Sir John Beresford Clark, KCMG,

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

, FKC (2 December 1902 – 2 August 1968) was a British broadcaster.

Biography

Clark was born in

West Hartlepool West Hartlepool was a predecessor of Hartlepool, County Durham, England. It developed in the Victorian era and took the name from its western position in the parish of what is now known as the Headland. The former town was originally formed ...

County Durham County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...

, in 1902, the elder son of Frederic and Lettia Clark. He was educated at

Rydal School Rydal Penrhos School is a private day school in Colwyn Bay, North Wales. It is the only Methodist school in the independent sector in Wales. It is located on multiple sites around the town with a site in the neighbouring village of Rhos-on-Sea wh ...

and

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

(he became President of the

University of London Union The University of London Union (ULU), known as Student Central after 2014, was the students' union of the federal University of London. Since the closure of its student governance, each student is instead primarily affiliated to a students' unio ...

in 1924)."Clark, Sir (John) Beresford"
''Who Was Who'' (online edition, Oxford University Press, December 2007). Retrieved 11 January 2018."Sir Beresford Clark", ''The Times'', 3 August 1968, p. 8. Beresford joined the

British Broadcasting Corporation The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public broadcasting, public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved in ...

(BBC) at

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

in 1924. After working for the BBC in Cardiff as a Talks Assistant and at

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, he joined the Empire Service, becoming its Director in 1935. In the late 1930s, he travelled abroad widely to explore the use and advances of broadcast technology. In 1938, the Empire Service was reorganised into the Overseas Service and he became its first director, overseeing foreign language broadcasts in the wake of the 1938 Munich Crisis.Anne Pimlott Baker
"Clark, Sir (John) Beresford (1902–1968)"
''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (online edition, Oxford University Press, 2004). Retrieved 12 January 2018. In 1941, the Overseas and European Services were separated, with Clark remaining as Controller of the Overseas Service; between 1944 and 1945 he served as Temporary Controller of European Services. From 1948 to 1952, he was Deputy Director of Overseas Services (once again incorporating the European Service) and was then Director of External Broadcasting from 1952 to 1964, when he retired. According to ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'', by the time of his death Clark had become, apart from

Lord Reith Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power (social and political), power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the Peerage o ...

, "the last of the B.B.C. pioneers. When he committed himself to the newly-born Overseas Service from which in the end so astonishing an effort and importance were to emerge in and after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he was in the position of a man who 'lit matches on

Dartmoor Dartmoor is an upland area in southern Devon, South West England. The moorland and surrounding land has been protected by National Park status since 1951. Dartmoor National Park covers . The granite that forms the uplands dates from the Carb ...

in a November gale hoping to find his way'". For his efforts in leading the Empire, European and Overseas services, he was appointed firstly a Commander of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE) in 1942 and then a Knight Commander of the

Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III ...

(KCMG) in 1958. He was also elected a

Fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

of his ''alma mater'' King's College London in 1964. He had married Edith Margery Cotton, daughter of Alfred and Edith Cotton in 1932, but they had no children. She was a keen promoter of improving race relations in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, where the couple made their home. Sir Beresford died there on 2 August 1968. His "rich" private papers formed a major source-base for

Asa Briggs Asa Briggs, Baron Briggs (7 May 1921 – 15 March 2016) was an English historian. He was a leading specialist on the Victorian era, and the foremost historian of broadcasting in Britain. Briggs achieved international recognition during his lon ...

' study of the development of British overseas and Empire broadcasting;Asa Briggs, ''The History of Broadcasting in the United Kingdom'', vol. 2 (Oxford University Press, 1995), p. xiv. Briggs dedicated the third volume of his ''History of Broadcasting in the United Kingdom'' to Clark.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Beresford 1902 births 1968 deaths People educated at Rydal Penrhos Alumni of King's College London British broadcasters Companions of the Order of the Bath Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Commanders of the Order of the British Empire