Children's Hour

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Template:Short description Template:Italic title Template:Other uses Template:Use dmy dates Children's Hour, initially The Children's Hour, was the BBC's principal recreational service for children (as distinct from "Broadcasts to Schools") which began during the period when radio was the only medium of broadcasting.

Children's Hour was broadcast from 1922 to 1964, originally from the BBC's Birmingham station 5IT,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> soon joined by other regional stations, then in the BBC Regional Programme, before transferring to its final home, the new BBC Home Service, at the outbreak of the second World War. Parts of the programme were also rebroadcast by the BBC World Service. For the last three years of its life (from 17 April 1961 until 27 March 1964)<ref>Template:Cite web Last broadcast to use the title Children's Hour.</ref> Children's Hour was no longer used, the programmes in its timeslot going out under the umbrella heading of For the Young.

The programme takes its name from the first verse of the poem by Longfellow: "Between the dark and the daylight, When the night is beginning to lower, Comes a pause in the day's occupations, That is known as the 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.<ref>Strictly speaking: 5 pm to 5.55. The last five minutes were assigned to the Weather Forecast.</ref>

It was founded by Cecil Arthur Lewis, or Uncle Caractacus, L. Stanton Jefferies, Rex Palmer and Arthur Burrows.<ref name= "frontof">Template:Cite AV media</ref> 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.<ref name= "archives">Template:Cite web</ref>

Derek McCulloch, however, would retain his identity as "Uncle Mac".<ref name= "frontof" /> 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.<ref>W. H. McDowell, 'Garscadden, Kathleen Mary Evelyn (1897–1991)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 2009 [1]</ref> By 1933 however, many of the local versions of Children's Hour were replaced by regional broadcasts of London production.<ref name= "archives" /> The Scottish writer John Keir Cross was the producer of Children's Hour from 1941 to 1944.<ref>"Perth Author", Perthshire Advertiser, 1 March 1944, p. 6</ref>

From 1928 to 1960<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Request Week determined what were the most popular Children's Hour programmes. Toytown was #1 for almost thirty years,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>BBC Handbook 1960, p.79</ref> with various popular choices trailing behind being Zoo Man, Jennings at School, Norman and Henry Bones (which ended Children's Hour),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref name="Life on Air">Template:Cite book</ref>

Programmes

Among popular series on Children's Hour were:

Title Author First broadcast Last broadcast Notes
Winnie the Pooh A. A. Milne 16th September 1927<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 23rd April 1959<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Cycle of stories from Winnie-the-Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner (broadcast irregularly)
Toytown S.G. Hulme Beaman 19th July 1929 (adaptation of story from Tales of Toytown)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 16th September 1964 (as Children's Hour)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 29 stories written for radio (1929-1932) cycled monthly thereafter
Out with Romany George Bramwell Evens 12th January 1934<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 2nd November 1943<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Worzel Gummidge Barbara Euphan Todd 10th December 1935<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 6th September 1952<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Cycle of original stories by Todd (broadcast irregularly)
Mary Plain Gwynedd Rae 17th February 1936<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 2nd October 1945<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Cycle of original stories by Rae; not broadcast 1940-1945
Norman and Henry Bones Anthony C. Wilson 17th July 1943<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 9th April 1965<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Written for radio
Cowleaze Farm Ralph Whitlock 9th April 1945<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 13th September 1962<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Nature Parliament N/A 22nd January 1946<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 29th December 1962<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Jennings at School Anthony Buckeridge 16th October 1948<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 24th March 1962<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Written for radio
Sherlock Holmes Arthur Conan Doyle 15th October 1952<ref name="holmes">Template:Cite book</ref> 15th November 1957<ref name="holmes" /> Series 1-3 only
Tinker and Tapp, Inc. Muriel Levy 19th November 1953<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 27th February 1962<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Written for radio

People

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

L. Stanton Jefferies composed music for some early programmes.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Notes and references

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