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| Key
people at BBC R&D
From the very beginning of public service
broadcasting by the British Broadcasting Company in 1922,
BBC engineers
have been at the forefront of broadcasting developments.
When Captain P.P. Eckersley was appointed the Company's
first Chief Engineer in 1923, the need for specialists
in research and development became obvious, and so at the
end of the year Captain A.G.D. West, who had worked with
Rutherford at the Cavendish Laboratory, was appointed Assistant
Chief Engineer (Development). Then in February 1924, when
H.L. Kirke became senior Development Engineer, West was
made Assistant Chief Engineer (Research) - the BBC's first
research engineer.
When the British Broadcasting Company became the British
Broadcasting Corporation in 1927, the Research and Development
Sections moved from their cramped quarters at Savoy Hill
to Avenue House, Clapham, in south London. The Research
Section stopped functioning in 1929 when all its staff
left, and the following year the remaining Development
Section was named Research Department. Kirke was appointed
Senior Research Engineer and he kept this position, later
known as Head of Research Department, until 1950.
Heads of Research Department
|
1930
|
H.L. Kirke
An expert on Radio Systems,
and one of the first people in the BBC to recognise
the benefits of digital broadcasting. |
1950 |
W. Proctor-Wilson |
1964 |
G.G. Gouriet
An expert on colour television |
1969 |
R.D.A. Maurice
One of the early workers in television
standards conversion. |
1971 |
P. Rainger |
1976 |
G.D. Monteath
An expert in radio frequency technology. |
1978
|
C.P. Sandbank
Arrived directly into post, after a successful
period of work in fibre optics. Noted for his
vision in the evolution towards digital broadcasting
|
1984 |
M.E.B. Moffat
A communications and transmission expert. |
1991 |
I. Childs
An expert on image displays. |
|
|
Heads of Designs
Department
|
1951
|
A.D.A. Rendall
May have been in post earlier, but our records
are silent. |
1963
|
S.N. Watson
|
1968
|
R.D.A. Maurice
|
1969
|
P. Rainger
|
-
|
I. Millar
Date of taking office not known.
|
1971
|
E. Rout
|
1980
|
F.G. Parker
|
1985
|
D. Kitson
|
1986
|
A.R. Neale
|
|
|
J.M. Astle
|
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Heads of Research & Development
|
1992
|
G. Smith
|
1996
|
I. Childs
|
1998
|
P. Bury
|
2005
|
H. Williams
|
|
Heads of BBC Research (renamed
in 2006)
|
2006
|
H. Williams
|
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