Ralph Wightman (26 July 1901 – 28 May 1971) was an English lecturer, journalist, author, and radio and television broadcaster. He wrote many books on farming and the countryside and in the 1950s and 1960s became a well-known national figure, especially as a regular guest on the

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 ...

programme ''

Any Questions? ''Any Questions?'' is a British topical discussion programme "in which a panel of personalities from the worlds of politics, media, and elsewhere are posed questions by the audience". It is typically broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on Fridays at 20: ...

Life

A younger son of Tom Wightman, a farmer, and butcher of Piddletrenthide in

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

, Wightman was educated at Beaminster Grammar School and Armstrong College, Newcastle, part of the

University of Durham Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by royal charter in 1837. It was the first recognised university to ...

, where he graduated BSc in

agricultural chemistry Agricultural chemistry is the chemistry, especially organic chemistry and biochemistry, as they relate to agriculture. Agricultural chemistry embraces the structures and chemical reactions relevant in the production, protection, and use of Crop, ...

.The Ralph Wightman Story
at dorset-ancestors.com, accessed 1 February 2014‘WIGHTMAN, Ralph’, in '' Who Was Who 1971–1980'' (London: A. & C. Black, 1989 reprint, ); online edition by Oxford University Press, December 2007 From 1923 to 1927, he was a lecturer on agriculture for

Devon County Council Devon County Council is the county council administering the English county of Devon. The council is based at Devon County Hall in the city of Exeter. The area administered by the county council is termed the non-metropolitan county, which is ...

, then from 1927 to 1930 for

Wiltshire County Council Wiltshire Council, known between 1889 and 2009 as Wiltshire County Council, is the local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Wiltshire in South West England, and has its headquarters at County Hall in Trowbridge. Since 2009 it has bee ...

, before, in 1930, he returned home as Senior Agricultural Adviser to Dorset County Council. He gave up that work in 1948 to become a

freelance ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...

writer and broadcaster, having begun to give talks on radio in the 1930s. 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 ...

, Wightman began to broadcast once a week to the United States on English country life, and he gave 290 such "Trans-Atlantic talks". His radio work nearer home included a feature on the

BBC Home Service The BBC Home Service was a national and regional radio station that broadcast from 1939 until 1967, when it was replaced by BBC Radio 4. History 1922–1939: Interwar period Between the early 1920s and the outbreak of World War II, the BBC ...

programme ''Country Magazine'', which focuses on country life in a different place around England every week. As a broadcaster specializing in farming and the countryside, Wightman was soon seen as the natural successor to his

mentor Mentorship is the patronage, influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the perso ...

A. G. Street, and from the 1950s on, he established himself as a national figure, known for his books, his column in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', and his radio and television work. On 15 April 1957, he was Roy Plomley guest on ''

Desert Island Discs ''Desert Island Discs'' is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme on 29 January 1942. Each week a guest, called a " castaway" during the programme, is asked to choose eight audio recordin ...

'', choosing music by

Elgar Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, (; 2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestr ...

, Vaughan Williams,

Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include symphonie ...

Strauss Strauss, Strauß, or Straus is a common Germanic surname. Outside Germany and Austria ''Strauß'' is usually spelled ''Strauss'' (the letter " ß" is not used in the German-speaking part of Switzerland). In classical music, "Strauss" most com ...

Parry Parry may refer to: People * Parry (surname) * Parry (given name) Fictional characters * Parry, protagonist of the movie ''The Fisher King'', played by Robin Williams * Parry in the series '' Incarnations of Immortality'' by Piers Anthony * ...

Paul Robeson Paul Leroy Robeson ( ; April 9, 1898 – January 23, 1976) was an American bass-baritone concert artist, actor, professional American football, football player, and activist who became famous both for his cultural accomplishments and for h ...

, and

Bill Haley William John Clifton Haley (; July 6, 1925 – February 9, 1981) was an American rock and roll musician. He is credited by many with first popularizing this form of music in the early 1950s with his group Bill Haley & His Comets and million-sel ...

. In 1924, Wightman married Margaret Dorothy Wiggins. He died on 28 May 1971 at Dorchester Hospital after a severe fall in which he had broken his skull. His address at the time was Tudor House,

Puddletown Puddletown is a village in the civil parish of Athelhampton and Puddletown, in Dorset, England. It is situated by the River Piddle, from which it derives its name, about northeast of the county town Dorchester, Dorset, Dorchester. Its earlier ...

In popular culture

Wightman was the model for the countryman Arthur Fallowfield, a comic character created by

Kenneth Williams Kenneth Charles Williams (22 February 1926 – 15 April 1988) was a British actor and comedian. He was best known for his comedy roles and in later life as a raconteur and diarist. He was one of the main ensemble in 26 of the 31 ''Carry ...

in '' Beyond Our Ken'', notable for his Dorset accent and his catch-phrase "the answer lies in the soil". Denis Gifford, ''The Golden Age of Radio: an illustrated companion'' (1985), p. 21

Books

*''Moss Green Days: talks on English country life'' (Westhouse, 1948) *''My Homeward Road'' (London: 1950) *''Arable Farming'' (Country Books No. 5, 1951) *''Watching the Certain Things'' (London: Cassell, 1951) *''Livestock Farming'' (Country Books No. 7, 1952) *''Days on the Farm: with an introduction by Francis Dillon'' (London: Hutchinson, 1952, illustrated by Clifford Webb) *''The Seasons'' (London: Cassell, 1953) *''The Wessex Heathland'' (London: Robert Hale, 1953) *''Revolution on the Land'' (Newman Neame, 1956) *''Rural Rides: with Ralph Wightman through Cobbett's England'' (London: Cassell, 1957) *''Hayfork and Combine'' (Newman Neame, 1960) *''Abiding Things'' (London: Cassell, 1962) *'' Portrait of Dorset'', (London, Robert Hale, 1st edition 1965) *''Take Life Easy'' (Pelham Books, 1968) *''The Countryside Today'' (Pelham Books, 1970) *''Wallace's Ground'' (Pelham Books, 1971)

Notes

External links

The Ralph Wightman Story
at dorset-ancestors.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Wightman, Ralph 1901 births 1971 deaths English male journalists English broadcasters Writers from Dorset People educated at Beaminster Grammar School Alumni of Armstrong College, Durham