Building – Page 125 – What Was Pebble Mill?

Queen’s Visit to Pebble Mill

The Queen visited Pebble Mill to celebrate the building’s tenth anniversary in 1981. She went on the set of Pebble Mill at One and talked to several members of staff. She is pictured with Phil Sidey, Head of Pebble Mill in photos 2 & 5, Jim Dumighan in photos 3,4 & 7, the man with the glasses is Mahendra Kaul OBE, one of the Asian Unit producers at the time, and in photos 5 and 10 the man on the extreme left is probably the late Alan Ford from the Postroom.

One person who was there but not pictured is the late John Pickles demoted from his job as head of BBC Scotland after his “Queen is dead” prank inevitably backfired.He was reduced to the ranks as manager of Radio WM & was definetly lurking wisely out of camera given the circumstances!He later took over BBC Hereford&Worcs.

Lynn Cullimore remembers: “I was stood with some of the cleaners and saw her quite close up. Did not get introduced though – don’t think I was grand enough for that. I remember we were designated where we could stand.”

Thanks to Ian Collins from post production for making these shots available, and to Conal O’Donnell, Jayne Savage, Jane McLean and Dave Milligan for providing additional information.

The Queen visiting Pebble Mill in 1981

Opening the new Pebble Mill Club

Phil Sidey & Keith Jones New Club Opening

When Pebble Mill was first built the bar was on the second floor of the building, at the back, overlooking the back field and the courtyard. It was a hub of activity and socialising where almost everyone would congregate at lunchtime and after work. It was probably the only place where all levels of production and crew would get together, and therefore it became a really productive place for bouncing off ideas and solving any production issues.

As the number of staff expanded, there was more pressure for office space. In the early 1980s the new Club was built in the Pebble Mill grounds on the far side of the brook. It was a single storey building with a kitchen, large and small bar-rooms, and administration offices. There was a terrace to sit out on in the summer, as well as tennis courts and football fields.

Going to the bar at lunchtime was called ‘going over the bridge’, because of the little bridge across the brook to get to the Club.

The photo shows Phil Sidey, who was Head of the Building and President of the Club, and Keith Jones, Club Chairman, ringing a bell to officially open the new Club, circa 1982.

Thanks to Gail Herbert (subsequent Chair of the Club) for making the photo available. Copyright resides with the original photographer.

BBC Staff Photo 2004

This photo was taken just before the closure of Pebble Mill in 2004. It was taken from the roof of the building with everyone assembled on the back lawn.

More staff than anticipated turned up, and so the ‘C’ had to have a double line of people.

You’ll also notice quite a few children in the photo, brought over from the Pebble Mill Staff Nursery, which was housed in a small wooden pavilion just a little way down the Bristol Road.

Studio C – Walkway Sign

Studio C Walkway Sign

This sign used to hang on the walkway at the back of Studio C at Pebble Mill. Studio C was originally the entrance foyer, which was then converted into the studio for Pebble Mill at One. It was later used for Good Morning with Anne and Nick. At the back of the foyer was a corridor which led to Studio A, Make Up and the dressing rooms. This corridor had to be closed when Studio C was being used, so that people weren’t walking through the back of shot. When the Studio was in use only the top sign was displayed, with the lower one being taken up and down, depending on whether you were allowed to walk through or not.

The sign was rescued by James Patterson from Pebble Mill before it was demolished and is now proudly displayed in the Post Production area of BBC Birmingham, in the Mailbox, next to the sink and the drinks machine!

Pebble Mill – First Day Covers

50 Years of Broadcasting first day cover

Pebble Mill 10th Anniversary first day cover

There were two ‘First Day Covers’ issued by the Royal Mail to commemorate anniversaries at Pebble Mill.

The first dates back to September 1972, and celebrates the 50th anniversary of the BBC. Special BBC stamps were produced. The stamp on the first envelope cost only 3p! The logo for this website is inspired from the ‘First Day Cover’ stamp on the envelope.

The second ‘First Day Cover’ marks the 10th birthday of BBC Pebble Mill, and dates from 10th Nov 1981. The price of the stamp has gone up to 14p by this time!

Thanks to Ian Collins from Post Production for making these available.