"THE VOICE OF BCOF"

New Zealand Listener, Volume 17, Issue 423, 1 August 1947, Page 10

"THE VOICE OF BCOF"

British Forces Radio in Japan (Special to "The Listener" from a correspondent in Kure)

VERY mess, every barracks, and every recreation room _in the British Commonwealth Occupation Force knows "The Voice." Whether in bombedout Kure, on pleasant, sunny Etajima, at Miho on the north coast, Okayama in the east, or Chofu in the south, "The Voice of BCOF" is familiar to every British man and woman in Japan. It is'the call-sign of the British Commonwealth Occupation Forces radio network, which is one of the most extensive forces radio services ever organised. No part of Japan where Empire troops are located is out of reach of one of the stations in the network. Okayama for British and Indian troops, Yamaguchi for the New Zealanders, and Kure for the Australians, British and Indians-all have their local stations. Fourteen Hours a Day Located in Kure is the central, key station of the network, Radio WLKS. Operating in both broadcast and shortwave bands, this station is able to reach all troops in the Kure-Etajima-Hiro area, where almost half the force is located, as well as men in the distant places such as Kobe, Osaka, and Tokio. In addition to supplying its own programmes, Radio WLKS serves as a control exchange for programmes and recordings, which are lent to the smaller stations. Equipped with a modern studio, WLKS is on the air for 14 hours daily, presenting programmes designed tq suit alle tastes. In the station’s, auditorium, which holds an audience of 120 people, a minimum of two sfiidio shows are presented each week. Talent is drawn as much as possible from the troops, and visiting concert parties and celebrities are invited to make appearances. One of the most popular of these is George Wallace, the Australian comedian. The best known of the live artist shows is The Spotlight Hour, which goes on the air each Wednesday night at 8,15.

This feature is specially designed to unearth local talent and develop it. Touring artists often appear in this show. Incorporated in The Spotlight Hour until recently was the BCOF Quiz Championship. Elimination heats were held each week for eight months before the grand champions were discovered. Radio Theatre A new venture in the field of live artist entertainment is the BCOF Radio Theatre. Troops are invited to take part in this show either by playing roles or by writing short plays. Special efforts are being made to bring troops the fullest possible coverage of the iatest news, both international and domestic. This is achieved by relays from Radio Australia and the BBC. A session of New Zealand news is broadcast each day. It is compiled by the station’s staff from press signals received from Wellington.

Religious requirements are accounted for by a daily Padre’s Prayer. This is broadcast each morning in the breakfast session and the programme is given week about by the chaplains of the various religious faiths. On Sunday nights a 20-minute session, The Padre’s Programme, is heard. This, too, is given in turn by chaplains of different denominations, Sporting enthusiasts are specially well cared for by WLKS. During the Eng-land-Australia cricket tests, full ball-to-ball descriptions of each of the five matches were broadcast. The Davis Cup contests also came in for special treat~ ment, N.Z. Sports Results Special arrangements were made recently to bring the latest sporting information from their homeland to New Zealand members of BCOF. This is

being done by two quarter-hour relays each week from Radio’ Australia. The programmes, consisting of comment, descriptions of important events, personalities, and so on, are recorded in New Zealand and flown across the Tasman to Melbourne, where they are broadcast specially for the New Zealanders in BCOF. * . . Most of the programmes broadcast by WLKS are made up of recorded music and transcriptions from the BBC and Australian national and commercial stations. With all the extremes in taste to account for, the policy of the station is to present a middle-of-the-road type of entertainment. Therefore, light classics and musical comedy are frequently heard in the programmes. In presenting transcriptions the station management tries to pick the best of the entertainment offering at home.