Children's Hour

Broadcast history

In the United Kingdom, Children's Hour was broadcast from 5 pm to 6 pm every day of the week.

It was founded by Cecil Arthur Lewis, or Uncle Caractacus, L. Stanton Jefferies, Rex Palmer and Arthur Burrows. From 1923 to 1934, the majority of listeners, few at all then, were part of "Radio Circles", clubs that maintained the BBC's connection to their audience. Birthday greetings were given out until 1933, excised due to overwhelming demand. In 1926 it was decided that the majority of presenters would drop the "Auntie" and "Uncle" from their titles.{{cite web |access-date=2024-03-10}}

Derek McCulloch, however, would retain his identity as "Uncle Mac". He was closely involved with the programme from 1929, and ran the department from 1933 until 1950, when he had to resign for health reasons. From 1928 to 1960, Children's Hour in Scotland was organised and presented by Kathleen Garscadden, known as Auntie Kathleen, whose popularity brought crowds to the radio station in Glasgow. By 1933 however, many of the local versions of Children's Hour were replaced by regional broadcasts of London production. The Scottish writer John Keir Cross was the producer of Children's Hour from 1941 to 1944.

From 1928 to 1960{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240310213209/https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/5283a514b44249b9a5933db0afc903ca |url-status=dead |archive-date=10 March 2024 |access-date=2024-03-10}}{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141026181410/http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/9d375b49eeb84e399bec7f6f93a9e2de |url-status=dead |archive-date=26 October 2014 |access-date=2024-03-10}} Request Week determined what were the most popular Children's Hour programmes. Toytown was #1 for almost thirty years,{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240310204659/https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/05637d9259a941f88dcb1e65c1b73d10 |url-status=dead |archive-date=10 March 2024 |access-date=2024-03-10}} with various popular choices trailing behind being Zoo Man, Jennings at School, Norman and Henry Bones (which ended Children's Hour),{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240310213213/https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/cb15f161c7c54b12ae487a47ec1b4666 |url-status=dead |archive-date=10 March 2024 |access-date=2024-03-10}} Out with Romany, Worzel Gummidge and Winnie the Pooh.

The programme's closure was decided in 1964 by Frank Gillard following an enormous decline in listenership, as by the end of 1963 the number of listeners had fallen to 25,000. Gillard said that most of them were "middle-aged and elderly ladies who liked to be reminded of the golden days of their youth", and that young listeners had instead turned to watching television, listening to the BBC Light Programme or to pirate radio. There was considerable complaint about the closing of the service and questions were raised in Parliament.

Programmes

Among popular series on Children's Hour were:

People

Among actors and presenters who were famous for their work on Children's Hour were:

• Peggy Bacon as producer and presenter ("Aunty Peggy") from 1947
• Arthur Burrows ('Uncle Arthur' - also the first London wireless Uncle)
• Violet Carson
• David Davis
• Norman Ellison, aka Nomad the Naturalist
• Rev George Bramwell Evens, aka Romany
• Carleton Hobbs
• Rupert Gould ('The Stargazer')
• Derek McCulloch ('Uncle Mac')
• Kathleen Garscadden ('Auntie Kathleen')
• Jon Pertwee
• Wilfred Pickles
• David Seth-Smith, aka The Zoo Man
• Olive Shapley
• Norman Shelley
• Stephen King-Hall
• William Glynne-Jones
• Gladys Young

L. Stanton Jefferies composed music for some early programmes.

References

1. Crisell, Andrew. (2002). "An Introductory History of British Broadcasting". [[Routledge]].
2. Strictly speaking: 5 pm to 5.55. The last five minutes were assigned to the Weather Forecast.
3. (16 February 1983). "In Front of the Children". [[BBC One]].
4. W. H. McDowell, 'Garscadden, Kathleen Mary Evelyn (1897–1991)', [[Dictionary of National Biography#Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography]], [[Oxford University Press]], 2004; online edn, May 2009 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/49649]
5. "Perth Author", ''[[Perthshire Advertiser]]'', 1 March 1944, p. 6
6. BBC Handbook 1960, p.79
7. Hendy, David. (2007). "Life on Air: A History of Radio Four". Oxford University Press.
8. "Search results for ''Toytown'' (1941-1943)".
9. De Waal, Ronald Burt. (1974). "The World Bibliography of Sherlock Holmes". Bramhall House.
10. (6 December 1929). "The Children's Hour". [[Radio Times]].