About
The BBC in South East Asia is an expanding collection of primary source materials focusing on the British Broadcasting Company's significance in the region during Great Britain's late colonial and early post-colonial periods (1927-1961). Led by Cristina Juan, the project aims to gather BBC-produced sound recordings for and about these geographical entities (currently the nation-states of Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Burma, Cambodia, the Philippines, Brunei, Timor-Leste, Laos, and Thailand. There is a special emphasis (and more materials) on The British Colonies in South East Asia which include Burma (now Myanmar) - Colonial period: 1885–1948 Independence: January 4, 1948; Malaya (part of present-day Malaysia) - Colonial period: Various states from the late 18th century, unified as the Federated Malay States in 1895 and later the Malayan Union in 1946 Independence: August 31, 1957; Singapore - Colonial period: 1819–1963 (joined Malaysia in 1963 and separated to become an independent nation on August 9, 1965); North Borneo (now Sabah, part of Malaysia) - -Colonial period: 1882–1963 (joined Malaysia in 1963); Sarawak (now part of Malaysia) - Colonial period: 1888–1963 (joined Malaysia in 1963); and Hong Kong, - Colonial period: 1841–1997, Handover to China July 1, 1997, becoming a British Special Administrative Region (SAR) which, while it is geographically and culturally distinct from South East Asia, is also included in this database as it played a significant role in British colonial history and the BBC’s regional influence during the period. These recordings are contextualized through related materials from the BBC written archives, The BBC Transcription Service, and the Kew National and SOAS archives.
The sound recordings begin with the earliest surviving BBC broadcasts, now digitized and accessible at the British Library. They encompass diverse materials, such as a 1937 broadcast featuring an Englishman's reaction to the 1927 Krakatoa explosion, the inaugural address of the BBC Empire Service in 1932, and the initial broadcast in May 1951 of London Calling Asia, a programme transmitted to South and South-East Asia as part of the BBC's Far Eastern Service.
Pre-1961 recordings of BBC broadcasts were expensive and only done for practical reasons. Consequently, the corpus of recorded material in the inventory is selective and incomplete. Yet the archive still enables us to listen to sounds that might otherwise remain unheard: commercially viable popular music, field recordings for ambient sound, speeches, and the social and ideological positioning of colonial subjects through voice inflections and sonic expressions. The soundscapes offer insights into both significant political events and the everyday lives of people within and beyond the British imperial sphere.
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787 items
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J.B Clark inquires regarding the situation on P.I.D. request. He also states that the Far East Division has also shown interest in the Burmese scripts. More »Message
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J.B. Clark notes that; a) They were asked by the government to take over responsibilities on Far Eastearn Broadcasting Services now based in Singapore. b) There is no detailed considerations on the date when they will take on the responsibilities nor is there on staffing needs and other arrangements. c) J.B Clark recommends that the circumstances not influence any action they take as the Foreign Office remains the responsible body. d) J.B Clark notes that should they take on any responsibilities, they should consider staffing heads for the UK, contract staff, and local staff. More »Message
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JB Clark writes to thank Dumeresque and commend him on the production of Radio Malaya News Volume 1. He also notes a few personal matters. More »Message
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J.B.Clark informs L.F. Rushbook that the suspension of the dispatch of scripts were not intelligent as Mr. Bakers group just had not had to respond. He also hopes that the supply will resume. More »Message
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Macgregor forwards notes fram the Agent for Malaya More »Message
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Macgregor thanks the sender for his notes on broadcasting development. More »Message
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Macgregor requests for E.C Robbins to read the draft constitution and give his thoughts. More »Message
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Macgregor speaks on the changes made to the scheduling for the building of a high powered transmitter in Singapore. He suggests setting a meeting with a Sir John Pratt to clear up possible issues. More »Message
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Roberts attatches the letter previously sent to Mr. Kennedy seeking approval from Hayes. More »Message
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The sender clarifies and corrects a few errors made in a previous letter with regards to the radio frequncies chosen by the Broadcasting Sub-comittee. He also agrees with the alterations which were proposed in said meeting. More »Message
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A recording of a Java suite, featuring Gamelan and piano music by Leopold Godowsky, with arrangements for tuned percussion. The content is likely copied from a commercial or broadcast recording. The recording starts at 01:23:53, and the entire duration is 1 hour, 35 minutes, and 30 seconds. The Java suite is found at the end without any introductions. The performers are unidentified. More »Topic: Culture |Audio
