Former B.B.C. chief dies

Press, 21 February 1987, Page 11

Former B.B.C. chief dies

NZPA-PA London A former 8.8. C. Director-General, Sir Hugh Carleton Greene, died in a London hospital yesterday from cancer. Sir Hugh was the brother of one of Britain’s main novelists, Graham Greene.

His son, Graham, said that Sir Hugh, who was 76, had been ill for only a few days before entering the King Edward VII hospital for Officers. Sir Hugh brought satire, namely “That Was The Week That Was”, to the 8.8. C. during the 60s, leading to a chorus of

“Greene Must Go” from some quarters, and delight from others. As stars like David Frost, William Rushton, Peter Cook and Dudley Moore brought irreverence to television, there were demands for a return to the principle of high moral standards set by Lord Reith, the first Director-General of the 8.8. C. But Sir Hugh said: “I encourage tolerance. I do not encourage licence.” He was a journalist in Warsaw when Hitler marched into Poland, and sent dispatches from a

flat in the city to the “Daily Telegraph.” He reported the war . from Rumania, Bulgaria and Turkey, on one occasion sidling close to Hitler on a railway station platform to hear him tell the Italian Consul General: “Only in this way can we win.” Greene thought he had a big story, but the Fuhrer was actually discussing motor-cycle racing. In 1940 he joined the 8.8. C. as head of the German News Service, which he built into a British Government tool against the Nazis.

The huge journalist planted his imprint firmly on radio, retaining his reporter’s eye wherever he was posted, whether in the British Zone in Germany or running the East European service during the Cold War. In 1960, he became Director-General of the corporation, and backed the idea of the late-night satire programme which swiftly became a national institution, TW3, making stars of David Frost, Bernard Levin, Millicent Martin and Willie Rushton.

Sir Hugh also showed the world Alf Garnett.