Roger Hiscox – former Engineer-in-Charge, Radio Lincolnshire



Roger Hiscox, who was the first Senior Engineer for BBC Radio Lincolnshire and was part of the team which launched the station in 1980 has died age 69. He had battled with cancer for several years.



The funeral took place at Lincoln Crematorium on Thursday October 22 and was attended by many of his former colleagues from the BBC. Also present were a number of councillors from Lincolnshire County Council on which Roger was the Lib-Dem group leader until earlier this year.



Roger applied to join the BBC at the age of 18 in 1958 – and was promptly told that the Corporation didn’t recruit engineers until they were 20; this allowed for A-level studies and then two years of National Service. Roger pointed out that National Service had been discontinued; he wasn't required to join the services. So could he join the BBC please?



Not for the last time in his career...the rules were changed and he got the job.



He was in Radio Outside Broadcasts until Radio Birmingham came along in 1970 and he worked there as the number two engineer with Stuart Miller until he was appointed EiC at Radio Lincolnshire in 1979.



After he took early retirement through ill health, Roger and his wife Lesley stayed on in Lincolnshire and Roger indulged the other passion of his working life – politics. He served on West Lindsey District Council for four years and served two terms on Lincolnshire County Council. He was also a member of his local parish council in the village of Hackthorn.



Dave Wilkinson, the first Programme Organiser at the station who went on to become Manager, recalled Roger’s commitment to setting up a local service for such a big county.



`` We had to cover the largest editorial area of any station and the local management view was that we needed to get out and about. Roger's background in Outside Broadcasts was ideal and he planned it with his usual enthusiasm. We built up a series of cars and caravans, mostly designed by Roger, which allowed us to cover any event. I think Roger wanted a bigger fleet than Eddie Stobart!



``The other way to cover a huge county was to have small studios in the market towns. It was essential that people could appear on the radio without having to travel to Lincoln. Roger and his team built studios in Stamford, Skegness, Boston, Gainsborough and three other places. Often he had to negotiate with landlords to sort out the space we needed and the 24 hour access. Maintenance and cleaning, decoration and repairs; Roger was supporting at least eight sets of studios.



``Along with the outside studios we needed to be able to work the radio car around the county. This meant lots of aerials in high places. Skegness Town Hall, Grantham Guildhall and perhaps the most spectacular was the top of Boston Stump. That meant climbing all those steps and arranging for a 13amp plug to be fitted at the top before installing our kit: Roger fixed it all.’’



Radio Lincolnshire’s staff newsletter had the following memory of Roger:  Like all decent BBC engineers he could talk the hind leg off a donkey and suffered the moods and technical incompetence of presenters and journos with unfailing good grace..if not a little exasperation.  





Roy Corlett

For me Roger's finest hour came at the opening of the Waterside Centre in Lincoln by Prince Charles and Princess Diana. Security was at a premium, and Clarence House was determined that we would be as restricted as possible, which would have ruined a major OB.
Suddenly, Roger spotted the shopping centre's closed circuit security cameras. We went to the control room and realised that wherever the royal duo went within the centre, they could be watched and reported  on from a single viewpoint.
The fluency of our subsequent coverage won praise from many quarters, and listeners were baffled as to how one reporter remained glued to the heels of the royals ... even when they split up to visit different areas!
A great memory, Roger!