Bernard Charles Sendall (30 April 1913 - 25 May 1996) was a

Civil Servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

and an executive member of the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English ...

Independent Television Authority The Independent Television Authority (ITA) was an agency created by the Television Act 1954 to supervise the creation of "Independent Television" (ITV (TV network), ITV), the first commercial television network in the United Kingdom. The ITA exi ...

(ITA). However, he is probably best known as the author of the first two books in the six-volume ''Independent Television in Britain'' series, widely regarded as the definitive history of the first 37 years of the ITV service.

Early life

Sendall grew up in the town of

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Englan ...

where he attended the Royal Grammar School. He studied Modern History at Magdalen College, Oxford, graduating with a first class degree at the age of 20. After leaving Oxford, he studied as a postgraduate at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

Civil Service

Sendall joined the British Civil Service in 1935 and from 1941 to 1945 was Private Secretary to

Brendan Bracken Brendan Rendall Bracken, 1st Viscount Bracken, PC (15 February 1901 – 8 August 1958) was an Irish-born businessman, politician and a minister in the British Conservative cabinet. He is best remembered for supporting Winston Churchill durin ...

, the

Minister of Information An information minister (also called minister of information) is a position in the governments of some countries responsible for dealing with information matters; it is often linked with censorship and propaganda. Sometimes the position is given to ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. After the war, the defunct Ministry of Information was re-established as the

Central Office of Information The Central Office of Information (COI) was the UK government's marketing and communications agency. Its Chief Executive reported to the Minister for the Cabinet Office. It was a non-ministerial department, and became an executive agency and a t ...

. Sendall helped with the transition and became the Central Office's first Controller between 1946 and 1949. He then went on to act as Controller of the

Festival of Britain The Festival of Britain was a national exhibition and fair that reached millions of visitors throughout the United Kingdom in the summer of 1951. Historian Kenneth O. Morgan says the Festival was a "triumphant success" during which people: ...

until 1951 a job for which he was honoured with the

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in 1952.

Television

In 1955, Sendall joined the

, initially as Secretary but later the deputy to the

Director-General A director general or director-general (plural: ''directors general'', ''directors-general'', ''director generals'' or ''director-generals'' ) or general director is a senior executive officer, often the chief executive officer, within a governmen ...

, Sir Robert Fraser. (Fraser, like Sendall, was one of several senior figures in Independent Television who had previously worked in the information services.) He remained in the post throughout the Authority's metamorphosis into the

Independent Broadcasting Authority The Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) was the regulatory body in the United Kingdom for commercial television ( ITV and Channel 4 and limited satellite television regulation – cable television was the responsibility of the Cable A ...

in 1972 and eventually retired in 1977. On retirement, he was awarded the Royal Television Society gold medal for his durable contribution to television. Sendall wrote and published the first two volumes of ''Independent Television in Britain'', the official history of ITV in 1982 and 1983 respectively. The series was subsequently continued by other writers.

References

* Sendall, Bernard ''Independent Television in Britain: Volume 1 - Origin and Foundation 1946-62'' London: The Macmillan Press Ltd 1982 * Sendall, Bernard ''Independent Television in Britain: Volume 2 - Expansion and Change 1958-68'' London: The Macmillan Press Ltd 1983 {{DEFAULTSORT:Sendall, Bernard 1913 births 1996 deaths Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford ITV people British writers Harvard University alumni People educated at the Royal Grammar School Worcester