Sir Arthur Hallam Rice Elton, 10th Baronet (10 February 1906 – 1 January 1973) was a pioneer of the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

documentary film industry. Educated at Marlborough College and

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's full name is The College of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint John the Evangelist and the glorious Virgin Saint Radegund, near Cambridge. Its common name comes fr ...

, he was a schoolfriend of John Betjeman. After graduation, he worked as a scriptwriter in

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and

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, and in 1931 was recruited into the Empire Marketing Board Film Unit (later the

GPO Film Unit The GPO Film Unit was a subdivision of the UK General Post Office. The unit was established in 1933, taking on responsibilities of the Empire Marketing Board Film Unit. Headed by John Grierson, it was set up to produce sponsored documentary films ...

) by John Grierson. He worked as a director and producer on many films over the next two decades, mainly for the government, though 1932's ''Voice of the World'' was sponsored by

His Master's Voice His Master's Voice (HMV) was the name of a major British record label created in 1901 by The Gramophone Co. Ltd. The phrase was coined in the late 1890s from the title of a painting by English artist Francis Barraud, which depicted a Jack Russ ...

, the first example of industrial sponsorship of a documentary film. 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 opposi ...

he became supervisor of films at the Ministry of Information, and afterwards he became an advisor to the Shell Petroleum Company and production head of Shell Films. Elton married Margaret Ann Bjornson (d.1995) in 1948. On inheriting the Elton Baronetcy title and

Clevedon Court Clevedon Court is a manor house on Court Hill in Clevedon, North Somerset, England, dating from the early 14th century. It is owned by the National Trust and is designated as a Grade I listed building. The house was built and added to over ma ...

on the death of his father in 1951, Elton restored the building and donated it to the

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in lieu of death duties. He took a keen interest in the town of

Clevedon Clevedon (, ) is an English seaside town and civil parish in the unitary authority of North Somerset, part of the ceremonial county of Somerset. It recorded a parish population of 21,281 in the United Kingdom Census 2011, estimated at 21,442 ...

, becoming chairman of the printing company which produced the local paper. He was also prominent in the campaign to restore

Clevedon Pier Clevedon Pier is a seaside pier in the town of Clevedon, Somerset, England on the east shore of the Severn Estuary. It was described by Sir John Betjeman, as "the most beautiful pier in England" and was designated a Grade I listed building in ...

. On Elton's death, his collection of material relating to British industrial development (valued at over a quarter of a million pounds) was given to the Ironbridge Museum. He was succeeded by his son Charles, who is a

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

producer.

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References

* Jonathan Dawson Arthur Elton in: Ian Aitken (ed) ''Encyclopedia of the Documentary Film'', NY Routledge, 2006, pp. 56–6

1906 births 1973 deaths Alumni of Jesus College, Cambridge Baronets in the Baronetage of Great Britain English film directors English male screenwriters People educated at Marlborough College British documentary filmmakers Civil servants in the General Post Office British documentary film producers 20th-century English screenwriters 20th-century English male writers {{UK-film-director-stub

External links

See also

References