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This master plan for the BBC Pebble Mill site was produced by John Madin architect. It shows the existing green field site, of playing fields, as well as the plans for the building. The plans at this stage still included the helix car park and OB garage, which were never built, due to the cost.
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This note is held in the BBC Archives, and must have been written during a check of the new facilities at Pebble Mill before the building opened in 1971, as the address included is Carpenter Road in Edgbaston, the former BBC Birmingham headquarters.
I wonder what the Chief News Assistants were keeping in their desks to necessitate the locks, or was it that other members of the newsroom were particularly light-fingered, as well as being noisy?
Radio Birmingham being fed off the ringmain was obviously an after thought and had to be added in pencil!
Copyright resides with the original holder, no reproduction without permission.
The photo is from the Radio Times, July 1990, and is of me (Vanessa Jackson) in a Norfolk lavender farm, with some expert, whose name I forget! I was a researcher on Gardeners’ World at the time, and I couldn’t understand why the Radio Times wanted a photo of me, with the expert, rather than one of the presenters, especially as I was at least seven months pregnant at the time!
This was shortly before the series was handed over to Catalyst Television, and produced independently for 10 years.
Here is the Radio Times entry for the episode, courtesy of the BBC Genome project: http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/3d4dfe567db54f5d9544599bfd5a5728
“A visit to Dr Stefan Buczacki ‘s low-maintenance garden in Stratford-on-Avon; the lowdown on lavender, the sweet-smelling herb for edging and hedging; jobs for the week from Barnsdale; and a report on the mail-order bugs business – breeding predators and parasites to prey on white fly and other garden pests. With Geoff Hamilton , Nigel Colborn and Pippa Greenwood. Executive producer Stephanie Silk, Editor Dennis Adams
Plant list on Ceefax page 617. “
John Last on Juliet Bravo
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The photo shows actor, John Last getting ready for a recording of Juliet Bravo at Pebble Mill, Studio A.
Juliet Bravo was a police series, which went out on BBC1 from 1980-85; it was a London production, hosted at Pebble Mill. Here is an entry on the BBC Genome project, which gives Radio Times listings for an episode: http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/3f15aa86430649128412852960d4776a.
“My connection with Pebble Mill is rather a humble one, i.e. as a jobbing Equity member (actor) I seemed to end up at the studios on all manner of productions as an equally humble ‘walk-on’. It’s a rather tedious story, but the long and short of it is basically an association with a pretty long period of production therein. This is a ‘selfie’ (before the term was even thought of) taken in the downstairs dressing room for an episode of Juliet Bravo. A rather good series I feel. Strange to think just how long ago it all was?”
John Last
The following comments were left on the Pebble Mill Facebook page:
Susan Astle: ‘I was make up designer on this for a while, Lesley Weaver (Perry)was my assistant. Sue Peck, Nicky Deely and Joy were in wardrobe. Good times at The Sparrow Hawk!’
Stuart Gandy: ‘I remember it well, being in TV ops in the early 80s. Another of the many prime time shows made at the mill Good memories.’
Barry Smith, former Head of Personnel, has died suddenly in hospital. He moved his home from Warwickshire to Northern Ireland some years ago, having retired from Pebble Mill in 1991.
The following comment is from Louise Willcox, who remembers working with Barry Smith fondly:
“I am sorry to hear about Barry Smith. I spent many an interesting day negotiating with him, with my ‘lay’ BECTU hat on. He did his best to be honorable, within the constraints placed upon him by the BBC.
After him came the world of Human Resources – a role-change explained to me by a BBC Personnel Officer, who took demotion, rather than swap. The difference, she told me, was that a Personnel Officer’s role gave them the satisfaction of looking after the welfare of staff (from hardship loans to arranging time off for staff in emergencies), not just advising ‘the management’ on emloyment law and implementing change for them. Human Resources is the management of humans as units of work, only. I nicknamed Barry’s replacement the Head of Human Robots!
Barry was definitely Head of Personnel and felt his ‘duty of care’ keenly. My condolences to his family.”
(Thank you to Jim Dumighan, Annie Gumbley Williams and Louise Willcox for this information).
The following comments were left on the Pebble Mill Facebook page:
Marie Phillips: ‘I am very sorry to hear that former Head of Personnel and Administration, Barry Smith, died a week ago. Barry had lived in Belfast for some years since retiring and his Funeral was held there yesterday [15th Jan]. I was Secretary to his Deputies – Andy Tylee and Bridget Allen before moving to CIN and shared an Office with his Secretary, Jeanette Read. Barry always worked very hard in the very best interests of staff and I am sure there will be many memories of the help he gave.’
Andy Bentley: ‘I remember Barry manning the North Road gate during a strike, he said afterwards he could not believe the amount of abuse he got because the car park was full. He was very sympathetic to us after that.’
Jane Upston: ‘Dear Barry, a fantastic boss. I worked in Personnel for 10 years, first as Maggie Molloy’s and Barry’s P A and then as Personnel Officer Network Television. I remember you well Louise. I was then Jane Morgan.’
Ed Billington: ‘Sad to hear this news always a nice guy I remember sitting in my 3 wheeler outside pebble mill one night on picket duty for the union and he came to see if I was ok and told me if gets to cold go home to bed.’