LONDON: At noon London time today, Britain will slip silently into a new era of radio history.
At the top of the hour, the BBC World Service — once the voice of the British empire — will transmit its last radio news bulletin from its imposing home, Bush House, in central London.
For more than 70 years the art-deco building was the beating heart of the British Broadcasting Corporation’s overseas service and a bastion of press freedom around the world. From here King George V addressed the Empire in 1932, Charles de Gaulle defied the Nazis, and legions of emigres sent news in dozens of languages to the unmistakeable introductory strains of Lilliburlero, its signature tune.
Setting off a wave of nostalgia, the BBC has decided to move the operation to a gleaming new office in London as part of its efforts to bring all of its broadcasting teams under one roof.
With a warren of meandering corridors, soaring halls and marble stairs, the majestic Bush House has already been mostly abandoned, with the last team of journalists due to leave officially on Thursday after the final bulletin. “It’s spooky. It does feel bereft,” said Andrew Whitehead, a former South Asia correspondent who has worked for the BBC since 1981, his footsteps echoing in the building’s hollow silence.
“Part of me feels sad. Bush House has meant something. You would say: ‘I work at Bush House’. You don’t say: ‘I work at the BBC World Service’.” Marking the birth of Britain’s broadcasting tradition, the BBC’s Empire Service, as it was known at the time, was launched in 1932, helped by new radio technology that allowed it to send signals over vast distances.
Its boss at the time was not very optimistic, quipping once that its programs would “neither be very interesting nor very good.” Yet it expanded fast, soon beaming news in dozens of languages into some of the world’s most far flung corners.
From its grand location off the Strand in central London, Bush House witnessed every turn of history throughout the drama of the 20th century, its culture shaped by the gripping years that followed World War Two.
It has been described as an organism in itself with a United Nations like atmosphere where journalists from all over the world rubbed shoulders in its polyglot canteen. “I certainly remember that very strong physical impression and the smell of the place from the very first time I went there,” said Peter Horrocks, the BBC’s Director of Global News.
“It’s a building that inspires huge affection and emotion especially for the staff who have come from around the world, many of whom are exiles and people who can’t go back to their countries of origin. It provides something of a refuge.”
BBC bids emotional good-bye to Bush House
