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Hilda Matheson, OBE (7 June 1888 – 30 October 1940) was a pioneering English radio talks producer at 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 its first Director of Talks. After resigning from the BBC in 1931, she published a book on the development of broadcasting. Though officially the secretary, Matheson served as an executive manager for the
African Survey ''An African Survey: A Study of Problems arising in Africa South of the Sahara'', often simply known as ''African Survey'', was a report originally published in 1938 which paved the way for the reorganisation of research into the situation of the B ...
after Malcolm Hailey fell ill. During
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 opposing ...
, she ran the British Joint Broadcasting Committee until her death.


Early life

Hilda Matheson was born on 7 June 1888 in
Putney Putney () is a district of southwest London, England, in the London Borough of Wandsworth, southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. History Putney is an ancient paris ...
, south-west
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, to Scottish parents, Margaret (née Orr) and Donald Matheson. She was a boarding student at
Saint Felix School Saint Felix School is a 2–18 mixed, independent, day and boarding school in Reydon, Southwold, Suffolk, England. The school was founded in 1897 as a school for girls but is now co-educational. History The school was founded in 1897 as a gir ...
in
Southwold Southwold is a seaside town and civil parish on the English North Sea coast in the East Suffolk district of Suffolk. It lies at the mouth of the River Blyth within the Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The town is ...
for four years. Matheson wanted to continue studying history at Cambridge, but left school at 18, when her father's health forced the family to move to Europe. Life in France, Germany and Italy gained her fluency in all three languages. The family returned to England in 1908, when her father became Presbyterian chaplain for
Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to th ...
undergraduates. Matheson enrolled as a history student in the Society of Oxford Home Students. After completing school in 1911, she worked as a part-time secretary for H. A. L. Fisher at New College, Oxford and later for
David George Hogarth David George Hogarth (23 May 1862 – 6 November 1927), also known as D. G. Hogarth, was a British archaeologist and scholar associated with T. E. Lawrence and Arthur Evans. He was Keeper of the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford from 1909 to 1927. Hog ...
, the keeper of the Ashmolean Museum. During the First World War, Matheson worked as an
MI5 The Security Service, also known as MI5 ( Military Intelligence, Section 5), is the United Kingdom's domestic counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), G ...
operative in army intelligence. She ended her war work in
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
, at the British military control office, then briefly worked for
Philip Kerr Philip Ballantyne Kerr (22 February 1956 – 23 March 2018) was a British author, best known for his Bernie Gunther series of historical detective thrillers. Early life Kerr was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, where his father was an enginee ...
(later Lord Lothian), who introduced her to Britain's first female parliamentarian, Lady Nancy Astor. Astor, having previously turned Matheson down, appointed her as her political secretary in 1919, which gained her a wide circle of political, intellectual and social acquaintances. While there in 1926, Matheson met John Reith, head of the fledgling
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. ...
...
, who recruited her.


