Helen has been invited to attend The BBC at 100 Symposium, to be held from 13 to 15 September 2022 in Bradford at the National Science and Media Museum and online. As a member of the session on Politics and Current Affairs, she will be speaking about the contributions of Honor Balfour (1912-2001) and Stephen Bonarjee (1912- 2003) – a wonderful opportunity to draw their careers to the attention of a wide audience.
Posts By: Helen Langley
A visit to Royal Crescent – the London home of Honor Balfour
Years ago Honor Balfour described to me the décor of her London home in Royal Crescent, Kensington, acquired in the early post-war years long before the area became fashionable. So it was great when the London Gardens Trust Open Squares weekend in June brought the chance to visit Royal Crescent’s square.
Reginald (Reggie) Cooper (1865-1965): Closing stages of research reveal new insights
The search of archival resources for information about Reggie Cooper is coming to a close. Several sources consulted since last year have provided some fascinating insights into his personality, and his design of the orangery for Sir Philip Sassoon (1885-1939).
Reginald (Reggie) Cooper: Continuing the Quest
With archives presently closed because of the pandemic, resuming research into the career of the restorer of ancient houses and maker of gardens rose to the top of my list of projects because much of it could be conducted from my desk. Reggie Cooper first caught my attention in 2006; in between other projects I continued my ‘quest for Reggie’, returning to it full time in the summer of 2020 after completing the article on Honor Balfour.
Dame Irene Ward: Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum Exhibition Contribution
A (very minor) contributor to an exhibition at the Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum in Woodstock. Scheduled for Spring 2020 the opening was postponed by the pandemic until October 2020 but shortly afterwards new national lockdown restrictions were introduced. The invitation to contribute information arose from my past work on Dame Irene Ward. The campaign by… Read more »
Honour Balfour’s Broadcasting Career
With the publication of the article ‘What Honor did next, the pioneering broadcasting career of Honor Balfour (1912-2001)’, in the Journal of Liberal Democrat History, a very enjoyable period spent researching her remarkable life comes to a close.
BBC History Research: ‘Honor Balfour: the first significant woman in BBC Current Affairs’
In July 2019 as a guest contributor to the BBC history research website an introduction to Honor’s career at the BBC. The full article can be found here.
Honor Balfour’s contribution to British broadcasting
Research into Honor Balfour’s career as a journalist continues to yield rewards. It was against the backdrop of the early rivalry between the BBC Talks and News Departments that Honor forged her contribution to broadcasting which would span over the next three decades. The research continues but with the emphasis now firmly on Honor Balfour’s role as arguably the first significant woman current affairs commentator in broadcasting.
A Work in Progress talk: ‘A narrative from the archives: the life of the journalist and broadcaster Honor Balfour (1912-2001)’
A talk given to Friends of the Women’s Library, LSE, 20 November 2019
UK Vote 100: ‘Honor Balfour, Westminster and a Woman’s voice’
December 2018, as a guest contributor to the parliamentary archives vote100 blog. Honor regularly wrote and broadcast about Westminster politics. https://ukvote100.org/2018/12/17/honor-balfour-westminster-and-a-womans-voice/