Charles Hill, Baron Hill of Luton, PC (15 January 1904 – 22 August 1989) was a British physician and medical spokesman, radio speaker, member of parliament, government minister and broadcasting executive.

Early life and career

Charles Hill was born in

Islington Islington ( ) is an inner-city area of north London, England, within the wider London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's #Islington High Street, High Street to Highbury Fields ...

, London and was educated at St Olave's Grammar School in

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

, London. He won a scholarship to

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

, where he gained a first class degree. He continued his medical studies at the

London Hospital The Royal London Hospital is a large teaching hospital in Whitechapel in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is part of Barts Health NHS Trust. It provides district general hospital services for the City of London and London Borough of Tow ...

gaining MRCS and MRCP in 1927 and later he gained MB, BCh and MD. He became Deputy Medical Officer of Oxford in 1930. He became Assistant Secretary of the

British Medical Association The British Medical Association (BMA) is a registered trade union and professional body for physician, doctors in the United Kingdom. It does not regulate or certify doctors, a responsibility which lies with the General Medical Council. The BMA ...

from 1932 and Secretary from 1944 to 1950. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the Ministry of Health had wanted the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

to infiltrate health messages into ordinary programmes rather than have dedicated programmes from the Ministry of Food, but the BBC warned that this would not be effective and would be viewed by listeners as patronising. Consequently, Hill's role as the "Radio Doctor" became part of the Ministry of Food's programme, ''Kitchen Front'', broadcast every morning from 1942. Because of the then rules about members of the medical profession advertising he could not broadcast under his own name, and so was just 'The Radio Doctor'. His distinctive rich voice helped make an impact. Hill was still the BMA's Secretary when the

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the term for the publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom: the National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care (Northern ...

was introduced in 1948. He negotiated with

Aneurin Bevan Aneurin "Nye" Bevan Privy Council (United Kingdom), PC (; 15 November 1897 – 6 July 1960) was a Welsh Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician, noted for spearheading the creation of the British National Health Service during his t ...

and ensured that

general practitioner A general practitioner (GP) is a doctor who is a Consultant (medicine), consultant in general practice. GPs have distinct expertise and experience in providing whole person medical care, whilst managing the complexity, uncertainty and risk ass ...

s did not simply become salaried employees.

Political career

Hill stood for

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

for

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

in 1945 as an independent. He was successful in 1950, becoming MP for

Luton Luton () is a town and borough in Bedfordshire, England. The borough had a population of 225,262 at the 2021 census. Luton is on the River Lea, about north-west of London. The town's foundation dates to the sixth century as a Saxon settleme ...

as a Conservative and National Liberal. He was appointed

Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food The Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food Control, later the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food was a junior Ministerial post in the Government of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1921 and then from 1939 to 1954. The post supp ...

in 1951. He became the

Postmaster-General A Postmaster General, in Anglosphere countries, is the chief executive officer of the postal service of that country, a ministerial office responsible for overseeing all other postmasters. History The practice of having a government officia ...

(a non-cabinet ministerial position with responsibilities that included broadcasting) in 1955; during his period in office he publicly berated the

for its reporting of the

Suez Crisis The Suez Crisis, also known as the Second Arab–Israeli War, the Tripartite Aggression in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel, was a British–French–Israeli invasion of Egypt in 1956. Israel invaded on 29 October, having done so w ...

. In May 1956, Hill attempted to formalise the existing agreement by which discussions or statements about matters before Parliament could not be broadcast in the fortnight preceding any debate (the 'fourteen-day rule'). However, the Suez Crisis rendered this policy unworkable in practice and the government agreed to its suspension at the end of the year. Hill, who had been uneasy about the implications of the rule for freedom of expression, was relieved. From 1957 to 1961, he was

Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is a ministerial office in the Government of the United Kingdom. Excluding the prime minister, the chancellor is the highest ranking minister in the Cabinet Office, immediately after the prime minister ...

and from 1961 he was Minister of Housing and Local Government and Welsh Affairs, but he lost his place in the Cabinet in

Harold Macmillan Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton (10 February 1894 – 29 December 1986), was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1957 to 1963. Nickn ...

