MS 448

Reference code

MS 448

Title

Leslie Stokes collection

Level

Sub-fonds

Administrative / Biographical history

Stokes, Leslie (1910-1986)

Leslie Stokes was an English playwright and BBC radio producer and director. At the BBC he was heavily involved in the Third Programme. He also collaborated with his brother Sewell Stokes to write a number of plays, including the successful 'Oscar Wilde' that starred Robert Morley as Wilde.

Date

1938-1970

Extent & medium

6 boxes

Content description

This is predominantly a collection of BBC Third Programme related content. The Third Programme was a national network broadcast by the BBC that first aired on 29 September 1946. Its broadcasts were cultural and considered 'high-brow'. The programme became BBC Radio 3 in April 1970. Leslie Stokes, who donated this archive, was heavily involved in producing and directing programmes for the broadcast.

In this collection there are papers relating to the Third Programme; papers relating specifically to its 10th anniversary in 1956; radio scripts for the programme that Leslie Stokes either produced, directed or narrated; a collection of quarterly plans for the programme spanning from 1949 to 1966; and a number of The Radio Times and The Listener issues.

Provenance

Given to Eton College Library by Leslie Stokes.

Arrangement

The system of arrangement is as follows:

MS 448 01: Radio scripts
MS 448 02: Papers relating to the BBC Third Programme
MS 448 03: Papers relating to the 10th anniversary celebrations
MS 448 04: Quarterly Plans for the Third Programme
MS 448 05: Issues of the Radio Times and The Listener