There can’t be too many BBC Local Radio Managers who have faced Christmas in gaol because a government objected to one of their station’s programmes.

But that is the dubious distinction that was held by Reg Brookes, former Manager of Radio Guernsey, who died in hospital at Plymouth aged 76.

The former Head of Local Programmes for BBC South and West, Derek Woodcock, recalled that a major story broke for the island station when the captain and officers of a cargo ship abandoned the vessel in the harbour because they hadn’t been paid and they couldn’t pay the harbour fees. None of them spoke English.

"The harbour authority impounded the ship and local people provided food for the crew until decisions could be reached about ownership, liability and who would pay for repatriation.

"There was some confusion about the legal position so Radio Guernsey interviewed a maritime lawyer from Southampton to try to clarify the situation.

"Things happened fast after that. The police seized the tape and Reg and the reporter were accused of contempt by the Bailiff in his capacity as senior judge on the island.

"Christmas was approaching and there was a real threat that Reg could be held in custody until a trial in January.

"But BBC lawyers stepped-in and he was released immediately on bail.

``There was a real issue here about BBC editorial freedom which Reg was determined to uphold. And he did so stoically like the real professional that he was.

"We went to trial and the presiding judge turned out to be none other than the person who brought the charge, the Bailiff, sitting with other States members.

"There was no clear Guernsey case law to draw on so we sat through hours of legal argument, referring at times to bits of French law, Norman law and UK law.

"Consequently, Reg and the reporter were discharged but the BBC was found guilty and ordered to pay a nominal fine of a few hundred pounds. This was later quashed on appeal.

``Reg had triumphed. He’d resisted the original intimidation of an arrest and, with a little bit of help from various quarters, toughed it out to the bitter end.

"He was a wonderful journalist; resolute and steadfast in pursuit of the BBC’s integrity and editorial freedom. His own integrity and humanity were never in doubt’’.

Before his appointment to Guernsey, Reg had a varied journalistic career on the mainland. He started out as a weekly newspaper reporter in his native Crewe and then joined the Liverpool Daily Post and Echo as a district reporter.

From there he moved to BBC Radio Merseyside as a producer in 1969 and helped to launch the broadcasting careers of a number of people including comedian Tom O’Connor (then a local schoolteacher) and Robert Kilroy Silk who later became a Merseyside MP.

Reg was well known as the chairman of the station’s weekly discussion programme, Cue for Questions, and another series which featured interviews with local celebrities including the former hangman Albert Pierrepoint who had retired to Southport.

In 1983, with the launch of the launch of BBC Radio Devon, Reg was appointed senior producer in charge of the Plymouth studios and pioneered programme sharing in the area with Afternoon Sou’West, a phone in show which was broadcast each weekday afternoon on Radio Devon and Radio Cornwall.

I had worked with Reg at Merseyside and knew his strengths. He was just the sort of rounded news and programmes man who was needed to run a vital operation for two radio stations trying to make their mark in a very competitive area.

A thoughtful, patient sort of chap who would quietly offer the helping hand or a piece of well-timed advice to younger, often inexperienced, staff.

After Reg’s death I received many messages from colleagues and friends recalling how he had guided many people in the early days of their careers.  One of them, Janice Long, took the night off from her Radio 2 show to travel north for the funeral at Sandbach.

Reg leaves a wife, Freda and a married daughter, Linda.

Roy Corlett
Former Manager Radio Devon