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Recording consists of a 78 RPM mono disc from the BBC Archive (catalog number 22570) featuring Javanese music and street vendors' mechanical sounds. The disc has two sides and measures 30 cm. It is labeled as an analogue disc and is stored under the catalog number 9CL0029181. The disc also includes actualities and is affiliated with the BBC. More »Soundscape (urban) |Topic: Culture |Audio
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Letter attaching comments of the sender on the broadcasting proposal made by V.H. Winston. More »Message
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Selangor, Penghulu, a male singer, performed the Mon-Kmer language folk song "JinjangJinjang" in 1955, recorded by Radio Malaya and archived by the BBC. The song is designated as folk music and dance music with a mixed chorus and drums. This historical recording provides a glimpse into the music and culture of then British Malaya. More »Music |Topic: Culture |Audio
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John Henry Antill, CMG, OBE (8 April 1904 – 29 December 1986) was an Australian composer best known for his ballet Corroboree. (Wikipedia) More »Person
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John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to as JFK, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the youngest person elected president. Kennedy served at the height of the Cold War, and the majority of his foreign policy concerned relations with the Soviet Union and Cuba. A Democrat, Kennedy represented Massachusetts in both houses of the U.S. Congress prior to his presidency. Born into the prominent Kennedy family in Brookline, Massachusetts, Kennedy graduated from Harvard University in 1940, joining the U.S. Naval Reserve the following year. During World War II, he commanded PT boats in the Pacific theater. Kennedy's survival following the sinking of PT-109 and his rescue of his fellow sailors made him a war hero and earned the Navy and Marine Corps Medal, but left him with serious injuries. After a brief stint in journalism, Kennedy represented a working-class Boston district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1947 to 1953. He was subsequently elected to the U.S. Senate, serving as the junior senator for Massachusetts from 1953 to 1960. While in the Senate, Kennedy published his book, Profiles in Courage, which won a Pulitzer Prize. Kennedy ran in the 1960 presidential election. His campaign gained momentum after the first televised presidential debates in American history, and he was elected president, narrowly defeating Republican opponent Richard Nixon, the incumbent vice president. Kennedy's presidency saw high tensions with communist states in the Cold War. He increased the number of American military advisers in South Vietnam, and the Strategic Hamlet Program began during his presidency. In 1961, he authorized attempts to overthrow the Cuban government of Fidel Castro in the failed Bay of Pigs Invasion and Operation Mongoose. In October 1962, U.S. spy planes discovered Soviet missile bases had been deployed in Cuba. The resulting period of tensions, termed the Cuban Missile Crisis, nearly resulted in nuclear war. In August 1961, after East German troops erected the Berlin Wall, Kennedy sent an army convoy to reassure West Berliners of U.S. support, and delivered one of his most famous speeches in West Berlin in June 1963. In 1963, Kennedy signed the first nuclear weapons treaty. He presided over the establishment of the Peace Corps, Alliance for Progress with Latin America, and the continuation of the Apollo program with the goal of landing a man on the Moon before 1970. He supported the civil rights movement but was only somewhat successful in passing his New Frontier domestic policies. On November 22, 1963, Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. His vice president, Lyndon B. Johnson, assumed the presidency. Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested for the assassination, but he was shot and killed by Jack Ruby two days later. The FBI and the Warren Commission both concluded Oswald had acted alone, but conspiracy theories about the assassination persist. After Kennedy's death, Congress enacted many of his proposals, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Revenue Act of 1964. Kennedy ranks highly in polls of U.S. presidents with historians and the general public. His personal life has been the focus of considerable sustained interest following public revelations in the 1970s of his chronic health ailments and extramarital affairs. Kennedy is the most recent U.S. president to have died in office. (Wikipedia) More »Person
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John Martin writes to WM Goatman, making the following requests: 1. Program Information Service & Publicity 2. Programs Rebroadcast 3. Scripts 4. London Transcription Recordings More »Message
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It states that a Mr. Baker was requesting the broadcasting script of Mr.Winsteadt as he is an admirer of his work. The sender then asks if relaxing the rule of circulating manuscripts to private consumers might lead to more requests of the same nature. More »Message