BBC and estrangement

Initially, Matheson was hired to assist
J. C. Stobart John Clarke Stobart (5 March 1878 – 11 May 1933), commonly known as J. C. Stobart, was a classical scholar, a University of Cambridge lecturer, an HM Inspector of Schools and the BBC's first Director of Education. Early life Known as 'Jack' to ...
, who was the head of the Education Department of the BBC. At that time,
BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering ...
's role was one of ''news provider'' and instead of writing its own copy, its news bulletins were supplied by
Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was esta ...
. The agreement with newspaper owners banning the BBC from editing bulletins and reading only prepared copy after 6 pm would not be lifted until 1928. Matheson became the first Director of Talks in 1927 and established the first news section, when the organization became incorporated. An unlikely candidate for the post, as a woman and a left-leaning liberal, Matheson supported the
League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...
, sympathized with
socialism Socialism is a left-wing Economic ideology, economic philosophy and Political movement, movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to Private prop ...
and supported
women's rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...
, in addition to being a lesbian. About the same time as she began working for the BBC, Matheson began an affair with
Vita Sackville-West Victoria Mary, Lady Nicolson, CH (née Sackville-West; 9 March 1892 – 2 June 1962), usually known as Vita Sackville-West, was an English author and garden designer. Sackville-West was a successful novelist, poet and journalist, as wel ...
. In 1928, when the ban on broadcasting its own news was overturned, the BBC began reporting rather than simply reading bulletins. Matheson developed standards for factual reporting of social commentary, current affairs, politics and news. She recognized that neither lectures, speeches nor theatre were appropriate means of communication for the new medium of radio and developed models to create a more personal experience for the listener. She sought to make presentations which were informal and conversational, rather than formal and oratorical. To counter Reith's suspicion that Britain's cultural elite would reject Matheson's ''Americanised'' approach, she invited Britain's intellectuals, including
E. M. Forster Edward Morgan Forster (1 January 1879 – 7 June 1970) was an English author, best known for his novels, particularly ''A Room with a View'' (1908), ''Howards End'' (1910), and ''A Passage to India'' (1924). He also wrote numerous short stori ...
,
John Maynard Keynes John Maynard Keynes, 1st Baron Keynes, ( ; 5 June 1883 – 21 April 1946), was an English economist whose ideas fundamentally changed the theory and practice of macroeconomics and the economic policies of governments. Originally trained in ...
,
George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...
,
H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells"Wells, H. G."
Revised 18 May 2015. ''
Rebecca West Dame Cicily Isabel Fairfield (21 December 1892 – 15 March 1983), known as Rebecca West, or Dame Rebecca West, was a British author, journalist, literary critic and travel writer. An author who wrote in many genres, West reviewed books ...
,
Vita Sackville-West Victoria Mary, Lady Nicolson, CH (née Sackville-West; 9 March 1892 – 2 June 1962), usually known as Vita Sackville-West, was an English author and garden designer. Sackville-West was a successful novelist, poet and journalist, as wel ...
and
Virginia Woolf Adeline Virginia Woolf (; ; 25 January 1882 28 March 1941) was an English writer, considered one of the most important modernist 20th-century authors and a pioneer in the use of stream of consciousness as a narrative device. Woolf was born i ...
to give presentations. In addition to her drive to give listeners critical analysis of literary and cultural works, Matheson began a ''
Week in Westminster ''The Week in Westminster'' is a weekly political radio programme, which is broadcast on Saturdays on BBC Radio 4. It is the fifth longest-running radio broadcast on British radio, between '' Daily Service'' (2 January 1928) and '' Sunday Half ...
'' programme to provide education by female MPs about the workings of
Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
to newly enfranchised women. She also organized the first live broadcast of a political debate by the three leaders of the main British political parties. By 1930, Matheson and Reith were increasingly estranged. As the political climate of the time brought fear and
protectionism Protectionism, sometimes referred to as trade protectionism, is the economic policy of restricting imports from other countries through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, import quotas, and a variety of other government regulatio ...
, Reith began to take issue with Matheson's left-leaning views. Their dispute came to a head when Reith, who despised modern literature, refused to allow Harold Nicolson, Sackville-West's husband, to analyse ''
Lady Chatterley’s Lover ''Lady Chatterley's Lover'' is the last novel by English author D. H. Lawrence, which was first published privately in 1928, in Italy, and in 1929, in France. An unexpurgated edition was not published openly in the United Kingdom until 1960, wh ...
'' and ''
Ulysses Ulysses is one form of the Roman name for Odysseus, a hero in ancient Greek literature. Ulysses may also refer to: People * Ulysses (given name), including a list of people with this name Places in the United States * Ulysses, Kansas * Ulysse ...
'' on air. Nicolson, who was aligned with the Labour Party and had supported the Welsh miners in the aftermath of the General Strike, was an irritant to many of the BBC's right-leaning listeners. Reith imposed censorship on programming, which Matheson refused to accept, and she tendered her resignation in 1931.


