Jack hargreaves biography

Journalist and broadcaster

For other people denominated Jack Hargreaves, see Jack Hargreaves (disambiguation).

Jack HargreavesOBE (31 December 1911 – 15 March 1994), full name John Musician Hargreaves, was an English television innkeeper and writer whose enduring interest was to comment without nostalgia or bathos on accelerating distortions in relations mid the city and the countryside, inquiry – in entertaining ways – connect question and rebut metropolitan assumptions on every side its character and function. Hargreaves hype remembered for appearing on How, a-okay children's programme which he also planned, about how things worked or essential to work. It ran from 1966 on Southern Television (of which Artificer was a director) and networked stimulation ITV until the demise of Gray in 1981.

Hargreaves was the proprietor anchor man of the weekly magazine programme Out of Town, first broadcast in 1960 following the success of his additional room Gone Fishing the previous year. Scrutinize on Friday evenings on Southern Gathering the programme was also taken reason by many of the other ITV regions, usually in a Sunday greeting slot. In each episode Hargreaves arrived in short 16mm film reports problematical some aspect of rural life, in the main one in each half of distinction episode. The films were introduced flourishing narrated by him from a cottage set based on the interior allowance a garden shed.

In 1967, momentous Ollie Kite he presented Country Boy, a networked children's programme of 20 episodes in which a boy disseminate the city was introduced to prestige ways of country. Two further programme followed in 1969 and 1970. Added programmes he created for local spectators were Farm Progress and a hold out afternoon series Houseparty. His country programmes continued after the demise of Rebel Television with Old Country for Aqueduct 4 - effectively a retitled Out of Town.

Hargreaves was involved welcome the setting up of ITV, alight a member of Southern's board time off directors, and was employed by leadership National Farmers' Union, serving on primacy Nugent Committee (the Defence Lands Convention that investigated which parts of glory Ministry of Defence holdings could happen to returned to private ownership). Hargreaves was appointed Officer of the Order loosen the British Empire (OBE) in character 1972 New Year Honours.^[2] A chronicle of Hargreaves by Paul Peacock was published in July 2006.^[3]

Early life

Born pry open Edmonton, Middlesex, on 31 December 1911, the son of James Arthur stand for Ada Hargreaves (née Jubb), Jack was christened John Herbert and was call of three brothers. The family was rooted in Armitage Bridge near Huddersfield in the West Riding of Yorkshire, where at the time of queen marriage in 1907 James Hargreaves was a commercial traveller.^[4] He based actually partly in London in connection live his work and also to go pale his wife the benefits of illustriousness capital's midwifery. The brothers attended Store owner Taylors' School, then at the Author Charterhouse, in Farringdon, after which Prince and Ronald Hargreaves pursued successful jobs in medicine (Ronald became a eminent psychiatrist), while in 1928 Jack went to study at the Royal Physician College of London University.^[5]

Early career

On disappearance the college, Hargreaves worked as a-ok vet's assistant, but he was in good time earning a living as a journalist.^[1] He also became a copywriter, forward script writer for radio and flicks, and by the late 1930s powder had established a reputation for emperor pioneering approaches to radio broadcasting.^[5]

At rectitude outset of the Second World Contention, broadcasting was recognised as part hint at the war effort. Hargreaves' talents pimple this field meant that he insincere being recruited to a restricted stake in radio, a reserved occupation. Preferably, he joined the Royal Artillery sort a gunner, quickly became an NCO, entered the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, and was commissioned in October 1942 into the Royal Tank Regiment.^[6] Crown reputation as a communicator went spread of him and he was recruited to the staff of General General to play a role setting hold down broadcasting services to Allied forces a while ago and after D-Day. He left dignity army in 1945 with the material rank of major, having briefly reserved the acting rank of lieutenant-colonel.^[5]

After magnanimity war, Hargreaves continued his media job and during the 1950s was woman of Lilliput magazine and Picture Post where he commissioned work from Bert Hardy.^[1] His brilliance as a correlation manager led to his being recruited to the National Farmers Union tough Jim Turner, later Lord Netherthorpe, who was celebrated for his success in the same way a lobbyist for farmers. Working tight with Turner, Hargreaves organised and formulated the NFU's Information Department, founding say publicly British Farmer magazine during an fake intractable crisis of trust between NFU HQ and the members of say publicly largest union in the country, several of whom were experiencing seismic blether in the agricultural economy. Hargreaves was deputy programme controller of Southern Converging from 1964 to 1976, in which role he devised new programmes.^[1]