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The memo states that they have attached messages from the British Military Administration that are to be released on the end of July. More »Article
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John Charles Walsham Reith, 1st Baron Reith, KT, GCVO, GBE, CB, TD, PC (/ˈriːθ/; 20 July 1889 – 16 June 1971), was a Scottish broadcasting executive who established the tradition of independent public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom. In 1922, he was employed by the BBC, then the British Broadcasting Company Ltd., as its general manager; in 1923 he became its managing director, and in 1927 he was employed as the Director-General of the British Broadcasting Corporation created under a royal charter. His concept of broadcasting as a way of educating the masses marked for a long time the BBC and similar organisations around the world. An engineer by profession, and standing at 6 feet 6 inches (1.98 m) tall, he was a larger-than-life figure who was a pioneer in his field. (Wikipedia) More »Person
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John Goodwin Tower (September 29, 1925 – April 5, 1991) was an American politician and military officer who represented Texas in the United States Senate from 1961 to 1985. He was the first Republican elected to the U.S. Senate from Texas since Reconstruction. Tower is known for leading the Tower Commission, which investigated the Iran-Contra Affair in the Reagan administration. Born in Houston, Texas, he served in the Pacific Theater of World War II. After the war, he worked as a radio announcer and taught at Midwestern University (now Midwestern State University) in Wichita Falls. He switched from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party in the early 1950s and worked on the 1956 presidential campaign of Dwight D. Eisenhower. Tower lost Texas's 1960 Senate election to Democratic Senator Lyndon B. Johnson, but performed relatively well compared to his Republican predecessors. With the Democratic victory in the 1960 presidential election, Johnson vacated his Senate seat to become Vice President of the United States. In the 1961 special election, Tower defeated Johnson's appointed successor, Bill Blakley. He won re-election in 1966, 1972, and 1978. Upon joining the Senate in 1961, Tower became the first Republican Senator to represent a state in the South since 1913. He was the only Southern Republican in the Senate until Strom Thurmond switched parties in 1964. A political conservative earlier in his career, Tower staunchly opposed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Starting in 1976 with his support of Gerald Ford rather than Ronald Reagan in the 1976 Republican primaries, Tower began to alienate many fellow conservatives. He became less conservative over time, later voicing support for legal abortion, gay rights, and opposing President Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative in 1983. Tower retired from the Senate in 1985. After leaving Congress, he served as chief negotiator of the Strategic Arms Reduction Talks with the Soviet Union and led the Tower Commission. The commission's report was highly critical of the Reagan administration's relations with Iran and the Contras. In 1989, incoming President George H. W. Bush chose Tower as his nominee for Secretary of Defense, but his nomination was rejected by the Senate. After the defeat, Tower chaired the President's Intelligence Advisory Board. Tower died in the 1991 Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 2311 crash. (Wikipedia) More »Person
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Sir John Tusa (born 2 March 1936) is a British arts administrator, and radio and television journalist. He is co-chairman of the European Union Youth Orchestra from 2014. chairman, British Architecture Trust Board, RIBA, from 2014. From 1980 to 1986, he was a main presenter of BBC 2's Newsnight programme. From 1986 to 1993, he was managing director of the BBC World Service. From 1995 to 2007, he was managing director of the City of London's Barbican Arts Centre. (Wikipedia) More »Person
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Johor Sport Club (Joget): An instrumental Malaysian folk dance in the joget style, performed by violinist Hamzah Dolmat and his group Rakan2. The performance features unestablished instrumentation, most likely flute, violin, accordion, and frame drum. More »Music (Instrumental) |Topic: Culture |Audio
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C. Lawson-Reece suggested that the opening announcement be embodied in the news readers script for convenience. More »Message
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Recording features a performance of Kapi Radja (King of the apes) by the Gamelan Orchestra from Pilatan, Indonesia. The music is traditional Kebiar music, including folk songs and music, recorded on a 30 cm disc with 2 sides at 33 rpm. The label for this recording is BBCARCHIVELP19654 and the performance starts at 00:03:05.16. More »Music |Topic: Culture |Audio
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In a rare find, the BBC ARCHIVE 19654 label matches the KebiarModern dance in Classical Style from Bali Music (Instrumental) album, which contains 1 disc with 2 sides and plays at 33 rpm on a 30 cm record. The album, which starts at 00:06:10.09, features the Gamelan Orchestra from Pilatan, Indonesia, providing a unique blend of traditional and modern dance music from Bali. More »Music (Dance) |Topic: Culture |Audio
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