Leslie Baily (14 December 1906 – 21 February 1976) was an English journalist, and a writer and producer for

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927. The service provides national radio stations cove ...

from 1924 to 1946. He was known for his books about

Gilbert and Sullivan Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900) and to the works they jointly created. The two men collaborated on fourteen com ...

and his BBC Radio ''

Scrapbook Scrapbook may refer to: * Scrapbooking, the process of making a scrapbook Software * Scrapbook, an early (1970s) information storage and retrieval system developed at the National Physical Laboratory in the United Kingdom * Scrapbook (Mac OS), ...

'' programmes.

Life and career

Baily was born in

St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...

, Hertfordshire, and educated at the Friends' School, Sibford, near Banbury, and

Cheltenham Grammar School Pate's Grammar School is a grammar school with Academy (English school), academy status in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. It caters for pupils aged 11 to 18. The school was founded with a fund bestowed to Corpus Christi College, Oxford, ...

."Mr Leslie Baily", ''The Times'', 25 February 1976, p. 17 He joined the staff of ''The Yorkshire Evening News'' at

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

, where he became the paper's wireless correspondent. From there, he joined the

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

, and was responsible for a succession of features, plays, adaptations and revues first in the Leeds and

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 ...

studios of the BBC and then in London. Baily's ''Scrapbook'' series began as a BBC North Regional broadcast in 1932. He later described it as "merely a selection of rather unusual items of music, drama and curious information, presented in rapid panorama. There was no theme or period".Baily, Leslie. "How the 'Scrapbooks' are Made", ''

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in September 1923 by John Reith, then general manage ...

'', 4 November 1934, p. 355 From the fourth Scrapbook, in March 1933, the programme was broadcast nationally. In December 1933 the Scrapbook concentrated on a single year – 1913 – with sound clips relating to "the world at work and play; the Volturno disaster; "Everybody's Doing It"; the Beecham Opera Season; " Pelissier Follies"; the

Suffragettes A suffragette was a member of an activist women's organisation in the early 20th century who, under the banner "Votes for Women", fought for women's suffrage, the right to vote in public elections in the United Kingdom. The term refers in part ...

; the

Tango Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries from a combination of Arge ...

craze; '' Hindle Wakes'';

George Formby George Formby, (born George Hoy Booth; 26 May 1904 – 6 March 1961), was an English actor, singer-songwriter and comedian who became known to a worldwide audience through his films of the 1930s and 1940s. On stage, screen and record he ...

;

Vesta Tilley Matilda Alice Powles, Lady de Frece (13May 186416September 1952) was an English music hall performer. She adopted the stage name Vesta Tilley and became one of the best-known male impersonators of her era. Her career lasted from 1869 until 19 ...

;

H. H. Asquith Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928) was a British statesman and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1908 to 1916. He was the last ...

;

Marie Lloyd Matilda Alice Victoria Wood (12 February 1870 – 7 October 1922), professionally known as Marie Lloyd (), was an English music hall singer, comedian and musical theatre actress. She was best known for her performances of songs such as "The Boy ...

;

Ragtime Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that had its peak from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its Syncopation, syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers ...

;

Pavlova Pavlova is a meringue-based dessert. Originating in either Australia or New Zealand in the early 20th century, it was named after the Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova.Boylen, Jeremy (reporter) (20 August 2004)Pavlova''George Negus Tonight'', Au ...

, etc." Scrapbooks for other years followed in quick succession. From 1936 Baily and his co-producer Charles Brewer broadcast ''Star-Gazing'', which alternated with the ''Scrapbooks''; in each of these programmes, dubbed "radiobiographies", a popular stage or screen star reminisced about his or her career. Among the one-off programmes devised and presented by Baily was a "Farewell to Daly's", to mark the closure of

Daly's Theatre Daly's Theatre was a theatre in the City of Westminster. It was located at 2 Cranbourn Street, just off Leicester Square. It opened on 27 June 1893, and was demolished in 1937. The theatre was built for and named after the American impresa ...

. A series on famous music halls began in 1938."Leslie Baily"
BBC Genome. Retrieved 18 November 2019 During 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 ...

