Hilda Matheson
| Hilda Matheson | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
7 June 1888 London, England |
| Died | 30 October 1940 (aged 52) Horsell, England |
| Nationality | English |
| Occupation | radio administrator |
| Years active | 1926-1940 |
| Known for | First Director of Talks at the BBC |
| Notable work | The African Survey |
Hilda Matheson, OBE (1888–1940) was a pioneering radio talks producer at the BBC and served as the first Director of Talks. After her resignation from the BBC in 1931, she published a book about the development of broadcasting. Though officially the secretary, Matheson served as an executive manager for The African Survey after Malcolm Hailey fell ill. During World War II, she ran the Joint Broadcasting Committee, a British war news organization, until her death.
Hilda Matheson was born on 7 June 1888 in Putney, in south-west London, England to Scottish parents, Margaret (née Orr) and Donald Matheson. She was a boarding student at Saint Felix School in Southwold for four years. Matheson wanted to continue the study of history at Cambridge, but left school at eighteen, when her father's health forced the family to move to Europe. They lived in France, Germany and Italy and she gained fluency in all three languages. Returning to England in 1908, her father was appointed as the Presbyterian chaplain for Oxford University undergraduates and Matheson enrolled as a history student in Society of Oxford Home Students. After completing school in 1911, she went to work as a part-time secretary for H. A. L. Fisher at New College, Oxford and then later worked for David George Hogarth, who was the keeper of the Ashmolean Museum.
During World War I, Matheson was employed by the War Office as an MI5 operative, working in army intelligence and ended her war work in Rome at the British military control office. Thereafter, she briefly worked for Philip Kerr (later Lord Lothian), who introduced her to Britain's first female parliamentarian, Lady Nancy Astor. In 1919, after having previously refused employment with her, Matheson became the political secretary of Astor, gaining a wide circle of acquaintances including politicians, intellectuals, and society figures. While working for Astor in 1926, Matheson met John Reith, head of the fledgling BBC, who recruited her.
...
Wikipedia