Babar the Freedom-Fighting French Elephant

Last night I listened to a radio program about the BBC during the Second World War (The Friend in the Corner, episode 2 of 6, broadcast on BBC Radio 7 at 7:30pm Saturday 13th March 2010), and the above phrase in it caught my attention.  It occurred in the following context:

A letter arrived from a man in Italy: "If you could only see us in the evening", he wrote, "sitting around the corner where the wireless is, listening to your words, you would think we were sick people inhaling oxygen".  That man, and many like him, have been inspired by Colonel Stevens of the Italian service, Frau Wernicke of the German service, Bob of Radio Orange, and, of course, by Babar the freedom-fighting French elephant.

This was followed by a man singing a French song, presumably from one of the Babar broadcasts (my French is a bit too rusty to make out what it was about).

To me it seemed slighty surreal to think of Babar the Elephant, a fictional figure fondly remember from distant childhood, being used to encourage French resistance to the Nazis (it sounds like something from 'Allo 'Allo!), and I wanted to know more. A little Googling revealed that the Director of BBC European Intelligence during World War Two was a Jonathan Griffin (1906-1990), a poet, translator and diplomat, who actually translated Babar the Elephant into English, though it wasn't his translation that was used in the classic 1930's English edition - that was done by Merle Haas.  It is not clear from what I have found, whether Griffin did his translation before or after his work for the BBC during the war, nor is it clear that he was involved in the Babar broadcasts, but it would seem a strange coincidence if he wasn't.

[Incidentally, Radio Orange was broadcast to the Netherlands by the Dutch government in exile. I have no idea who 'Bob' was, but I did find references out on the web to Colonel Stevens and Frau Wernicke in relation to BBC broadcasts to occupied Europe during the war]

Pluvialis on Radio 3

Five 15-minute programs on raising a goshawk by Helen Macdonald (pluvialis) on BBC Radio 3.  The first available until Monday 22nd, the last until Friday 26th.

Go listen here.

Now.

Isaac Newton - Criminal Investigator

By early 1697, only months removed from the life of a Cambridge philosopher, his network of informers, undercover agents, and street muscle had turned Isaac Newton into the most effective criminal investigator London had ever seen.

From Thomas Levenson's Newton and the Counterfeiter which  is currently being serialized on BBC Radio 4's Book of the Week program.

The Evolutionary Approach to Ethics

This BBC radio program almost passed by without me noticing.  I put this down to its unpromising title: Thought Experiments.  In it, Oxford philosopher, Janet Radcliffe Richards explains how experiments inspired by evolutionary thinking are shedding light on moral attitudes and how people make moral decisions.  The program should be available for listening to until Sunday 5th July, but there is a program transcript here, which should be available permanently. I feel the need to do some reading in this area now.

Darwiniana on BBC Radio 4

BBC Radio is starting the new year with several programs marking the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin (and also the 150th anniversary of the publication of On the Origin of Species).  The first full week of 2009 sees the following:

Darwin: In Our Time.  Melvyn Bragg discusses Darwin's life and work with various guests.  Four 45 minute episodes broadcast at 9:00am UT each day from Monday 5th to Thursday 8th January.

Dear Darwin.  Various academics (Craig Ventner, Jonathan Miller, Jerry Coyne, Peter Bentley, and Baruch Blumberg) read out personal letters they have written to Darwin.  Five 15 minute episodes broadcast at 15:45 UT each day from Monday 5th to Friday 9th January.

Hunting the Beagle.  Maritime historian Robert Prescott tracks down the final resting place of the ship that took Darwin round the world.  A 60 minute program (actually a revised repeat of one broadcast previously) to be broadcast at 21:00 UT on Friday 9th January.

In addition, the following is scheduled for broadcast in February:

Darwin, My Ancestor.  Ruth Padel, writer and great great grand-daughter of Darwin, talks with various experts and tries to find out what he was like as a person.

BBC radio programs such as these are normally available for listening to over the web for up to a week following their broadcast (sometimes even longer).