PERSONALITIES ..ON THE AIR..

Radio Record, Volume XII, Issue 33, 27 January 1939, Page 8

PERSONALITIES ..ON THE AIR..

"ROM the musical city of Birmingham comes one of the best English conduc-tors--Clarenee Raybould, who enjoys the proud distinetion of being the first student to take a degree in music at Birmingham University. He is a magnifieént walker and a good swimmer-and he looks it. Most of our modern musicians in all eategories refute the stupid notion that musie is a soft job, or worse, a job for soft people. Few manual workers toil so laboriously as a busy conductor. Clarence Raybould speaks I*rench, Italian, German and Swedish, and is a firm believer in the merit of British music. 2YA listeners will hear a SymPhony Orchestra, conducted by Clarence Raybould, on Sunday afternoon, January 29. A bl d TRAGIC END author named AN AUTHOR Bliot Warburcon, Was appointed in 1851 by the Atlantic and Pacific Junction Company to visit the Indians of the Isthmus of Darien, establish a friendly under-standing-with them, and make himself thoroughly acquainted with their country. Shortly before starting on his voyage, Warburton published his last book, a historical romance "Darien," dealing with Paterson and his Scots fellowadventurers. ‘In this work, Warburton ominously described a fire’ at sea. On Friday, January 2, 1852, the West Indian mail ship "Amazon" left Southampton on her maiden voyage. On Sunday morning, January 4, she was destroyed by fire at sea, about 100 miles from Scilly. Among those who perished was Eliot Warburton. ~- On Friday, February 3, Miss Florence Robinson will! give readings from Charies. Lamb, John Keats and Eliot Warburton. Not : HE FOUND ego. ' Armitage, M.A, NEW LINE |. mus.Bac., — Cantab., decided to give church music a break and take up composing music for revues.

Originally intending to devote himself to classical music, he became assistant-organist at the historic Chapel Royal, St. James’s, and organist and director of music at the musically famous St. Ann’s, Soho, at the early age of 18, A decade later he took the plunge, assumed the professional name of Noel Gay and began writing revue winners and song hits, such as "There's Comothing About A Sol-.

dier,’ "The King’s Horses," and more recently "The Lambeth Walk." ee di. UOC@d#d«C__N. ge ot

2YA listeners will spend "Fitteen Minutes with Noel Gay" on Monday, January 30. EIETY YEARS Shortly after A the appearance : in’ England, in STAMP MAN 4840, of the first postage stamps, the "penny black" and the ‘Mulreedy ‘envelope’ of Sir Rowland Hill, there sprang up the craze of collecting stamps. From a mere hobby it has now developed into a scientific pursuit, cultivated by numerous societies. For over half this period, Mr. E. Philpot-Crowther has been a stamp collector, and 20 years ago was a member of many British and European philatelic societies. In 1911 he was awarded the Bronze Medal at the International Philatelic Exhibition held in Vienna, which included exhibits lent by world-wide notabilities in the stamp world, including the late King George. Mr. Philpot-Crow-ther’s special display was a portion of the stamp issues of Finland. His stamp interests’ today are prinCipally Finnish, Australian Commonwealth and New Zealand issues. Years ago Mr. Philpot-Crowther was a contributor to several philatelic journals, and was awarded a Bronze Medal in 1909 for the best paper read before a British philatelic society. A widely-travelled man he has known in the past (some intimately) eminent philatelists, including Sir E. Bacon, the Barl of ‘Crawford, Messrs M. P. Castle and J. EK. Bainbridge, and Herr Adolf Passer of Vienna. Nowadays this veteran philatelist’s. interests are confined to other peopfe’s stamps and their enlightenment. Stamp collecting may merge froma mere hobby into philately, which is an absorbing and fascinating: science, as well as a serious financial investment. On Monday, January 30, at 2YA, Mr. E. Philpot-Crowther will give a talk on "Stamp Collecting as an Investment." . There is a line end F in the rousing song "Glorious DEVON STOCK pevon" which runs: "To every land the wide world o’er, some slips .of the. old stock roam.". Charles Robert Bidwill, once of Exeter, later to blaze the trail in the Wairarapa, was one of the "slips of the

old stock." In the "Nelson Examiner," Bidwill’s arrival in the colony is recordeu as follows. "The Posthumous, 9 days from Sydney with 1600 sheep intended for Port Nicholson, arrived in Nelson in March, 1848. It is interesting to note that the greater portion of her cargo is the property of Mr. C. R. Bidwill. Some of these sheep were put up for sale and only realised 15s to 17s each." It was not until over a year after this that Bidwill, with his flock of 350 merino sheep, arrived at Kopungarara to open another chapter in New Zealand’s pastoral history. Mr. Douglas’ Cresswell continues his recurded talks on "Historic New Zealand Estates" at 2YA on Monday, January 30. The subject of this particular talk is "The Bidwills of the Wairarapa." In his "Histor CARLYLE In Revolution," £100 CASH Thomas Carlyle brought — before us with most impressive and lifelike reality and in Homeric fashion, various episodes of that terrible period. This work was almost lost in 1835 through the destruction by a servant girl of all but four or five leaves of the manuseript of the first volume, which had been lent to John Stuart Mill. Carlyle accepted £100 from Mill as compensation for the loss. MUSICIANS Within a week WHO or two of the \ Battle of WaterAIDED HIM oo was born at Halle one of the greatest German song composers, Robert Franz. His first set of songs evoked from the discerning’ and kindly critic, Schumann, an encouraging article, and his work was welcomed both by Liszt and by Mendelssohn. But, for all that, Franz suffered a good deal of neglect, partly due, no doubt, to his own timid disposition. By the time he was 53, total deafness and pecuniary troubles made his situation so desperate that he was rescued only through a series of benefit concerts by Liszt and others. He wound up his career as a musical editor and arranger of undoubted ability. Notwithstand-

ing all this, his 250 songs suffered, and still suffer from an altogether undeserved neglect. AYA listeners wiii hear a group of four songs by Robert Franz, sung by Dorothy Stentiford, con-. traito, on Sunday, January 29.