Stephen Tallents
Encyclopedia
Sir Stephen George Tallents (20 October 1884, London
- 11 September 1958, London
) was a British civil servant and public relations expert.
Educated at Harrow
and Balliol
, he served as an officer in the Irish Guards
in World War I
until severely wounded at Festubert
. He then worked at the Ministry of Munitions, transferring in 1916 to the Ministry of Food. In 1918 he became chief delegate for the Supply of Relief to Poland. In 1919 he was appointed British Commissioner for the Baltic Provinces and helped draw up the treaty that established Estonia
, Latvia
and Lithuania
. He was secretary to the last Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, Lord FitzAlan
.
He is best known for his work as the secretary of the Empire Marketing Board
(EMB) between 1926 and 1933. There he employed the British
documentary film
-maker John Grierson
and commissioned artists including: Clive Gardiner, E. McKnight Kauffer, and Frank Newbould
to produce a series of large posters, promoting British and Empire produce. Following the demise of the EMB in 1933 Tallents moved to the GPO
, transferring the EMB's film unit with him which led to the production of classic documentaries such as Night Mail
. Tallents would go on to work for the BBC as its first Controller of Public Relations and Deputy Director General under Lord Reith
.
In World War II
his experience was employed at the Ministry of Information. Tallents gave St John's Jerusalem to the nation in 1943. In 1948 he became founder President of the Institute of Public Relations
.
Stephen Tallents was knighted in 1932.
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
- 11 September 1958, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
) was a British civil servant and public relations expert.
Educated at Harrow
Harrow School
Harrow School, commonly known simply as "Harrow", is an English independent school for boys situated in the town of Harrow, in north-west London.. The school is of worldwide renown. There is some evidence that there has been a school on the site since 1243 but the Harrow School we know today was...
and Balliol
Balliol College, Oxford
Balliol College , founded in 1263, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England but founded by a family with strong Scottish connections....
, he served as an officer in the Irish Guards
Irish Guards
The Irish Guards , part of the Guards Division, is a Foot Guards regiment of the British Army.Along with the Royal Irish Regiment, it is one of the two Irish regiments remaining in the British Army. The Irish Guards recruit in Northern Ireland and the Irish neighbourhoods of major British cities...
in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
until severely wounded at Festubert
Battle of Festubert
The Battle of Festubert was an attack by the British army in the Artois region of France on the western front during World War I. It began on May 15, 1915 and continued until May 25.-Context:...
. He then worked at the Ministry of Munitions, transferring in 1916 to the Ministry of Food. In 1918 he became chief delegate for the Supply of Relief to Poland. In 1919 he was appointed British Commissioner for the Baltic Provinces and helped draw up the treaty that established Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
, Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
and Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
. He was secretary to the last Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, Lord FitzAlan
Edmund FitzAlan-Howard, 1st Viscount FitzAlan of Derwent
Edmund Bernard FitzAlan-Howard, 1st Viscount FitzAlan of Derwent KG, PC , known as Lord Edmund Talbot between 1876 and 1921, was a British Conservative politician and the last Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.-Background:...
.
He is best known for his work as the secretary of the Empire Marketing Board
Empire Marketing Board
The Empire Marketing Board was formed in May 1926 by the Colonial Secretary Leo Amery to promote inter-Empire trade and to persuade consumers to 'Buy Empire'...
(EMB) between 1926 and 1933. There he employed the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
-maker John Grierson
John Grierson
John Grierson was a pioneering Scottish documentary maker, often considered the father of British and Canadian documentary film. According to popular myth, in 1926, Grierson coined the term "documentary" to describe a non-fiction film.-Early life:Grierson was born in Deanston, near Doune, Scotland...
and commissioned artists including: Clive Gardiner, E. McKnight Kauffer, and Frank Newbould
Frank Newbould
Frank Newbould was an English poster artist, born in Bradford.Educated at Bradford College of Art and Camberwell School of Art, he worked mostly in London from the interwar period specialising in travel posters...
to produce a series of large posters, promoting British and Empire produce. Following the demise of the EMB in 1933 Tallents moved to the GPO
GPO
-Organisations:*General Post Office **General Post Office UK*German Patent Office, *United States Government Printing Office, a federal government agency*Green Party of Ontario, a policial party in Ontario, Canada...
, transferring the EMB's film unit with him which led to the production of classic documentaries such as Night Mail
Night Mail
Night Mail is a 1936 documentary film about a London, Midland and Scottish Railway mail train from London to Scotland, produced by the GPO Film Unit. A poem by English poet W. H. Auden was written for it, used in the closing few minutes, as was music by Benjamin Britten...
. Tallents would go on to work for the BBC as its first Controller of Public Relations and Deputy Director General under Lord Reith
John Reith, 1st Baron Reith
John Charles Walsham Reith, 1st Baron Reith, KT, GCVO, GBE, CB, TD, PC was a Scottish broadcasting executive who established the tradition of independent public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom...
.
In World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
his experience was employed at the Ministry of Information. Tallents gave St John's Jerusalem to the nation in 1943. In 1948 he became founder President of the Institute of Public Relations
Chartered Institute of Public Relations
The Chartered Institute of Public Relations is the professional body for PR practitioners in the United Kingdom. Founded in February 1948 as the Institute of Public Relations, by 2009 it had grown to over 9000 members involved in all aspects of the public relations industry, and is the largest...
.
Stephen Tallents was knighted in 1932.
External links
- Link to Sir Stephen Tallents' Papers at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies together with biographical notes
- Stephen Constantine, ‘Tallents, Sir Stephen George (1884–1958)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004, accessed 4 June 2007
- Biography at Screenonline
- Sir Stephen Opens New Post Office 1933 Stonehouse (Glos)