Stuart Hibberd

Life and career Hibberd volunteered at the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, becoming an Army officer. He served with the Dorset Regiment at Gallipoli (in Turkey), and then in Mesopotamia and with the 2nd Battalion, 25th Punjabis in India, reaching the rank of captain. Hibberd was fluent in Hindu.

He was accepted by D'Oyly Carte Opera Company following a voice trial at the Savoy Theatre, London in 1921 but did not take up the post of singer. He joined the British Broadcasting Company (BBC) at Savoy Hill on 13 November 1924. He was the chief announcer on BBC Radio from 1928 until his retirement from the post in August 1951, having read approximately 15,000 news bulletins, introduced music programmes and speakers even though he never officially received the title of chief announcer.

Hibberd reported on events such as the 1926 United Kingdom general strike in which he often broadcast for up to an hour, the Death of Adolf Hitler, He remarked he disliked television and was "too old to learn new tricks" because of his advanced age. His anonymity was lost when he first identified himself on air in June 1941. In January 1962, he appeared on Desert Island Discs. He chose Navarraise (from Le Cid, Act 2) by Jules Massenet as his favourite track, his chosen book was Another World than This by Victoria Sackville-West and his luxury item was a recorder. In December 1972, he returned to BBC as a continuity announcer on BBC Radio 4 for the nostalgia programme These You Have Loved. Three years later, Hibberd was hired by Burmah Oil shareholders to join its protest against the Bank of England's purchase of its stake in British Petroleum. Hibberd was appointed an Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for his broadcasting in 1935, and was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts,

Personal life He played the mouth organ. Hibberd was married to Alice Mary Chichester, daughter of Lieutenant Colonel Gerrard Chichester, from July 1923 until her death in 1977. There were no children of the marriage.