I would like to contact my old boss Robbie Roberts who used to be TOM in London BH control room.
He was a great character.
Also would love to chat to Eugene Fraser former Radio Four continuity announcer and teller of fine jokes!
Also if anyone has any information on my first TOM who was called Jim Howarth or Howath.
He must have had a very interesting life I think he was at BH during the war.
Many thanks
Chris Highton
Tech op BH ‘68-71

Hello Howard.

Although not on your list, I too was one of those 'Inmates' of LCR. Your period in LCR coincided with me working on recording stereo cartridges (outside of LCR) and subsequently working in Radio 2. That explains our not coming across each other. I returned to work in LCR in 1983, remaining there until I transferred to BBC Technology in 1996, to commission Stage 6.

The closure of Radio Networks (who's staff were the TOs who ran the Control Room and the Continuities) in 1987/8 was brought about by the coming of computerisation and technologies which would ultimately replace most of the manual operations which kept LCR in business.

The Uniselectors were on their last legs by the late 80s, and BT's 'Permanent Circuits' were then being supplied over digital trunks; TV's requirements for audio circuits was markedly reduced by permanent connections bypassing BH ... so something major had to be done! Birt-ism was about to strike the BBC as a whole, like it or not.

A change in Departmental Management saw Roy Rogers (H.E.R.N) post closed and the four TOMs (George Mowlem, [Johnnie Bradburn], John Rich, Ted Atkinson, Vince Hills and Robbie Roberts reduced to just two - Dick Oldman and Tony Giles.
Then the four shift ATOMs at that stage (including Ian Favell, Dick Oldman, Denis Borrow, and Frank Mines) were replaced by a 'different form', with Roy Clifford, Brian Roberts, Colin Prior and Ian Favell . Incidentally Colin Prior went on to become Head of the entire BBC OB Unit (TV & Radio), retiring in the early 2000s to set up a business fitting kitchens!!

Anyway, that arrangement didn't really last long: Roy Honey's position (Manager Ops, London Station) was closed, and the department was - albeit for a brief time! - run by Dick Oldman and Tony Giles, working to Iain McCraw (from TS,R)
George Legg (who'd been Manger Ops for Radio OBs) had taken over the newly reorganised department [Radio Resources] which included Tech Services (R), Radio Networks and Studio Managers. London Control Room staff (of whom there were over 120!) were then offered 3 choices: they could either transfer to Studio Managers (News or Group 5 predominantly). retrain as Engineers or take redundancy.

I seem to recall that thirteen TOs opted to retrain (myself included!), perhaps 90+ staff chose to move over to SMs, and perhaps 14 or so opted to take redundancy. There was, however, a small wrinkle for those who chose to take redundancy in that they would need to remain working in LCR keeping operations going whilst those who'd opted to retrain as engineers could be 'trained'. Also they would work alongside the engineers from one of the TS(R) groups who would become the mainstay of what would replace LCR. There were also five new posts created - Broadcast Duty Managers - who reported directly to  George Legg - Dick Oldman, Roy Clifford, Brian Roberts, Tony Giles and Dusty Miller (from SMs). Even before they took up posts, Tony Giles was given responsibility for running the "newly computer-assisted Control Room" so Mike Todd took up his position as a BDM. [My most recent information is that Barry Jones and Mark Ekiert have both retired as BDMs when New BH was completed and TV moved into the building. I learned this at Alan Short's funeral in 2023.]

That was pretty much the situation, at least until they pulled down BH Ext, BH XX (which had been built an top of the Stronghold, where the carpark was) as well as Egton House, to build the "New BH" of today. [I should add that there was a form of LCR working on the 3rd floor of old BH from when BH Ext was pulled down until New BH CAR was set up.]   

As for the people, I can tell you that Martin Ffoulkes, Malcolm Dearlove, Nick Hartree, Jim Breen, Vic Lewis, Algy Longworth, Ralph Jordan, Frank Crombie, Ted Atkinson, Mike Baines, Roy Clifford, Alan Short, Frank Mines and Vince Hills are all definitely deceased, with George Mowlem, John Bradbury, Robbie Roberts and Roy Honey also being "very likely" to have passed away by now. (i.e. Unfortunately, and in spite of the internet, I've lost all contact with them!). There are several others that you've not referred to (like John Daniels) ... but the list is undoubtedly considerably longer!

Anne Elliot, John Herbert, Jim Breen, Vic Lewis, Pete Page and Pete 'Penge' Davies all took the redundancy option. Steve Webb and Pete Newbury had both become engineers a few years earlier (Steve went to work as an engineer at Radio London, while Pete went to SCPD where he eventually became the lead engineer in the rebuilding project of the computer-assisted "Engineering Operations Centre"(!). He subsequently had an illustrious career building TV Studios for the likes of Al Jazzera!); Eric Wisbey had become an engineer in SCPD and Arthur Westwood had left LCR many years earlier for other employment: TTBOMK Paul Fournier went back to Canada. Pete Laugalis and Steve Wiseman went to work at Thames TV; Dan Damon became a broadcast journalist in'82 (and with his wife Sian) spent seven years filming the downfall of the Soviet Union throughout Eastern Europe! He then returned to the BBC to work as a presenter and reporter for BBC World Service and BBC Radio 4. For reasons unknown he's not been heard broadcasting since 2020; Mike Todd and Brian Roberts both retired as BDMs; Phil Hughes became Head of Radio 2 Music Programmes (although he's now retired!); Wynne Davies left to go the Swansea Sound (he was working as an IT Consultant in '95, but then changed to become a music teacher in 2005); Malcolm Stokes went to Radio OBs; Clive Williamson left to become an author of computing books (as well as a Musician with his South American wife, if memory serves!); Tony Life took on responsibility for some internal computer systems, and Steve Dodds continued as an SM - both retired relatively recently after their years!
Neil Espley has retired to Cyprus; Barry Ainsworth opted to retrain as an engineer, but unfortunately was made redundant a couple of years later when further staff cuts were required as a result of Birt-ism. Tony Giles continues to live in Bishops Stortford whilst Dick Oldman remains living in Wickford, after suffering a bout of throat cancer (both are obviously long retired!).
I've done my best to keep abreast of what happens to most old TOs and this reflects the best information I have. I hope I've covered most events factually correct! and that I've not marked someone as passed when they haven't!!