Middle career

In January, 1932, Matheson left the BBC and began working as the radio critic at ''
The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the ...
'', which was owned at the time by the Astor family. About the same time, she ended her relationship with Sackville-West and began a long-term one with the poet
Dorothy Wellesley, Duchess of Wellington Dorothy Violet Wellesley, Duchess of Wellington ( Ashton; 30 July 1889 – 11 July 1956), styled Lady Gerald Wellesley between 1914 and 1943, was an English author, poet, literary editor and socialite. Background She was born in White Walth ...
, moving to Penns in the Rocks, a farm on the Wellesley estate in
Withyham Withyham is a village and large civil parish in the Wealden district of East Sussex, England. The village is situated 7 miles south west of Royal Tunbridge Wells and 3.5 miles (5.6 km) from Crowborough; the parish covers approxi ...
, East Sussex. In 1933, H. A. L. Fisher commissioned Matheson to write a book she called ''Broadcasting'', which captured the innovative technology of radio and the march of technology, and was still being cited in the 1990s. She also wrote a weekly column for the '' Week-end Review''. Shortly after her book was published, Matheson was hired as secretary to Malcolm Hailey for The
African Survey ''An African Survey: A Study of Problems arising in Africa South of the Sahara'', often simply known as ''African Survey'', was a report originally published in 1938 which paved the way for the reorganisation of research into the situation of the B ...
. Lord Lothian, who at the time was at the
Royal Institute of International Affairs Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a ci ...
and
Joseph Oldham Joseph Houldsworth Oldham (1874–1969), known as J. H. or Joe, was a Scottish missionary in India, who became a significant figure in Christian ecumenism, though never ordained in the United Free Church as he had wished. Life J.H. Oldham was the s ...
, secretary of the
International Missionary Council The International Missionary Council (IMC) was an ecumenical Protestant missionary organization established in 1921, which in 1961, merged with the World Council of Churches (WCC), becoming the WCC's Division of World Mission and Evangelism.Arthur P ...
, convinced the
Carnegie Trust The Carnegie United Kingdom Trust is an independent, endowed charitable trust based in Scotland that operates throughout Great Britain and Ireland. Originally established with an endowment from Andrew Carnegie in his birthplace of Dunfermline, ...
to finance research into British colonial policy in Africa and into the extent to which African races should be involved in policy-making. Though Hailey agreed to the project in May 1933, he could not begin before completing a prior commitment. Initially, he thought he would start in September 1934, but he actually did so almost a year later. Meanwhile Matheson went ahead and served more as executive manager to the endeavour than as his secretary, canvassing scientists and administrators to help with logistics and plan the scope of the project, while completing coordination of all the preparatory research. Of the planned 22 chapters, many were from anthropologists and other specialists, as by 1936 Hailey's health was failing and his correspondence with Matheson showed he did not feel he could complete the task. Hailey's health broke down completely in 1937. While he was in hospital, Frederick Pedler stepped in to edit and revise the galley proofs. The report, containing nearly 2000 pages of data, appeared in November 1938. Matheson was awarded in the following year an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) for her effort in concluding the project.


Later career and death

After finishing the survey, Matheson and Wellesley took a trip to the
Riviera ''Riviera'' () is an Italian word which means "coastline", ultimately derived from Latin , through Ligurian . It came to be applied as a proper name to the coast of Liguria, in the form ''Riviera ligure'', then shortened in English. The two areas ...
, where they joined friends:
W. B. Yeats William Butler Yeats (13 June 186528 January 1939) was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer and one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival and became a pillar of the Irish liter ...
and his wife George, and a newly met Walter J. Turner, the Australian poet. Returning to England in 1939, Matheson started as Director of the Joint Broadcasting Committee to counter German propaganda with pro-British themes. The goal was to broadcast British opinion on foreign stations in neutral European and Latin American countries, using German and Italian. The 30 staff included
Isa Benzie Isa Donald Benzie (4 December 1902 – 25 June 1988) was a British radio broadcaster. She played a key role in the launch of ''Today'' on BBC Radio 4, and served as its first senior producer. Early life and education Benzie was born in 1902 in ...
,
Guy Burgess Guy Francis de Moncy Burgess (16 April 1911 – 30 August 1963) was a British diplomat and Soviet agent, and a member of the Cambridge Five spy ring that operated from the mid-1930s to the early years of the Cold War era. His defection in 1951 ...
,
Elspeth Huxley Elspeth Joscelin Huxley CBE (née Grant; 23 July 1907 – 10 January 1997) was an English writer, journalist, broadcaster, magistrate, environmentalist, farmer, and government adviser. She wrote over 40 books, including her best-known lyric ...
and Turner. Matheson also initiated a publishing endeavour with Wellesley, which Turner called ''Britain in Pictures'': 140 volumes were published after her death to counter publications glorifying Germany and present images of British notables, landscapes and cities. A few weeks before her death, Matheson contacted Astor about seeking an American publisher for the series. She died on 30 October 1940 of Graves' disease, after
thyroidectomy A thyroidectomy is an operation that involves the surgical removal of all or part of the thyroid gland. In general surgery, endocrine or head and neck surgeons often perform a thyroidectomy when a patient has thyroid cancer or some other conditio ...
surgery performed at Kettlewell Hill Nursing Home in
Horsell Horsell is a village in the borough of Woking in Surrey, England, less than a mile north-west of Woking town centre. In November 2012, its population was 9,384. Horsell is integral to H. G. Wells' classic science fiction novel ''The War of the W ...
, Surrey.


References


Citations


Sources

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External links


Worldcat publicationsHilda Matheson
at the National Portrait Gallery (London). {{DEFAULTSORT:Matheson, Hilda 1888 births 1940 deaths People from Putney Women radio producers MI5 personnel English lesbian writers 20th-century English women writers 20th-century English writers People from Withyham British radio producers