's '

Night of the Long Knives The Night of the Long Knives (, ), also called the Röhm purge or Operation Hummingbird (), was a purge that took place in Nazi Germany from 30 June to 2 July 1934. Chancellor Adolf Hitler, urged on by Hermann Göring and Heinrich Himmler, ord ...

' reshuffle in 1962.

Post-political career

He was appointed as the Chairman of the

Independent Television Authority The Independent Television Authority (ITA) was an agency created by the Television Act 1954 ( 2 & 3 Eliz. 2. c. 55) to supervise the creation of " Independent Television" (ITV), the first commercial television network in the United Kingdom. The ...

in 1963, where he continued his hostile attitude towards the BBC. He was created a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

on 13 June 1963 as Baron Hill of Luton, of

Harpenden Harpenden () is a town and civil parish in the City and District of St Albans in the county of Hertfordshire, England. The population of the built-up area was 30,674 in the 2021 census, while the population of the civil parish was 31,128. Harpe ...

in the County of Hertford. In 1967, Hill announced that all the ITV contracts were to be re-advertised, because he was concerned about the large profits being made by the major companies and their lack of regional identity. This resulted in a radical reorganisation of the ITV network. He succeeded Lord Normanbrook as the Chairman of the BBC Governors (1967–1972), having been appointed by the Prime Minister,

Harold Wilson James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx (11 March 1916 – 23 May 1995) was a British statesman and Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, from 1964 to 1970 and again from 197 ...

, to "sort out" the Corporation. His appointment as BBC chairman surprised the BBC's Governors and several resigned. Sir Robert Lusty, the acting chairman, commented that "it was like inviting Rommel to command the Eighth Army on the eve of Alamein". Harold Wilson encouraged Lord Hill to be active in editorial decisions. Hill had a difficult relationship with the

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 post-holder was formerly appointed by the Board of Governors of the BBC (for the period 1927 to 2007) and then the ...

, Hugh Greene, and he eventually forced Greene to resign in 1969. Greene later described Hill as a "vulgarian". He had a quieter relationship with Greene's successor, Charles Curran. He retired from the BBC in 1972 and died in 1989, aged 85. He married Marion Spencer Wallace, with whom he had two sons and three daughters.

Selected Publications

Hill of Luton Charles Hill. (1936) ''The Development of Osteopathy.'' Hill Charles and H. A Clegg. (1937). ''What Is Osteopathy?'' London: J.M. Dent & Sons. Hill of Luton Charles Hill and Great Britain Ministry of Information. (1943) ''Wise Eating in Wartime''. H.M. Stationery Office Hill of Luton Charles Hill. (1944) ''Your Body; How It Works and How to Keep It Working Well''. London: Burke. Hill of Luton Charles Hill. (1950). ''Bringing Up Your Child''. London: Phoenix House. Hill of Luton Charles Hill. (1952) ''The Radio Doctor's Dictionary of Health''. Phoenix House. Hill of Luton Charles Hill. (1964) ''Both Sides of the Hill yLord Hill of Luton''. Heinemann. Luton, Hill of (1974). ''Behind the screen: the broadcasting memoirs of Lord Hill of Luton''. London: Sidgwick & Jackson. .

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hill, Charles 1904 births 1989 deaths National Liberal Party (UK, 1931) politicians Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Hill of Luton, Lord 20th-century English medical doctors BBC governors Chairmen of the BBC People educated at St Olave's Grammar School Postmasters general of the United Kingdom Chancellors of the Duchy of Lancaster People from Islington (district) People from Luton Luton, Charles Hill, Baron Hill of UK MPs 1950–1951 UK MPs 1951–1955 UK MPs 1955–1959 UK MPs 1959–1964 UK MPs who were granted peerages Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Ministers in the third Churchill government, 1951–1955 Ministers in the Eden government, 1955–1957 Ministers in the Macmillan and Douglas-Home governments, 1957–1964 Life peers created by Elizabeth II