Alan Howland

Alan Howland
photo of Alan Howland, from a 1926 publication
Born1899 Edit this on Wikidata
Died1946 Edit this on Wikidata

Alan Herbert Howland (1899 – 1 November 1946) was a BBC announcer well known for some of his wartime radio broadcasts.

Life

Howland joined the BBC in 1926 and worked on Children's Hour, which he was in charge of from 1929 to 1932. In 1935 he left the BBC and became a commentator for British Movietone News.

Howland was apparently appointed as part of Movietone's redesign in April 1935, and his first credit is for "Emperor Kang Teh Rides with Mikado for Army Review" in Movietone No.310 from 13 May 1935.[1] Howland was soon regularly employed on sports items, apparently because of his fast verbal delivery. The credit for "Sport: Reported by Alan Howland" first appeared in British Movietone News No.312A of May 1935, but within a few months he was almost exclusively employed on this work. In March 1937, Howland commentated for "The Boat Race" in British Movietone News No.407A,[2] and a writer in the World Film News noted that when he viewed the story "in a tiny Lancashire village hall": "The event of the evening was the derisive roar that greeted the commentator's: 'Ah expect you reahlahs that ahm an Oxford man mahself'."

Howland commented on the 1936 Olympics from Berlin,[3] but Howland's last Movietone credit was "Leslie Mitchell Reviews the News pageant of Movietone. Sports Reported by Alan Howland" in British Movietone News No.531A from August 1939. He rejoined the BBC in January 1940.

Howland made the request on BBC radio on 29 May 1940 for crew with mechanical skills to support the small ships assembled to help in the Dunkirk evacuation in 1940.[4]

In June 1942, he resigned from the BBC in protest at additional menial tasks announcers were called upon to undertake.[5]

Howland played a small part in a 1945 version of Agatha Christie's "Love from a Stranger" broadcast on the General Forces Programme on 9 May 1945, from 7.30pm to 8.30pm, which was produced by Martyn C. Webster. This version was repeated on 4 July at the same time.

Howland married Elsie Cawston in 1927, but divorced about 1930. He married Lillian Russell (née Croll) in 1933, who had also worked on broadcasting Children's Hour as an "Aunt".

Howland died on 1 November 1946 at the age of 47.[6]

References

  1. ^ "Archive – British Pathe Archive". British Pathe. May 1935. Retrieved 14 February 2012.
  2. ^ "Oxford win at last". British Pathe. May 1935. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
  3. ^ "4 x 400 m relay". Movietone Archive. 1936.
  4. ^ "An appeal for boating skills". BBC Archive. 29 May 1940. Archived from the original on 26 May 2010.
  5. ^ "Alan Howland Resigns". The Glasgow Herald. 16 June 1942. p. 3.
  6. ^ "Former B.B.C. Announcer Dies". Evening Post. 2 November 1946. Retrieved 8 April 2025.

Content Disclaimer

Informasi ini disarikan dari Wikipedia dan disajikan kembali untuk tujuan edukasi. Konten tersedia di bawah lisensi CC BY-SA 3.0. Kami tidak bertanggung jawab atas ketidakakuratan data yang bersumber dari kontribusi publik tersebut.

  1. The information displayed on this website is sourced in part or in whole from Wikipedia and has been adapted for the purpose of restating it. We strive to provide accurate and relevant information, however:
  2. There is no guarantee of absolute accuracy. Wikipedia is an open, collaborative project that can be edited by anyone, so information is subject to change.
  3. It is not intended to constitute professional advice. The content displayed is for informational and educational purposes only. For important decisions (e.g., medical, legal, or financial), please consult a professional.
  4. Content copyright. Wikipedia is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License (CC BY-SA). This means that content may be reused with appropriate attribution and shared under a similar license.
  5. Responsible use. Any risk arising from the use of information from this website is entirely the responsibility of the user.