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Desmond Hawkins, OBE (20 October 1908 – 6 May 1999), born in
East Sheen East Sheen, also known as Sheen, is a suburb in south-west London in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its long high street has shops, offices, restaurants, cafés, pubs and suburban supermarkets and is also the economic hub for Mort ...
,
Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
, was an author, editor and radio personality.


Career

The political and artistic upheavals of the 1930s meant a proliferation of serious magazines. Desmond wrote for ''Purpose'', '' The Listener'', '' Time & Tide'' and the ''
New Statesman The ''New Statesman'' is a British political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney and Beatrice Webb and other leading members ...
''. He became literary editor of ''Purpose'' and of ''
The New English Weekly ''The New English Weekly'' was a leading British review of "Public Affairs, Literature and the Arts." It was founded in April 1932 by Alfred Richard Orage shortly after his return from Paris. One of Britain's most prestigious editors, Orage had ed ...
'', and T. S. Eliot made him fiction chronicler of his critical journal ''
The Criterion ''The Criterion'' was a British literary magazine published from October 1922 to January 1939. ''The Criterion'' (or the ''Criterion'') was, for most of its run, a quarterly journal, although for a period in 1927–28 it was published monthly. It ...
''. Before the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
Desmond had edited two books and had published two novels, the first of which was
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
's novel of the week. Desmond also had programme ideas accepted by the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
and 1936 saw his first appearance in
Radio Times ''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in May 1923 by J ...
with a programme called ''A Nest of Singing Birds'' – an anthology he compiled of English poets on English birds. Working extensively for the BBC as a freelance, particularly on the Sunday programme ''Country Magazine'' and on the daily ''War Report'', he was asked to join the Corporation's staff in
Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
in 1945 and soon became a features (i.e. documentary) producer. Desmond took the
West Country The West Country (occasionally Westcountry) is a loosely defined area of South West England, usually taken to include all, some, or parts of the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Bristol, and, less commonly, Wiltshire, Gloucesters ...
to his heart and saw that among the assets of the region was the countryside and the wildlife. Having had a lifelong love of birds and nature, it was decided he should try and develop programmes of this type. What followed eventually became the
BBC Natural History Unit The BBC Studios Natural History Unit (NHU) is a department of BBC Studios that produces television, radio and online content with a natural history or wildlife theme. It is best known for its highly regarded nature documentaries, including '' ...
(known as Desmond's baby), having its origins in radio early in 1946 when Desmond designed a programme called ''The Naturalist'', with the curlew's song as a signature tune. This was followed by ''
Birds In Britain ''Birds In Britain'' was a BBC Radio series, broadcast from 1951 to 1963 on the Home Service, about wild birds. Its lead presenter was James Fisher. It was created as an offshoot from a programme called ''The Naturalist'', in order to avoid ov ...
'', ''Birdsong of the Month'' and many more. Early in the 1950s, when television became able to attract a national audience, Desmond went to Lime Grove to learn the new trade, and with
Peter Scott Sir Peter Markham Scott, (14 September 1909 – 29 August 1989) was a British ornithologist, conservationist, painter, naval officer, broadcaster and sportsman. The only child of Antarctic explorer Robert Falcon Scott, he took an interest i ...
planned the long-running series of wildlife programmes, which Desmond named ''Look'', because he felt television was about the opportunity to "look". In 1955 Desmond became Head of Programmes in Bristol, and
Frank Gillard Francis George Gillard (1 December 1908 – 20 October 1998) was a BBC executive, reporter and radio innovator. Early years Gillard was born in Tiverton in Devon and attended Wellington School, Somerset. He gained a bachelor's degree f ...
was promoted to be the West Region Controller. The two of them had enough clout in the BBC to establish in a formal sense in 1957 a specialist unit in the West Region to provide wildlife programmes for the national network – the Natural History Unit. As well as developing wildlife programmes for radio and TV, Desmond dramatised five of
Thomas Hardy Thomas Hardy (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) was an English novelist and poet. A Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, including the poetry of William Word ...
's major novels as serials and enlarged Hardy's global impact. His version of ''
The Return of the Native ''The Return of the Native'' is Thomas Hardy's sixth published novel. It first appeared in the magazine ''Belgravia'', a publication known for its sensationalism, and was presented in twelve monthly installments from January to December 1878. Be ...
'' won the
Society of Authors The Society of Authors (SoA) is a United Kingdom trade union for professional writers, illustrators and literary translators, founded in 1884 to protect the rights and further the interests of authors. , it represents over 12,000 members and as ...
' Radio Award for the best dramatisation of 1976. In 1978 he dramatised ''
The Woodlanders ''The Woodlanders'' is a novel by Thomas Hardy. It was serialised from May 1886 to April 1887 in ''Macmillan's Magazine'' and published in three volumes in 1887. It is one of his series of Wessex novels. Plot summary The story takes place in ...
'' to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Hardy's death, and this again won the award for the year's best dramatisation. In May 1982 Hawkins was the guest for
BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...
's ''
Desert Island Discs ''Desert Island Discs'' is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme on 29 January 1942. Each week a guest, called a " castaway" during the programme, is asked to choose eight recordings (usu ...
''. His choices included Beethoven's Cello Sonata No. 3 in A major, Op. 6 and ''
Polly Perkins Polly Perkins (born Gillian Nessie Arnold, 31 May 1943) is a British actress, singer and writer. Perkins rose to fame in the 1960s as a popstar, going on to regularly appear in theatre and cabaret throughout the UK. She is known for playing Ros ...
'' recited by
Dylan Thomas Dylan Marlais Thomas (27 October 1914 – 9 November 1953) was a Welsh poet and writer whose works include the poems "Do not go gentle into that good night" and "And death shall have no dominion", as well as the "play for voices" ''Under ...
. His favourite choice was
Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...
's '' Octet in F major'' He died on 6 May 1999, the same day as
Johnny Morris Johnny or Johnnie Morris may refer to: * Johnnie Morris (actor) (1887–1969), American comedian and actor *Johnny Morris (television presenter) (1916–1999), British television presenter *Johnny Morris (footballer) (1923–2011), English football ...
, the TV personality he discovered while they both lived in the village of
Aldbourne Aldbourne (pronounced "awld·bawn") is a village and civil parish about north-east of Marlborough, Wiltshire, England, in a valley on the south slope of the Lambourn Downs – part of the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. ...
, Wiltshire.


