Jack Hargreaves

31 December 1911 to 15 March 1994

http://www.televisionheaven.co.uk/outoftown.htm

 http://www.jacksback.org.uk/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Hargreaves

                                       Photo by Jack of his cameraman Stan         Major Jack Hargreaves 1944

Jack Hargreaves OBE (born 31 December 1911, died 15 March 1994) was an author and television presenter in the UK. His enduring interest was to comment without nostalgia or sentimentality on accelerating distortions in relations between the city and the countryside. He also conceived and presented How! - a live children’s programme about how things worked, shown from 1966 on Southern Television and networked on ITV until the demise of Southern in 1981, but he is probably best known as the gentle-voiced presenter of the weekly magazine programme Out of Town, first broadcast in 1963, following the success of his 1959 television debut with the B & W series Gone Fishing. His country TV programmes continued in the 1980s with Country Boy and Old Country. Other programmes he created for local viewers were Farm Progress and another live afternoon series House Party. Most of his viewers were probably unaware that he was a player in the setting up of ITV, and a member of Southern's board of directors. From early in his life he acquired a sophisticated grasp of city life. He made his reputation in the heart of London, on whose outskirts he was born. Yet for the last 30 years of his life, Hargreaves, while employed by the National Farmer's Union, serving on the Nugent Committee and throughout his later career as a TV personality, sought - in entertaining ways - to question and rebut metropolitan assumptions about the character and function of the countryside.

Born, like his brothers, in north London, Hargreaves, in his youth, was placed by his mother with old family friends at Burston Hill Farm north of Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire where he was profoundly influenced by the farmer Victor Pargeter. Over half a century later, Hargreaves would acknowledge Pargeter as part of a composite of father, grandfathers, uncles and old farming friends in the formative character of 'The Old Man' at the start of his book Out of Town (1987). Hargreaves was to live at a variety of addresses in central London between Soho, Chelsea and Hampstead. In the late 40s he was moving between a London home and a caravan in a field on the bank of the River Kennet at Midgham, then a cottage in Bagnor in Berkshire by the Winterbourne running into the River Lambourn, then various homes near Lymington and East Boldre in The New Forest, and, for the last years of his life, near Belchalwell in Dorset. He died at the Winterbourne Hospital in Dorchester, was cremated at Salisbury, his ashes spread on Bulbarrow Hill above his last home, Raven Cottage. as were those of his wife Isobel, who died on 5 February 1998.

Early career

Born in London in 1911 to James and Ada Hargreaves (née Jubb), Jack (christened John Herbert) was one of three brothers. The family was rooted in Huddersfield in the West Riding of Yorkshire, but James Hargreaves based himself partly in London for commercial advantage and to allow his wife the benefit of the capital's midwifery. The brothers attended Merchant Taylor's School near London after which Edward and Ronald Hargreaves pursued successful careers in medicine. Jack went to study at the Royal Veterinary College at London University in 1929, but left the University to earn a living as a copywriter, journalist and script writer for radio and films. By the late thirties he had established a reputation for his pioneering approaches to radio broadcasting.

 At the start of World War 2 broadcasting was recognised as part of the war effort. Hargreaves' talents in this field meant he faced being recruited to a restricted post in radio. Instead he joined the Royal Artillery as a private, quickly became an NCO, entered the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and was commissioned into the Royal Tank Regiment. Even so Hargreaves' reputation as a communicator went ahead of him. He was recruited to the staff of General Montgomery to play a role setting up broadcasting services to allied forces before and after D-Day. He left the army in 1945 with substantive rank of major, having briefly held acting rank of lieutenant-colonel.

After the war Hargreaves continued his media career and during the 1950s was editor of Lilliput (magazine) and Picture Post.

 His brilliance as a communications manager led to him being recruited to the National Farmers Union (UK) by Jim Turner, later Lord Netherthorpe, celebrated for his success as a lobbyist for farmers. Working closely with Turner, Hargreaves organised and developed the NFU's Information Department, founding the "British Farmer" magazine during an almost intractable crisis of trust between NFU HQ and the members of the largest union in the country, many of whom were experiencing seismic change in the agricultural economy.

