Big Ben | Celebrating the world-famous clock tower

The World at One

'The World at One' reports on the maintenance of Big Ben.

CHANNEL | Radio 4

FIRST BROADCAST | 15 February 1971

DURATION | 4 minutes 11 seconds

FIRSTBROADCAST

1971

Synopsis

'The World at One' describes how Big Ben has been kept up to the mark as an accurate time-keeper since 1859. The people who maintain the clock describe its intricate workings, which have survived wartime bombing and extreme weather. However, there is a risk that the dearth of their traditional skills in the modern age could threaten to silence Big Ben. The report also includes a wartime recording by Robin Duff.

Did you know?

Robin Duff presented the first edition of 'BBC Radio Newsreel' at 3.30am on 8 July 1940. This news channel was founded by Peter Pooley and provided the means for war correspondents, including Robin Duff and Audrey Russell, (who is pictured in the Big Ben Image Gallery) to file their reports.

Contributors

Tracey Dick
Reporter
Kenneth Butcher
Contributor
Robin Duff
Contributor
Bill Elson
Contributor

Associated subjects

Architecture | Engineering | London | UK Politics

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Galleries

Close up of the inside of the Westminster clock face.

Big Ben

Photographs of Big Ben dating back to the 1920s.

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