Raymond Glendenning
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Raymond Carl Glendenning (25 September 1907 – 23 February 1974) was a
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 th ...
sport Sport pertains to any form of Competition, competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and Skill, skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to specta ...
s commentator and occasional character actor.


Early years

He was born in Newport,
Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( cy, Sir Fynwy) is a county in the south-east of Wales. The name derives from the historic county of the same name; the modern county covers the eastern three-fifths of the historic county. The largest town is Abergavenny, with ...
,
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
, and was educated at Newport High School and the
University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...
. He worked briefly as a chartered accountant before joining 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. ...
...
as an organiser on Children's Hour in
Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...
in 1932.


Pre-war and wartime career

In 1935 he moved to
Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...
as an
outside broadcast Outside broadcasting (OB) is the electronic field production (EFP) of television or radio programmes (typically to cover television news and sports television events) from a mobile remote broadcast television studio. Professional video camera a ...
s assistant, and began commentating on local sporting events on the BBC's
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
service. In 1939 he moved to
London London is the capital and 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 down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
and joined the national outside broadcasts staff, becoming assistant director in 1942. By this time he was commentating on many major sporting events, and by the end of 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 ...
was the BBC's leading sports commentator.


Postwar career

He covered the
FA Cup Final The FA Cup Final, commonly referred to in England as just the Cup Final, is the last match in the FA Cup, Football Association Challenge Cup. It has regularly been one of the List of sports attendance figures, most attended domestic football ev ...
every year from 1946 to 1963. He also commentated on the 1962 World Cup and regularly on domestic and international
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
matches. Glendenning also commentated regularly on
boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...
, on
horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...
(until the end of 1960) and
Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...
tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...
, as well as covering
greyhound racing Greyhound racing is an organized, competitive sport in which greyhounds are raced around a track. There are two forms of greyhound racing, track racing (normally around an oval track) and coursing; the latter is now banned in most countries. Tra ...
, and
show jumping Show jumping is a part of a group of English riding equestrianism, equestrian events that also includes dressage, eventing, Show hunter, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes are commonly seen at horse shows throughout the world, including th ...
in the 1948 London Olympics.


Manner and appearance

He was noted for his horn-rimmed glasses, his
handlebar moustache A handlebar moustache is a moustache with particularly lengthy and upwardly curved extremities. These moustache styles are named for their resemblance to the handlebars of a bicycle. It is also known as a spaghetti moustache, because of its ste ...
and for his fast-paced, excitable, somewhat plummy broadcasting style. He was a popular public figure, lending his name to a number of sports books, mostly aimed at boys.


Private life

Glendenning was an active
Freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...
under the
United Grand Lodge of England The United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) is the governing Masonic lodge for the majority of freemasons in England, Wales and the Commonwealth of Nations. Claiming descent from the Masonic grand lodge formed 24 June 1717 at the Goose & Gridiron T ...
(UGLE). He was initiated in Wales in the Nioba Lodge No 5264 (Newport), and subsequently joined lodges in London including Avenue Lodge No 3231 (whose members were all members of the
Constitutional Club The Constitutional Club was a London gentlemen's club, now dissolved, which was established in 1883 and disbanded in 1979. Between 1886 and 1959 it had a distinctive red and yellow Victorian terracotta building, designed by Robert William Edis ...
), and Shakespear Lodge No 99. After serving as a Grand Steward of UGLE he also joined the Grand Stewards' Lodge.


Broadcasting retirement

He gave up sports commentary in the early months of 1964. He died aged 66 on 23 February 1974, from a
heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...
.


Selected filmography

* ''
Asking for Trouble ''Asking for Trouble'' is a 1942 British comedy film directed by Oswald Mitchell and starring Max Miller, Carole Lynne and Wilfrid Hyde-White. Its plot follows a fishmonger who takes up bookmaking to earn extra cash. Cast * Max Miller as Di ...
'' (1942) * '' Sussex Fortnight'' (1950) * ''
The Galloping Major (film) ''The Galloping Major'' is a 1951 British comedy sports film, starring Basil Radford, Jimmy Hanley and Janette Scott. It also featured Sid James, Charles Hawtrey and Joyce Grenfell in supporting roles. It was directed by Henry Cornelius and ma ...
'' (1951) * '' Derby Day'' (1952) * ''
Dry Rot Dry rot is wood decay caused by one of several species of fungi that digest parts of the wood which give the wood strength and stiffness. It was previously used to describe any decay of cured wood in ships and buildings by a fungus which resul ...
'' (1955) * ''
Make Mine a Million ''Make Mine a Million'' is a 1959 British comedy film directed by Lance Comfort, starring Arthur Askey, Sid James, and Bernard Cribbins. The film parodies the stuffiness of the 1950s BBC and the effect of television advertising in the era. It wa ...
'' (1959) * '' The Iron Maiden'' (1962)


References


Sources


''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (includes photo)''


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Glendenning, Raymond 1907 births British association football commentators 1974 deaths British radio personalities British sports broadcasters British horse racing writers and broadcasters People from Newport, Wales Alumni of the University of London Welsh sports broadcasters Welsh radio personalities People educated at Newport High School