ABSTRACT
Advisory committees are in a peculiar position in relation to the bodies they are set up to advise. They may be formed casually without much consideration of their terms of reference and membership; they may be used as a safety valve to allow troublesome people to let off steam in offering advice that may not be accepted, or they may become merely a defence mechanism against public criticism. The BBe was concerned with so many facets of social life that it was only too ready to get guidance on matters of special difficulty. The religious committees, both in London and at local stations, found in practice that their advice was gladly received. This was often the result of good chairmanship, and Bishop Garbett proved himself a first-rate chairman, with a capacity for keeping peace without compromise. As his biographer, Charles
Smyth, expressed it, 'With modesty of demeanour, he combined great natural dignity; people did not want to argue with him. He never attempted to load the dice in favour of the Church of England, or showed any partiality for broadcasters of his own persuasion. There was no place in his mind for the denominational spirit in broadcasting.' The wide area of agreement reached under his wise leadership was quite remarkable. Local committees were also well served by able chairmen, though they were subjected to many pressures. They were at first reluctant to cooperate fully with the central body, and at times seemed to assume executive powers in the selection of preachers and churches from which relays should take place. It became evident that the quality of their advice varied a good deal. In some of the smaller stations, every clergyman expected almost as a right to be given a turn at the microphone. When technical progress made it possible to ensure wider coverage from fewer transmitters, the central committee recommended that, in addition to the regular relays from St Martin's on the second Sunday of the month, another service without secular alternative should be available from a church selected from lists submitted by local committees. Closer co-operation resulted and, when the original low-power transmitters were replaced by others with higher power and wider coverage, the country was able to be divided into regions, six in number, though London was for a time also one for administrative purposes. This enabled regional committees to be set up in place of the local bodies that had done so much in the pioneering days. To ensure a co-ordinated policy, the chairmen of the newly formed committees became exofficio members of CRAC and so made a direct contribution to the national development of religious broadcasting.