Honours

*Silver Medal of the
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a charitable organisation registered in England and Wales and in Scotland. It was founded in 1889. It works to promote conservation and protection of birds and the wider environment throug ...
1959 and Fellow in 1987 *
Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(OBE) in the
1963 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours 1963 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The appointments were made "on the occ ...
*Honorary Doctor of Laws,
University of Bristol , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...
1974 *Fellow of the
Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820, by George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV, to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, th ...
1977 *In 1998 he was given a Wildscreen Panda award in Bristol in recognition of his achievement in creating a media industry.


Bibliography

*''Hawk Among the Sparrows'' (Knopf, 1939) *''BBC War Report'' (Oxford University Press, 1946) *''Thomas Hardy'' (Barker, 1950) - English novelists series *''The BBC Naturalist'' (Rathbone Books, 1957) *''Hardy the Novelist'' (David & Charles, 1965) - New edition of 1950 title *''Wildlife of the New Forest'' (Russell & Co., 1972) *''Avalon & Sedgemoor'' (David & Charles, 1973) *''Hardy: Novelist & Poet'' (David & Charles, 1976) *''Cranborne Chase'' (Gollancz, 1980) *''Concerning Agnes'' (Alan Sutton, 1982) *''Hardy's Wessex'' (Macmillan, 1983) *''The Tess Opera'' (Hardy Society, 1985) *''When I Was'' (Macmillan, 1989) - Autobiography *''Hardy at Home'' (Barrie & Jenkins, 1989) *''Thomas Hardy: His Life and Landscape'' (National Trust, 1990) *''Shelley's First Love'' (Kyle Cathie Limited, 1992) *''Dorset Bedside Book'' (Dovecote Press, 1996) *''The Grove Diaries'' (Dovecote Press, 1995) *''Pilfold: The Life and Times of Captain John Pilfold CB RN'' (Horsham Museum Society, 1998)


Sources

*Desmond's own chronicled career notes left with his daughter, Teresa Donovan, for use and interest after his death (unpublished) *A "Radio Times" article by Desmond published 21 March 1968 *Desmond's autobiography "When I Was" as above *The Obituaries from "The Times" on 13 May 1999 *"The Independent Weekend Review" on 8 May 1999 *
The Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820, by King George IV, to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the RSL has about 600 Fellows, elec ...
2000 Magazine


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hawkins, Desmond 1908 births 1999 deaths Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature People from East Sheen Officers of the Order of the British Empire