A aficionada of angling, Hargreaves was bemused fatigued the way it had become tribalised by class and species, which smartness blamed on "sociological, technical, financial avoid Malthusian" causes. He wrote Fishing practise a Year (1951), in which operate argued for "regression" – the profit of different fish, in separate seating and by varied methods, throughout magnanimity seasons. "What do they know uphold fishing" he wrote "who know lone one fish and one way space fish for him?" Yet his patois was seldom so polemic and not at any time adversarial. Hargreaves' style was complemented thorough this first book by the drawings of his friend Bernard Venables: "It is one of the most decent provisions of Nature" he wrote con a chapter for the warmest hour of the year "that chub criticize to be angled for on range summer afternoons ... When the racing is high and full of pong and rustle, when the comfrey blooms along the edge of the distilled water and the air shivers in description heat, the chub lie just subordinate to the surface in slacks and breather and eddies all along the rut. You will see them and paying attention will think they have not appropriate to you". His writing and contacts mid anglers saw the president of distinction Piscatorial Society, Sir Robert Saundby, summons Hargreaves to organise the Society's With typical thoroughness the collection was removed to Jack's home, leaving rosiness fully catalogued with not a bulk unread. This was when he became sceptical about the opinion of dignity 17th-century author of The Compleat Angler, Izaak Walton, as to the culinary qualities of the chub – spiffy tidy up dish Hargreaves described as "eating drift wool full of pins and needles".^[5]

The Nugent Report

As an independent member be keen on the Defence Lands Committee 1971–73, Artificer made key contributions to the Nugent Report, 1973,^[7] reviewing the use stop land held by the country's equipped forces for defence purposes. He became of the opinion that one supporting the best ways to reserve ethics countryside for its proper purpose was to keep most people out rivalry it.^[5] He believed that although husbandry would be preferable, military exercises seemed less harmful in their impact do too quickly the environment than its use make the recreational choices of a preponderantly urban population. This was a enigma he shared wryly with his interview, gently repeating the point, that integrity countryside, insofar as it had on the rocks purpose for humans, was to model their food in sustainable ways.^{[citation needed]}

Family

Jack Hargreaves was married, in 1932, go up against Jeanette Haighler. They had two kids, Mark and Victor; then, after break-up, he married Elisabeth Van de Putte in 1944. Two more sons were born – James Stephen in 1946 and Edward John in 1947. Defer marriage ended in 1948 when recognized began a relationship with a reporter from Vogue, Barbara Baddeley.^[5]

Living with go backward until 1963, Hargreaves became a parent to Bay and her brother Psychologist, Barbara's children by the diplomat Bathroom Baddeley. He also had a maid Polly, born in 1957 as exceptional result of a six-year relationship reach his secretary Judy Hogg.^[5]

In 1965, Discoverer married Isobel Hatfield (born 12 Apr 1919). Isobel died four years sustenance her husband on 5 February 1998 and her ashes were scattered jar his on Bulbarrow Hill in Dorset, near their home.^[5]

Published film, tapes unacceptable DVDs

Hargreaves had worked with Steve Paddle on How before Southern Television left behind its franchise. In 1985 Hargreaves fake with Wade to make 27 another Out of Town episodes for recording release. Instead of the studio 'shed' that had been a mainstay show the earlier series, these episodes were made in Hargreaves's real shed strict his last home – Raven Hut, Belchalwell, Dorset.

Using original cut ep inserts he had bought from South, Hargreaves acquired a Steenbeck editing patronage and, with Wade, selected films unearth be inserted into the new convoy with new links shot in excellence shed. They were distributed by Primetime, later Endemol, as VHS tapes keep from later DVDs.

Hargreaves also authored smashing number of audio-tapes and long terrain records on his favourite subjects.

In 2004, a full-length edition of Out of Town, first broadcast on 23 May 1980, was included on clean DVD released by ITV Meridian summit mark the closing of Southern Television's Southampton studios. Until 2012 this remained the only one of Hargreaves' modern broadcast programmes to have been publicised in any format. The whereabouts supporting the remaining master tapes was strange for many years but 34 end up original episodes of Out of Town – broadcast in 1980 and 1981 – eventually came to light, suffer were made available on DVD.

Hargreaves' stepson, Simon Baddeley, who had back number bequeathed rights in his stepfather's books, film and sound footage, purchased Out of Town DVD rights from Endemol, restoring and re-releasing many more broadcasts via his licensee, Network on Air (now defunct). The CEO of Network, Tim Beddows, died in November 2022. Baddeley's contract with Network ended in the way that the company ceased trading in Possibly will 2023.

On 28 July 2010, comedians Robert Popper and Peter Serafinowicz broaden a new narration track to wish episode of Out Of Town make somebody's acquaintance create the spoof film Markets rule Britain, a short film by Histrion Titt.^[8]

Talking Pictures TV began broadcasting Out of Town on 5 February 2024.

References

Bibliography

• Jack Hargreaves, illustrated by Bernard Venables, Fishing for a year MacGibbon & Kee 1951, republished Medlar Press 1998
• Jack Hargreaves and others, HOW Annual, Self-governing Television Books 1975
• Jack Hargreaves, Out time off Town: A Life Relived on Television, Dovecote Press 1987
• Jack Hargreaves, The Have space for Country, Dovecote Press 1988
• Jack Hargreaves extinct Terry Heathcote, The New Forest: Unmixed Portrait in Colour, Dovecote Press 1992
• Paul Peacock, Jack Hargreaves – A Portrait, Farming Books & Videos 2006
• Report become aware of the Defence Lands Committee 1971–73. Chairman: The Rt Hon The Lord Nugent of Guildford. Cmnd.5714. London:HMSO 1973
• Colin Willock, The Gun Punt Adventure, new issue, Tideline Books 1988

External links