 Hargreaves loved angling. Bemused at the way it had, from 'sociological, technical, financial and Malthusian' causes become tribalised by class and species, he wrote 'Fishing for a Year', published in 1951, arguing 'for regression' - the pursuit of different fish, in separate places and varied methods throughout the licensed seasons. 'What do they know of fishing' he wrote 'who know only one fish and one way to fish for him?' Yet his language was seldom so polemic and never adversarial. Hargreaves' style was seductive and evocative, perfectly complemented, in this first book, by the drawings of his friend Bernard Venables:

 'It is one of the most excellent provisions of Nature' he wrote in a chapter for the warmest time of the year 'that chub are to be angled for on hot summer afternoons ... When the grass is high and full of hum and rustle, when the comfrey blooms along the edge of the water and the air shivers in the heat, the chub lie just under the surface in slacks and corners and eddies all along the bank. You will see them and you will think they have not seen you.' His writing and contacts among anglers saw the president of The Piscatorial Society, Sir Robert Saundby, asking Hargreaves to organise the Society's library. With typical thoroughness the collection was removed to Jack's home, leaving it fully catalogued with not a volume unread. This was when he became sceptical about the opinion of the immortal 17th century author of 'The Compleat Angler', Izaak Walton, as to the culinary qualities of the chub - a dish Hargreaves described as "eating cotton wool full of pins and needles".

 In 1959, by now well-known in the trade as a creative media innovator, Hargreaves was head-hunted by Roy Rich to the new ITV franchised company, Southern Television, both as programme maker and assistant programme controller. He might have been promoted but Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) regulations prohibited being in charge of programming while also making programmes. It was at Southern, in the same year he joined the station, that Hargreaves made his screen debut with the B & W series "Gone Fishing" - and so, what had previously been a pastime became the focus of his wider reputation. He recounted how on his first broadcast, sitting in the studio, apprehensive at the thought of being about to talk live to a potential audience of millions, his director had reminded him that although that vast audience might be statistically daunting, it was more likely to be two or three people and perhaps a dog sitting in their front room. He aimed at conversing with such an audience for the rest of his career.

 In the early 1960s Hargreaves, fascinated with a still young medium and perceiving how completely different television - especially "live" television - was from cinema, collaborated in a new documentary series under the 'Out of Town' umbrella. Hargreaves had moved from his country home in Bagnor near Newbury to a new home near Lymington on the Solent and one of his earliest programmes for 'Out of Town' documented the invention, design and construction, by his friend Denys Rayner, of a family yacht - the Beacon Corvette - which evolved into Rayner's Westerly 22 and became among the first of a new family of small affordable sailing boats capable of being trailed behind a family saloon, easily launched and used for weekending as well as ocean voyaging. Jack and his last wife Isobel, who he married in 1964, took one of these - 'Young Tiger' (named after another of his TV series) - through the Canal du Midi between Bordeaux and Sète in 1965, completing one leg of a transatlantic voyage continued by his step-son, Simon.

 The programme "Out of Town" was broadcast between 1963 and 1981. Jack Hargreaves became a household name in the parts of England covered by Southern Television. When STV lost their franchise, Hargreaves continued his TV career on Channel 4, also continuing, in prose, the deceptively simple narrative style that had worked well "on the box". Hargreaves' most extended filming relationship was with Stan Bréhaut [1], the cameraman who worked closely with him for over 20 years on over a thousand shoots. He described Bréhaut, who died peacefully in December 2005, as "the finest outdoor cameraman in England". Enjoyed for the relaxed style of his "countryside" broadcasting, Hargreaves, with Stan's help, used a sure grasp of how television worked best to spread cogent messages about the loss of men's connection with the land.

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The Nugent Report

As an independent member of the Defence Lands Committee 1971-73, Hargreaves made key contributions to the Nugent Report 1973 [2] reviewing the use of land held by the country's armed forces for defence purposes. He became even more aware that one of the best ways to reserve the countryside for its proper purpose was to keep most people out of it. Although agriculture would be preferable, military exercises seemed less harmful in their impact on the environment than its use for the recreational choices of a predominantly urban population. This was a conundrum he was wont to share wryly with his audience, gently repeating the point, that the countryside, in so far as it had a purpose for humans, was to grow their food in sustainable ways.

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Family

Jack Hargreaves was married, in 1932, to Jeanette Haighler. They had two sons, Mark and Victor, then after divorce, he married Elisabeth Van de Putte. Two more sons were born - James Stephen in 1946 and Edward John in 1947. That marriage ended in 1948 when he began a relationship with a journalist from Vogue, Barbara Baddeley. Living with her until 1963, Hargeaves became a stepfather to Bay and her brother Simon, Barbara's children by the diplomat John Baddeley CMG. He also has a daughter Polly, born in 1957 as a result of a six year relationship with his secretary Judy Hogg. In 1965 Hargreaves married Isobel Hatfield (b.12 Apr 1919) living with her for the next 3 decades. Isobel died on 5 February 1998. Her ashes were spread with her husband's on Bulbarrow Hill. [3]. Hargreaves' biographer Paul Peacock arranged for Polly to meet Simon's family in March 2006.

