Modern Conditions | HG Wells

HG Wells addresses the financial insecurity that he believes is plaguing the country in this extract from a longer talk. He speaks bleakly about the pressures faced by ordinary people and observes that the country is still paying off the debts of the last war, even as preparations for the next begin. Wells deduces that there is an urgent need for supreme control in the world to rescue the economy and to 'put war out of the list of possible things'.

Due to the age of this recording, the sound quality is variable.

This broadcast was made on the eve of the last day of operation of the Savoy Hill transmitter. The next morning, all programmes would be sent out directly from the new BBC Broadcasting House in central London. The closure of Savoy Hill was marked by a 160-minute celebration of ten years of broadcasting, with re-creations of memorable news bulletins and comments by notable men (and some women) of the day.