBC in 1936. Dorothy, who was born in 1916, was placed in the ‘Director General’s offi ce with John Reith, initially as a junior typist, and she later became personal secretary to William Haley. Her recollections of working for the Corporation added an extra dimen- sion to my research. Dorothy (to whom the book is dedicated), supported by her daughter Clare, has continued to fi ll me in with snippets and details about the times. The core of Behind the Wireless is the BBC archive and I would particu- larly like to thank Louise North at the BBC Written Archives Centre who ferreted out a vast number of important documents for me as well as con- tinually showing enthusiasm and interest. Throughout the project I have also worked closely with Robert Seatter, the BBC’s Head of History, who has always offered encouragement. At Bournemouth University, where I have worked for the past three years, I would like to thank my manager, Christa Van Raalte, for her faith and support in the project. Also my col- leagues Kristin Skoog, Tony Stoller and Hugh Chignell who have offered unwavering cheer and reassurance. I am also very grateful to Hugh Chignell and Tony Stoller for reading the manuscript of Behind the Wireless and offering critical advice. Angela John also took on this task, for which I am extremely thankful. I am fur- ther indebted to Angela who has always wholeheartedly supported my desire to study and write history. Others who read fi nal versions, offer- ing insightful comments, are Deborah Friedland, Isabel Sargent and my mother, Liz Murphy. The extracts from BBC documents have been published with permis- sion. I am also grateful to Oxford University Press for allowing me to draw on my article ‘A Marriage Bar of Convenience? The BBC and Married Women’s Work 1923–1939’, Twentieth Century British History Vol. 25, 4, 2014, and Routledge for permission to draw on my book chapter ‘From Women’s Hour to Other Women’s Lives: BBC Talks for Women and the Women who Made Them, 1923–1939’ in Maggie Andrews and Sally McNamara, eds. (2014) Women and the Media. Feminism and Femininity in Britain, 1900 to the Present. Finally, I would like to thank my long suffering family. In the time it has taken for this book to come to fruition my daughters, Louise and Emma, have long since left home and my son Corin, has grown from a small boy to an adult. My husband, David Holloway, has unfailingly been my rock, keeping me calm and on track. Thank you all. CONTENTS 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Reconstructing BBC Women’s Lives 8 1.2 Notes 12 Photographs 12 BBC Terminology 13 Money and Earnings 13 2 ‘Growing Like a Young Giant’: The BBC as a Place to Work 15 2.1 From Magnet House to Broadcasting House 18 2.2 BBC Hierarchies 23 2.3 Being Waged, Being Salaried 26 2.4 Being Younger, Being Older 30 2.5 High Heels, Low Heels 33 2.6 Perks, Clubs and Associations 37 2.7 John Reith and BBC Women 41 2.8 Conclusion 45 3 ‘Women Who Oil the Wheels’: Waged Women at the BBC 47 3.1 Getting an Offi ce Job at the BBC 51 3.2 The Women’s Staff Administrator 53 3.3 The General Offi ce 58 3.4 The BBC ‘Secretary’ 60 ix x CONTENTS 3.5 The Telephone Exchange and Duplicating Offi ce 65 3.6 The BBC Clerk 68 3.7 Women House Staff 70 3.8 Promotion to the Salaried Grades 74 3.9 Conclusion 79 4 ‘Only an Exceptional Woman’: Married Women at the BBC 83 4.1 The Marriage Bar in Interwar Britain 84 4.2 Married Women at the BBC: Before the Bar 88 4.3 Married Women at the BBC: A Change in Attitude 91 4.4 Married Women at the BBC: The Introduction of the Marriage Bar 96 4.5 The BBC Marriage Tribunal 98 4.6 Married Women at the BBC Post-1932 105 4.7 The Abolition of the BBC Marriage Bar 107 4.8 Conclusion 113 5 ‘New and Important Careers’: Salaried Women at the BBC 115 5.1 Being Salaried at the BBC 119 Librarian 123 Accompanist 126 Children’s Hour Organiser 128 Advertising Representative 130 Drama Producer 132 School Broadcaster 135 Assistant Editor 137 Social Documentary Maker 139 5.2 ‘On the same footing as men?’ Recruitment, Mobility and Pay 141 Inequality in Recruitment 142 Inequality in Promotion 144 Inequality in Pay 145 The Case of Mary Candler 148 5.3 Conclusion 150 CONTENTS xi 6 ‘Women Who Rule at the BBC’: Four Elite Women 153 6.1 Being Elite at the BBC 156 6.2 Mary Somerville (1897–1963) 159 6.3 Hilda Matheson (1888–1940) 168 6.4 Isa Benzie (1902–1988) 175 6.5 Mary Adams (1898–1984) 181 6.6 Conclusion 187 7 ‘When They Have Their Cup of Tea’: Making Programmes for Women 189 7.1 Being a Talks Assistant at the BBC 191 7.2 Ella Fitzgerald, ‘Women’s Hour’ 195 7.3 Elise Sprott and Hilda Matheson, ‘Household Talks’/‘Morning Talks’ 200 7.4 Margery Wace, ‘At Home Today’ 207 7.5 Janet Quigley, ‘Tea Time Talks’ 213 7.6 Conclusion 217 8 ‘You Feel Their Personal Touch’: Women Broadcasters 221 8.1 Being a Woman Broadcaster on the BBC 223 8.2 Marion Cran, Celebrity Gardener 227 8.3 Ray Strachey, Daytime All-Rounder 230 8.4 Beatrice Webb, Evening Grandee 233 8.5 Mrs Edna Thorpe, ‘Ordinary’, ‘Average’ Housewife 236 8.6 ‘Men Talking’ and ‘The Woman’s Point of View’ 238 8.7 Women Announcers, the Sheila Borrett Experiment 241 8.8 Women Commentators, the Triumph of Olga Collett 245 8.9 Conclusion 249 9 Conclusion 251 Epilogue: A brief encounter with 90 further years 257 xii CONTENTS Appendix 1: Grades and Wage Bands: Weekly Paid Staff 267 Appendix 2: Grades and Salary Bands: Salaried Staff 269 Appendix 3: Women Who Earned more than £500 per Annum (1939) 271 Bibliography 273 Book Chapters, Journal Articles, Thesis, Unpublished Memoirs 279 Index 281 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AWKS Association of Women Clerks and Secretaries CCSB Central Council for School Broadcasting DG Director General DIA Director of Internal Administration DSA Director of Staff Administration GO General Offi ce GPO General Post Offi ce LCC London County Council LSE London School of Economics NFWI National Federation of Women’s Institutes PBX Private Branch Exchange WEA Workers’ Educational Association WEF Women’s Employment Federation WSA Women’s Staff Administrator xiii CHAPTER 1 Introduction ‘Miss Sprott (of the BBC) takes Lunch in Hull’ trumpeted the Daily Mail on 31 March 1939.1 The venue for the BBC’s Women’s Press Representative, the local paper informed its readers, was the Women’s Luncheon Club and her lecture on ‘Broadcasting of Today and Tomorrow’ had attracted a large audience.
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