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Published film and tapes

A number of the films Hargreaves and Bréhaut made together for the 'Out of Town' series exist as videos and DVDs published by Contender. This material is not the same as the originally broadcast versions of 'Out of Town'. Southern Television was no more, so Hargreaves, now retired and having bought the original 'Out of Town' tapes started working with Steve Wade, also retired, and with whom he had worked on 'How'. Based in the village hall at Meonstoke, Hampshire, Hargreaves and Wade sorted, edited, rehashed and broadcast new versions of "Out of Town" on Channel 4. These comprise:

No. 1 Appleby Fair/Ramming Time, New Forest Point to Point/Apple Grafting and Kingfishers/Model Carts

No. 2 Sheep Shearing/Sea Bream, Sweetheart Story/Tyring a Cart and Farm Sale/Fishing in a Gale/Forest Fire

No. 3 Market Day/Minnow Trap/Lobster Boat, Iron Ponds/Lobster Breeding and Romney Marsh/Pumpkins

No. 4 Lambing/Mayfly, Mole Catcher/High School Horse and Rake Maker/Stage Coach

No. 5 Bee-Skips/Pheasant Shooting, Tidal Mill/Ice Fishing and Fly Casting/The Log Splitter

No. 6 The Hidden Stream/Deer Shoot, The Shooting Master and British Finches/Yerro’s Operation

No. 7 Stour River, Hacienda/Bullfight and House Building/Trout and Grayling

No. 8 Freeze Branding/Cider Making, Trammel Nets/The Coach Builder and Big Skate/Pannage

No. 9 Cod Fishing/Centenarian Angler, Charcoal Burners/Pigeon Shooting and Long Distance Ride.

Hargreaves also authored a number of audio-tapes and long play records on his favourite subjects.

External link

·         Steve Hardy's website for people who enjoyed Jack Hargreaves' programmes

·         Laurence Marcus' illustrated and referenced site about 'Out of Town'

·         Jack Hargreaves Collectors' Bibliography

·         Extensive selection of Jack Hargreaves books and DVDs

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 References

Jack Hargreaves, illustrated by Bernard Venables, 'Fishing for a year' MacGibbon & Kee 1951, republished Medlar Press 1998

Jack Hargreaves and others, 'HOW Annual', Independent Television Books 1975

Jack Hargreaves, 'Out of Town: A Life Relived on Television', Dovecote Press 1987

Jack Hargreaves, 'The Old Country', Dovecote Press 1988

Jack Hargreaves with Terry Heathcote, 'The New Forest: A Portrait in Colour', Dovecote Press 1992

Paul Peacock, 'Jack Hargreaves - A Portrait', Farming Books & Videos 2006

Report of the Defence Lands Committee 1971-73. Chairman: The Rt Hon The Lord Nugent of Guildford. Cmnd.5714. London:HMSO 1973

Colin Willock, 'The Gun Punt Adventure', new edition, Tideline Books 1988

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Hargreaves"

Jack Hargreaves was born in north London on the very last day of the year 1911, to James and Ada Hargreaves. Jack (christened John Herbert) was one of three brothers. The family was actually rooted in Huddersfield in the West Riding of Yorkshire, but in his youth Jack was placed by his mother with old family friends at Burston Hill Farm north of Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire. Later, Jack went to study at the Royal Veterinary College at London University, but left to earn a living as a copywriter, journalist and script writer for radio and films. By the late thirties he had established a reputation for his pioneering approaches to radio broadcasting.

When Britain was plunged into war in September 1939, it was quickly recognised that broadcasting would become an important part of the war effort and Jack's talents in this field meant he would most likely be recruited by radio. However, he wanted to serve his country in active service and quickly joined the Royal Artillery as a private. He worked his way up the ranks to an NCO and entered the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and then commissioned into the Royal Tank Regiment. He could not though escape his reputation as a communicator and was recruited to the staff of General Montgomery to help setting up broadcasting services to allied forces before and after D-Day. He left the army in 1945 as a major, having briefly held acting rank of lieutenant-colonel.

After the war, Jack returned to the media and during the 1950s became editor of the magazines 'Lilliput' and Picture Post. His brilliance as a communications manager led to him being recruited to the National Farmers Union by Jim Turner, later Lord Netherthorpe. Working closely with Turner, Jack organised and developed the NFU's Information Department, founding the 'British Farmer' magazine during a crisis of trust between NFU HQ and the members of the largest union in the country, many of whom were experiencing what they saw as a catastrophic change in the agricultural economy.

