23 Facts About Hilda Matheson

Hilda Matheson, OBE was a pioneering English radio talks producer at the BBC and its first Director of Talks.

Hilda Matheson was born on 7 June 1888 in Putney, south-west London, to Scottish parents, Margaret and Donald Matheson.

Hilda Matheson was the elder sister of D M Matheson.

Hilda Matheson was a boarding student at Saint Felix School in Southwold for four years.

Hilda Matheson wanted to continue studying history at Cambridge, but left school at 18, when her father's health forced the family to move to Europe.

Hilda Matheson enrolled as a history student in the Society of Oxford Home Students.

Hilda Matheson ended her war work in Rome, at the British military control office, then briefly worked for Philip Kerr, who introduced her to Britain's first female parliamentarian, Lady Nancy Astor.

Hilda Matheson became the first Director of Talks in 1927 and established the first news section, when the organisation became incorporated.

An unlikely candidate for the post, as a woman and a left-leaning liberal, Hilda Matheson supported the League of Nations, sympathised with socialism and supported women's rights, in addition to being a lesbian.

About the same time as she began working for the BBC, Hilda Matheson began an affair with Vita Sackville-West.

Hilda Matheson developed standards for factual reporting of social commentary, current affairs, politics and news.

Hilda Matheson recognised that neither lectures, speeches nor theatre were appropriate means of communication for the new medium of radio and developed models to create a more personal experience for the listener.

Hilda Matheson sought to make presentations which were informal and conversational, rather than formal and oratorical.

Hilda Matheson organised the first live broadcast of a political debate by the three leaders of the main British political parties.

Reith imposed censorship on programming, which Hilda Matheson refused to accept, and she tendered her resignation in 1931.

In January, 1932, Hilda Matheson left the BBC and began working as the radio critic at The Observer, which was owned at the time by the Astor family.

Fisher commissioned Hilda Matheson to write a book she called Broadcasting, which captured the innovative technology of radio and the march of technology, and was still being cited in the 1990s.

Hilda Matheson wrote a weekly column for the Week-end Review.

Shortly after her book was published, Hilda Matheson was hired as secretary to Malcolm Hailey for The African Survey.

Meanwhile Hilda Matheson went ahead and served more as executive manager to the endeavour than as his secretary, canvassing scientists and administrators to help with logistics and plan the scope of the project, while completing coordination of all the preparatory research.

Hilda Matheson was awarded in the following year an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire for her effort in concluding the project.

Hilda Matheson initiated a publishing endeavour with Wellesley, which Turner called Britain in Pictures: 140 volumes were published after her death to counter publications glorifying Germany and present images of British notables, landscapes and cities.

Hilda Matheson died on 30 October 1940 of Graves' disease, after thyroidectomy surgery performed at Kettlewell Hill Nursing Home in Horsell, Surrey.