UNIQUE BROADCAST

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20139, 8 January 1940, Page 5

UNIQUE BROADCAST

SOLDIERS AT FRONT CHRISTMAS DAY RADIO LONDON. Doc. 27. The Christmas Day broadcast from the Western Front is regarded as one of the most notable feats of wireless. It brought “Tommies.’ “Poilus" and the Air Forces of France and Britain to British firesides. From the Maginot Line, the British Broadcasting Corporation broadcast French troops' singing of their Maginot song, then a Royal Air Force concert from a hangar. These were followed by a British concert behind the lines, at which Grade Fields sang for half an hour, joked, and led the troops in community singing. The corporation next nicked at random four “Tommies," who broadcast personal greetings to their families from a blockhouse. Strong: Umpire Link The Empire-wide broadcast which followed was clearly received and emphasised the manner in which radio has become a strong [Empire link British listeners had the feeling that fellow Britons overseas were sharing their Christmas firesides. At the same time, the Empire broadcast has been widely criticised for its “dullness, lack of humour and imagination and stilted speeches.” Charles Graves, in the Daily Mail describes it as the shoddiest .Christmas programme yet broadcast, and declares that the British Broadcasting Corporation fell down lamentably Tile writer adds: “The Australian girl munition worker's contribution was liimsy. Why did not the corporation get hold of someone like Regimental Sergeant-Major (Price. of Perth, to say something?" Mr. Graves would have preferred some more picturesque New Zealand personality than the shcept'nrmer who broadcast, and ask,, why "Billy' Bishop, the Canadian V.C., “who is still the senior air ‘ace’ of the Empire.” could not have supplanted the anonymous Canadian commercial pilot who had just joined the Air Force.