Robert William Foot (7 June 1889 – 2 April 1973) was

Director-General of the BBC The director-general of the British Broadcasting Corporation is chief executive and (from 1994) editor-in-chief of the BBC. The position was formerly appointed by the Board of Governors of the BBC (for the period of 1927 to 2007) and then the ...

, first jointly with

Cecil Graves Captain Sir Cecil George Graves (4 March 1892 – 12 January 1957) was joint Director-General of the BBC with Robert Foot from 26 January 1942 to 6 September 1943. Early life The son of Charles L. Graves and Alice Grey, the eldest sister of Vi ...

from 26 January 1942 to 6 September 1943 and then solely until he resigned on 31 March 1944. Before joining the BBC, Foot was a general manager at

Gas Light and Coke Company The Gas Light and Coke Company (also known as the Westminster Gas Light and Coke Company, and the Chartered Gas Light and Coke Company), was a company that made and supplied coal gas and coke. The headquarters of the company were located on H ...

. After being succeeded by

William Haley Sir William John Haley, KCMG (24 May 1901 – 6 September 1987) was a British newspaper editor and broadcasting administrator. Biography Haley grew up on the island of Jersey and attended Victoria College. In 1918 he began to study journa ...

, he became Chairman of the Mining Association.

Life and career

Foot was born in 1889 and educated at

Winchester College Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of the ...

. He started his career in 1912 as a solicitor in

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

, India, working for the firm of Orr, Dignam and Company. During the First World War, he served in Belgium and France with the

Royal Field Artillery The Royal Field Artillery (RFA) of the British Army provided close artillery support for the infantry. It came into being when created as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery on 1 July 1899, serving alongside the other two arms of t ...

. He was

mentioned in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

on two occasions, and later received an

OBE 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 ...

and

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC i ...

for his service. In 1919, he began working for the

, appointed by David Milne Watson. From 1928 to 1941, he held the position of General Manager. During the Second World War, he acted as a government advisor on organisation within the BBC. In 1942, he was appointed joint

Director-General A director general or director-general (plural: ''directors general'', ''directors-general'', ''director generals'' or ''director-generals'' ) or general director is a senior executive officer, often the chief executive officer, within a government ...

with

. The following year, Graves retired due to poor health, and Foot served as sole Director-General. He was not well-suited to the role and left the post in 1944. Succeeded by

, Foot became chairman of the

Mining Association of Great Britain The Mining Association of Great Britain (MAGB) was an industry association of employers in the mining industry of Great Britain that was active from 1854 to 1954. History The Mining Association of Great Britain was established in 1854 to represen ...

. He also later served as president of the

British Coal Utilisation Research Association British Coal Utilisation Research Association (BCURA) was a non-profit association of industrial companies, incorporated 23 April 1938 and dissolved 24 February 2015. History It was founded in 1938, with an assured income of £25000 per year for ...

. Foot believed that nationalization was a bad idea. During his tenure at the Mining Association, he visited many mines personally to better understand miners' issues. In 1945, he published ''A Plan for Coal''. In 1947, he was promoted to President of the Mining Association, a position he held until 1952. He also served as the chairman for Powell Duffryn Technical Services and Wankie Colliery Company, and director of

Barclays Barclays () is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services. Barclays traces ...

and the

Australia and New Zealand Banking Group The Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited (ANZ) is an Australian multinational banking and financial services company headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria. It is Australia's second-largest bank by assets and fourth-largest bank by ma ...

. After a short time in South Africa, Foot retired in England. He was a member of the court of assistance of the

Worshipful Company of Haberdashers The Worshipful Company of Haberdashers, one of the Great Twelve City Livery Companies, is an ancient merchant guild of London, England associated with the silk and velvet trades. History and functions The Haberdashers' Company follows the M ...

. He died aged 83 in Whitehanger Nursing Home,

Haslemere The town of Haslemere () and the villages of Shottermill and Grayswood are in south west Surrey, England, around south west of London. Together with the settlements of Hindhead and Beacon Hill, they comprise the civil parish of Haslemere i ...

, Surrey in 1973. He was married, with two sons and one daughter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Foot, Robert W. 1889 births 1973 deaths BBC executives Officers of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Winchester College Royal Field Artillery officers Recipients of the Military Cross