Frank Gillard CBE

CBE

CBE and C.B.E. are abbreviations for "Commander of the Order of the British Empire", a grade in the Order of the British Empire.Other uses include:* Chemical and Biochemical Engineering...

 (1 December 1909 - 20 October 1998) was a BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

 reporter and radio innovator.

Early years

Gillard was born in Tiverton, Devon and attended Wellington School, Somerset

Wellington School, Somerset

Wellington School is a British co-educational independent school in Wellington, Somerset, England catering for both day pupils and boarders. There are currently 750 pupils on roll including 200 students in the sixth form. The Headmaster is Martin Reader....

. He gained a Batchelor's degree from St Luke's College, Exeter

University of Exeter

The University of Exeter is a public university in South West England. It belongs to the 1994 Group, an association of 19 of the United Kingdom's smaller research-intensive universities....

. He then taught in a private school.

Broadcaster

In 1936 he became a part time broadcaster and in 1941 joined the BBC full time. He became a war correspondent

War correspondent

A war correspondent is a journalist who covers stories firsthand from a war zone. In the 19th century they were also called Special Correspondents.-Methods:...

 attached to Southern Command and witnessed the Dieppe raid

Dieppe Raid

The Dieppe Raid, also known as the Battle of Dieppe, Operation Rutter or later on Operation Jubilee, during the Second World War, was an Allied attack on the German-occupied port of Dieppe on the northern coast of France on 19 August 1942. The assault began at 5:00 AM and by 10:50 AM the Allied...

. In 1942 he went to North Africa to report on the campaign of the Eighth Army

Eighth Army (United Kingdom)

The Eighth Army was one of the best-known formations of the British Army during World War II, fighting in the North African and Italian campaigns....

 under Montgomery

Bernard Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein

Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, KG, GCB, DSO, PC , nicknamed "Monty" and the "Spartan General" was a British Army officer. He saw action in the First World War, when he was seriously wounded, and during the Second World War he commanded the 8th Army from...

. He then reported on the Sicilian and Italian campaigns before returning to the UK ready for the D-day

D-Day

D-Day is a term often used in military parlance to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. "D-Day" often represents a variable, designating the day upon which some significant event will occur or has occurred; see Military designation of days and hours for similar...

 landings. He made memorable reports, often under fire, throughout this period.

When Howard Marshall

Howard Marshall (broadcaster)

Howard Percival Marshall achieved distinction in several fields, but is best remembered as a pioneering commentator for live broadcasts of state occasions and sporting events — in particular cricket Test matches — for BBC radio during the 1930s.He went to Oriel College, Oxford, winning a rugby...

, the Director of the War Reporting Unit, was recalled Gillard took his place. He followed the campaign to the end reporting on the meeting of US and Soviet troops in 1945.

He was awarded an OBE in 1946.

Radio administrator

From 1945 to 1963 Gillard worked in the BBC's western region, becoming its director in 1955.

He was promoted to CBE in 1961.

In 1964 he was made Director of Radio with a seat on the BBC's Board of Management. He saw the need to fill the gap left by the demise of Pirate Radio

UK pirate radio

UK pirate radio was popular in the 1960s and experienced another surge of interest in the 1980s. There are currently an estimated 150 pirate radio stations in the UK...

 for 'pop' music

Pop music

Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...

. To do this he reorganised the BBC's radio into four stations, Radios 1, 2, 3 & 4

In 1967 he also created the first local radio stations

BBC Local Radio

BBC Local Radio is the BBC's regional radio service for England and the Channel Islands, consisting of 40 stations. They cover a variety of areas with some serving a city and surrounding areas, for example BBC Radio Manchester; a county, for example BBC Radio Norfolk; an administrative region for...

.

He retired in 1969.

Retirement

Gillard remained active throughout his retirement helping both Australian and American public service broadcasters. He was one of several people whose input led to the creation of Masterpiece Theatre

Masterpiece Theatre

Masterpiece is a drama anthology television series produced by WGBH Boston. It premiered on Public Broadcasting Service on January 10, 1971, making it America's longest-running weekly prime time drama series. The series has presented numerous acclaimed British productions...

.

He also initiated a living history project to capture a record of the earliest days of the BBC.

The BBC named their local radio awards the Frank Gillard Awards

Frank Gillard Awards

The Frank Gillard Awards are awards for BBC Local Radio stations in the UK. They are named after Frank Gillard who initiated the BBC's local radio network...

.