Baily gave the ''Scrapbook'' series a new look as ''Everybody's Scrapbook'', designed to provide a link with the Empire; the formula pleased Canada and Australia as much as Britain. Another long-running series was ''Travellers' Tales'', "Adventures and misadventures, songs and stories from lands overseas, told by world-wide travellers". After the war the ''Scrapbook'' series continued, and in 1947 "Gilbert and Sullivan" was first broadcast. It was billed as "a radio biography in six parts", and featured

Carleton Hobbs Carleton Percy Hobbs, OBE (18 June 1898 – 31 July 1978) was an English actor with many film, radio and television appearances. He portrayed Sherlock Holmes in 80 radio adaptations in a series of a series of Sherlock Holmes radio dramas (opp ...

as narrator, with D. A. Clarke-Smith as

W. S. Gilbert Sir William Schwenck Gilbert (18 November 1836 – 29 May 1911) was an English dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator best known for his collaboration with composer Arthur Sullivan, which produced fourteen comic operas. The most fam ...

and

Ivan Samson Ivan Samson (28 August 1894 – 1 May 1963) was a British stage, film and television actor. Samson appeared regularly in West End plays and from 1920 began appearing in British silent films. He played Viscount de Mornay in '' I Will Repay'' ...

Arthur Sullivan Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan (13 May 1842 – 22 November 1900) was an English composer. He is best known for 14 comic opera, operatic Gilbert and Sullivan, collaborations with the dramatist W. S. Gilbert, including ''H.M.S. Pinaf ...

; the music was performed by singers including Gwen Catley,

Sylvia Cecil Sylvia Cecil (c. 1898 – c. 1983) was an English singer and actress. She began her career in the Gilbert and Sullivan operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, with whom she performed, off and on, from 1918 until 1937. She also performed in ...

, Mary Jarred,

Winifred Lawson Winifred Lawson (15 November 1892 – 30 November 1961) was an English opera and concert singer in the first half of the 20th century. She is particularly remembered for her performances in the soprano roles in the Gilbert and Sullivan operas as ...

Charles Heslop Charles Heslop (8 June 1883 in Thames Ditton, England – 13 April 1966) was a British actor. His stage successes include a musical version of '' Tons of Money'', which toured Australia for Hugh J. Ward in 1924, co-starring Dot Brunton. ...

and Richard Lewis, conducted by Stanford Robinson. In preparing the script Baily had many conversations with people who had known Gilbert and Sullivan, including

Nancy McIntosh Nancy Isobel McIntosh (25 October 1866 – February 20, 1954) was an American-born singer and actress who performed mostly on the London stage. Her father was a member of the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club, which had been blamed in connec ...

Rupert D'Oyly Carte Rupert D'Oyly Carte (; 3 November 1876 – 12 September 1948) was an English hotelier, theatre owner and impresario, best known as proprietor of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company and Savoy Hotel from 1913 to 1948. Son of the impresario and hotelie ...

, and

Newman Flower Sir Walter Newman Flower (8 July 1879 – 12 March 1964) was an English publisher and author. He transformed the fortunes of the publishing house Cassell & Co, and later became its proprietor. As an author, he published studies of the composers G ...

. The series was remade in 1949, with

Charles Groves Sir Charles Barnard Groves CBE (10 March 191520 June 1992) was an English conductor. He was known for the breadth of his repertoire and for encouraging contemporary composers and young conductors. After accompanying positions and conducting ...

succeeding Robinson as conductor. The last ''Scrapbook'' researched by Baily – for the year 1917 – was broadcast in August 1973. Baily wrote or compiled many books. Some were printed versions of his BBC programmes: ''Travellers' Tales'' and the ''Scrapbooks''. ''The Gilbert and Sullivan Book'', first published in 1952, drew from and elaborated on his BBC series. Baily and his collaborators drew on the book for the script of the 1953 film '' The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan''. A reviewer later wrote, "Baily didn't hesitate to fictionalize parts of his book in order to make for a better story, and he doesn't hesitate in the film either. However, the film brilliantly conveys the spirit of what the G&S partnership was about.""The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan"
Gilbert and Sullivan Discography. Retrieved 18 November 2019 Baily died aged 69 at his home in

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Baily, Leslie 1906 births 1976 deaths BBC radio producers British male journalists British non-fiction writers People from St Albans 20th-century English non-fiction writers