Ronald Leonard Stonham (9 July 1927 – 5 August 2014) was the Special Assistant to the Director of Personnel at 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 ...

until 1985, later caught up in the scandal over

MI5 MI5 ( Military Intelligence, Section 5), officially the Security Service, is the United Kingdom's domestic counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), Gov ...

monitoring of potential staff. He was educated at Portsmouth Grammar School, from where he joined the Post Office Engineering Department in 1944.

Biography

In 1948 he was granted an Emergency Commission in the

Royal Corps of Signals The Royal Corps of Signals (often simply known as the Royal Signals – abbreviated to R SIGNALS) is one of the combat support arms of the British Army. Signals units are among the first into action, providing the battlefield communications an ...

and posted to 2nd Divisional Signal Regiment in Germany. At the end of his National Service in 1949, he joined the Territorial Army with 3 (Line of Communication) Signal Regiment. Unfulfilled with civilian life after a taste of the military, he applied to return to the Royal Signals in 1951 and was granted a Regular Commission. He was posted to

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

then to the

Canal Zone The Panama Canal Zone (), also known as just the Canal Zone, was a concession of the United States located in the Isthmus of Panama that existed from 1903 to 1979. It consisted of the Panama Canal and an area generally extending on each side o ...

in early 1952, before moving to El Ballah to command 32nd Guards Brigade Signal Troop. It was here that he met his future wife, Joy, who was attached to the British Military Hospital. In 1954, the couple returned to Britain for their wedding and settled in

Richmond, Yorkshire Richmond is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It is located at the point where Swaledale, the upper valley of the River Swale, opens into the Vale of Mowbray. The town's population at the 2011 census was 8,413. The t ...

; the couple had three children. In 1957, Stonham was appointed Signal Officer, Joint Experimental Helicopter Unit at RAF

Middle Wallop Middle Wallop is a village in the civil parish of Nether Wallop in Hampshire, England, on the A343 road. At the 2011 Census the population was included in the civil parish of Over Wallop. The village has a public house, The George Inn, and ...

, where he was involved in day and night navigation and homing trials for military helicopters.Info re Joint Experimental Helicopter Unit
accessed 6 September 2014. Postings to Malaya and Germany followed during the childhood of their three daughters. Stonham became increasingly involved in intelligence-based jobs as he was promoted through to Lieutenant Colonel, taking command of 4th Division Headquarters and Signal Regiment in

Herford Herford (; ) is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, located in the lowlands between the hill chains of the Wiehen Hills and the Teutoburg Forest. It is situated in the cultural region of Ostwestfalen-Lippe (OWL) and the Detmold (administrat ...

until 1971. The two years following command were with the Defence Intelligence Staff at the Ministry of Defence, spending time with the American forces in Vietnam during the "Vietnamisation" programme, also visiting Laos and Cambodia. Promoted to Colonel in 1973, he was appointed Chief Instructor at the School of Signals in

Blandford Blandford Forum ( ) is a market town in Dorset, England, on the River Stour, Dorset, River Stour, north-west of Poole. It had a population of 10,355 at the United Kingdom 2021 census, 2021 census. The town is notable for its Georgian archit ...

for two years. This was followed by six months on the Senior Officers' War Course at the

Royal Naval College, Greenwich The Royal Naval College, Greenwich, was a Royal Navy training establishment between 1873 and 1998, providing courses for naval officers. It was the home of the Royal Navy's staff college, which provided advanced training for officers. The equi ...

, and then 18 months as Chief Signal Officer, Headquarters 3rd Division at

Bulford Bulford is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Wiltshire, England, near Salisbury Plain. The village is close to Durrington, Wiltshire, Durrington and about north of the town of Amesbury. The Bulford Camp army base is sep ...

. On promotion to Brigadier in 1978, he commanded 12 Signal Brigade (Volunteers), being appointed an Aide-de-Camp to the Queen in July 1980. His last tour, before retiring in July 1982, was as Brigadier General Staff (Author) in the Ministry of Defence where he wrote the classified operational history of the Northern Ireland campaign. As Special Assistant to the Director of Personnel, he occupied Room 105 at

Broadcasting House London Broadcasting House is the headquarters of the BBC, in Portland Place and Langham Place, London. The first radio broadcast from the building was made on 15 March 1932, and the building was officially opened two months later, on 15 May. T ...

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 ...

from 1982, following his departure from the

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

, until October 1988. The role he inherited at the BBC was to liaise with MI5 regarding whether candidates for roles at the broadcasting corporation had suspicious political connections, particularly with communism (see:

"Christmas tree" files From the 1930s until the 1980s, the BBC kept a number of clandestine files on applicants accused by MI5 of political subversion, in particular those deemed to be communists or fellow travellers of communism, and also members of far-right organisat ...

). However, Stonham's role from his appointment in 1982 was to 'wind down' the vetting and reduce the number of BBC staff appointments that were subject to vetting. Sir

Hugh Greene Sir Hugh Carleton Greene (15 November 1910 – 19 February 1987) was a British television executive and journalist. He was director-general of the BBC from 1960 to 1969. After working for newspapers in the 1930s, Greene spent most of his lat ...

, a former Director-General of the BBC, said about Security Service vetting of BBC job applicants:

''I was vetted in 1940. MI5 thought I was a Communist but it turned out to be a mistake.''

Michael Grade Michael Ian Grade, Baron Grade of Yarmouth (born 8 March 1943) is an English Media proprietor, television executive and businessman. He has held a number of senior roles in television, including controller of BBC1 (1984–1986), chief executive ...

, at the time Controller of

BBC 1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and Flagship (broadcasting), flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includ ...

, also commented on the existence of Room 105, where Stonham was based:

''I don't know about room 105, but it does sound like a good title for a drama series.''"The Blacklist in Room 105"
cambridgeclarion.org; accessed 30 August 2014.

Death

Stonham died on 5 August 2014, aged 87.Notice of death of Brig. Ronnie Stonham
accessed 18 August 2014
telegraph.co.uk; accessed 18 August 2014.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stonham, Ronnie 1927 births 2014 deaths Place of birth missing Place of death missing BBC people Military personnel from Portsmouth Royal Corps of Signals officers 20th-century British Army personnel Graduates of the Royal Naval College, Greenwich Mass media people from Portsmouth