#099 Godfrey Isaacs - The Man Behind The BBC Idea

The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa

On the day of episode 99's release, it's exactly 100 years since the death on 17 April 1925 of Godfrey Isaacs - Managing Director of the Marconi Company.

More than that - new evidence shows that he came up with and championed the idea of the one BBC. For years, the British government (via the Post Office) has been credited with the plan for a singular British broadcaster. But lost meeting minutes have been rediscovered....

The academic who found these minutes - misplaced for decades - is David Prosser of the University of Bristol. He joins us to tell us about the 18 May 1922 meeting where Godfrey Isaacs proposed that the Marconi Company share patents and collaborate with its rivals to form one (British) Broadcasting Company.

And Robert Godfrey - Isaacs' great-great-grandson - joins us to give new insights into the life of this under-heralded pioneer in the ways of wireless. Hear tales of the Marconi Scandal, Titanic, business wrangling, broadcasting innovation, battles with the press, and a life cut short.

There's a lot to tell, so this is a longer episode than usual - sorry! Actually I'm not sorry... these chaps know their stuff, and it's an incredible tale.

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SHOWNOTES:

• Read David Prosser's article: 'Marconi Proposes: Why it's time to rethink the birth of the BBC' - on the University of Bristol website: https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/193478467/Prosser_Marconi_Proposes_Why_it_s_time_to_rethink_the_birth_of_the_BBC_26_Sep_2018.pdf
• Original music is by Will Farmer.
• Paul is now on Substack - for more in-depth-but-lighthearted broadcasting history, subscribe at paulkerensa.substack.com
• See Paul Kerensa on tour, with The BBC and Me: Then and Now, aka An Evening of (Very) Old Radio: www.paulkerensa.com/tour - come and hear about the first firsts of broadcasting, live.
• The Early Recordings Association Conference takes place at The University of Surrey, Guildford this July. I'll be presenting on 1 July. Details here: https://www.surrey.ac.uk/events/20250701-early-recordings-association-era-conference-2025
• Also catch Paul at the Religion Media Festival on Monday 9 June: https://religionmediacentre.org.uk/events/religion-media-festival-2025/
• This podcast is nothing to do with the BBC. Any BBC copyright content is reproduced courtesy of the British Broadcasting Corporation. All rights reserved. We try to use clips so old they're beyond copyright, but you never know. Copyright's complicated...
• Comments? Email the show - paul at paulkerensa dot com.
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Next time: Episode 100! Your highlights of the British broadcasting origin story - Marconi, Melba, Eckersley, Reith and more. And maybe the Sykes Inquiry, if we get time (unlikely!)

More info on this broadcasting history project at paulkerensa.com/oldradio