BBC History - UK (2022-01)

1. A monk stopped the show
   I was fascinated to learn that a monk’s brave
   attempt to interrupt a gladiatorial games
   led to the banning of these Roman
   blood sports – although he met a
   grisly end (page 14).


2. Dentistry’s royal
   practitioner
   I’d happily pay never to go
   to the dentist again, but the
   Scottish king James IV was
   apparently so fascinated
   by dentistry that he paid
   his subjects to be allowed
   to remove their teeth (p37).


3. Political pioneer
   Though I was familiar with
   the names of Constance
   Markievicz and Nancy
   Astor, I was interested to read
   about Margaret Wintringham,
   YJQDGECOGKPVJGTUV
   British-born female MP to sit in the
   House of Commons (p43).

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WELCOME

Welcome to our first edition of 2022. Each new year brings with

it a whole array of anniversaries to commemorate, many of

which we’ll be exploring over the coming months. One that would be

remiss of us to overlook is t he centenary of the BBC itself, which first

took to the airwaves in November 1922. Over the course of this year,

we’re going to be examining the corporation’s history through a

regular feature by media historian David Hendy, in which he’ll high-

light key themes from the past hundred years. We begin this month

w it h t he BBC’s first forays on to t he air waves, in dust y, airless rooms

and with intimidating microphones. You’ll find his piece on page 46.

What kind of nation was the BBC broadcasting to in 1922? Was this

the age of the roaring twenties, or did the First World War still cast a

pall over Britain? In her feature on page 38, Sarah Hellawell takes a

look at the country in the early 1920s to reveal a society trying to

escape its past, while driving towards an exciting but uncertain future.

Finally, if I asked you to name a master of espionage, dressed in

black, with expensive tastes, I don’t expect you’d go for Queen Victoria.

But if you had done you wouldn’t be mistaken, because Britain’s

second-longest reigning monarch turns out to have been the

head of an unlikely spying network. In our eye-opening

cover feature this month, Rory Cormac and Richard

J Aldrich explain why Victoria was the real queen of

spies. That’s on page 22.

I hope you enjoy the issue.

Rob Attar

Editor

JANUARY 2022

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THIS ISSUE’S CONTRIBUTORS

THREE THINGS I’VE

LEARNED THIS MONTH

Monica Whitlock

“If you’re a teenager stuck

at home through the

Covid-19 pandemic, spare

a thought for Kim Gordon,

the schoolboy who spent

two years imprisoned in a

Chinese hotel room, an

inside witness to the

drama of the Cultural

Revolution.”

Monica views the chaos of the

Cultural Revolution through

the eyes of one schoolboy

on page 62

Thomas Harding

“I’m embarrassed to say

I knew almost nothing

about Britain’s role in the

slave plantations of the

Caribbean – and the

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endured by enslaved

people all the way into

the 1830s – until I started

this research.”

Thomas remembers the

Demerara uprising and its

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on page 74

Matthew Gabriele

“King Louis IX of France

built soaring chapels and

burnt books, was re-

nowned for his charity

and persecuted minority

communities. That very

human complexity

animates our new book,

The Bright Ages.”

Matthew considers the

complicated legacy of the

medieval monarch on page 30

David Hendy

“2022 marks the BBC’s

centenary – and

throughout the year,

I will be highlighting

key episodes in the

corporation’s history to

show its profound impact

on our lives.”

David reveals the roots of the

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his new series on page 46