In 1959, as representative of the NFU, Jack was sent to Southern Television to talk to their top man Roy Rich following an inaccurate TV programme on 'meat marketing', that had incensed the union. From that, Southern Television began a series called 'Farm in the South'. Rich was so impressed with Jack that he immediately offered him the post of programme maker and assistant programme controller, which Jack accepted. Roy Rich was talking to Jack one day when he said that he'd heard Jack was a bit of a fisherman, and would he take a cameraman and catch a fish for them live on air. Jack agreed and they set up a large Outside Broadcast Unit and Jack duly obliged in landing one. However, he did have some reservations prior to going before the camera. Sitting in the studio, apprehensive at the thought of talking live to a potential audience of millions, his director had reminded him that although the vast audience might be statistically daunting, it was more likely to be two or three people and perhaps a dog sitting in their front room. He advised Jack to aim his conversation at such an audience, and Jack immediately slipped into the relaxed conversational style that would become his trademark for the rest of his career. Once again Rich was impressed and offered Jack the chance to do another show like the last one. Allegedly, Jack replied "I'll do six, for a lark!" and Rich said okay. Those six shows went out under the title 'Gone Fishing'. The signature tune to 'Gone Fishing' was sung by Bing Crosby and Louis Armstrong. The film cameraman on the series was George Pellet and in the end twenty eight editions were made.

'Gone Fishing' led Jack straight into 'Out of Town' which began in 1963. George Pellet decided to move on and was replaced by Stan Bréhaut who Jack regarded as "the finest outdoor cameraman in England". Shortly before his death in 2005, Bréhaut recalled his working relationship (one that lasted almost twenty years) with Jack: "George Egan came out on the early filming but soon left it to Jack and I. Even just we two were really two too many to be around when hoping to film wildlife. Over the years we learned to cope. Jack used my ignorance of the subjects to the programme's advantage. He reckoned that I was Mr Average Viewer and if I failed to recognise anything then I should film it, because although he might find it commonplace, if it interested me then it was worth a place in the programme. That saved a lot of movement and chat and we became a very quiet twosome. I remember Jack being disgusted when I was talking to someone about 'those little furry things we filmed last week', which were in fact some of the rarest creatures in the country!"

One of the earliest 'Out of Town' series, documented the invention, design and construction, by Jack's friend Denys Rayner, of a family yacht - the Beacon Corvette - which evolved into Rayner's Westerly 22 and became among the first of a new family of small affordable sailing boats capable of being trailed behind a family saloon, easily launched and used for weekending as well as ocean voyaging. Jack and his last wife Isobel, who he married in 1964, took one of these - 'Young Tiger' (named after another of his TV series) - through the Canal du Midi between Bordeaux and Sète in 1965. The camera followed Jack on his travels, taking the series a little further out of town than normal. But the series was an instant hit as viewers tuned in each week to to get a taste of rural life and a quickly disappearing world. By the late 1970s the English countryside had lost an area twice the size of Berkshire to urban development. "The only way to save the countryside", said Jack "is to show people exactly what happens in it."

An article in 'Television and Radio 1978', informed viewers that 'whether it shows the shoeing of horses, angling or rabbiting, 'Out of Town' presents a complete and unsentimental picture of country life in all its aspects. It is not a programme solely about fishing, nature or gardening, but all of these things as they effect the countryman; if it is interesting and part of country life it will be in the programme.' The link between the town, the country and the programme and its audience was not just one way communication and Jack would often turn up old rural implements that would baffle even the experts. Each week, TVS' postbag would be full of viewers letters recognising the flat tyned fork used for turning clay in the vale of Evesham, or the measuring device used by excisemen to find out how much beer was in a barrel, or the whereabouts of a type of squirrel. And the show received international recognition including the first ever prize in the cultural category of the World Newsfilm Awards, whilst at home Jack received a 1972 silver award from the Royal Television Society for outstanding creative achievement in television in front of the camera, and later still a royal OBE from the Queen.

Jack Hargreaves became a household name in England during the 1960s and 70s. He devised and co-presented the long running 'How!' a children’s programme about how things worked, shown from 1966 on Southern Television and networked on ITV until 1981 when Southern Television lost its franchise. His country TV programmes continued in the 1980s with 'Country Boy' and 'Old Country' for C4. Jack Hargreaves passed away on 15th March 1994. 'Out of Town' was originally introduced by the Max Bygraves song 'Out of Town' taken from the 1956 movie 'Charley Moon'. The song was written by Leslie Bricusse and Robin Beaumont. In later series the theme was replaced by the more gentler 'Improvisacion, A Granada, Cantiga Arabe' written by the Spanish composer Francisco Elxes Torrega, although the version played on the opening and closing credits is played by Andres Segovia and retitled "Tremolo Study".

Selected programmes of 'Out of Town' are now available on DVD and have lost none of their charm. The series may well be a distant memory, as indeed are most of the customs of the bygone age that it featured, but its legacy lives on. The Inner London Education Authority found Jack a fifty acre farm at Beaulieu, Hampshire where a hostel was built called the 'Out Of Town Centre', to show children what rural ways and life in the English countryside were really like. Jack regarded this as his retirement project and, still going strong today as part of the Countryside Education Trust, it is a legacy that is worthy of the man.