Arthur Swinson Radio Plays
Arthur Swinson (c.1915–1970) was an army officer, writer, playwright and historian.
He was born in St. Albans and attended the local school. He enlisted in the Rifle Brigade in 1939 and in 1940 was commissioned into the Worcestershire Regiment. With this regiment he fought in the battle of Kohima, north-east India, near the border with Burma. He kept diaries during the battle which are lodged in the Imperial War Museum. He served until 1946, in Malaya, Burma, and India.Later he became a writer and producer at the BBC. In 1966 he wrote an account of the Battle of Kohima.
Swinson wrote Scotch on the Rocks in 1963, which told the true story of the wartime wreck of the S.S.Politician, on which Compton MacKenzie's novel Whisky Galore was based.
He wrote a large number of radio plays, most of which are listed below. Recordings of some of them have been found and archived.
SATURDAY NIGHT THEATRE
The Courier, Home Service, 9.10.1965/2030,John Justin/Nicolette Bernard
The Bridge of Estaban, Home Service,10.6.1950/2115,Miriam Lehmann/Godfrey Kenton/May Agate/Charles Lefeaux
AFTERNOON THEATRE
19.7.1974 The Man At The Wheel; Clifford Norgate/Hector Ross/Terence de Marney
7.9.1973 The First Command ; Frederick Treves/Gordon Faith/John Dearth
1.12.1972 Ordeal at High Water; Victor Lucas/Wilfred Babbage/Denis McCarthy/Alan Dudley
23.6.1971 The Outbreak; Simon Lack/Eric Allan/Nigel Anthony
7.5.1971 The Waitoreke; John Collin/Mary Chester/Ralph Truman/Howieson Culff
11.12.1970 The Feast of St. Luke; Patrick Barr/Walter Fitzgerald/Peter Claughton/Michael McClain
28.11.1970 Albury '34; Rolf Lefebvre/Alexander John/Antony Viccars/Russell Napier
24.10.1970 The Man at the Wheel; Clifford Norgate/Hector Ross/Terence de Marney
29.7.1970 A Cargo of Rice; Lockwood West/Alexander John/Antony Viccars/Duncan McIntyre
18.10.1969 The Battle Before Alamein; Douglas Hankin/Garard Green/Harold Kasket/Frank Henderson
26.4.1969 The Lion of Gallirchi; John Bentley/Francis de Wolff/Michael Spice
8.3.1969 The Centurion ; John Pullen/Jan Edwards/Carleton Hobbs/Malcolm Hayes
30.11.1968 The Siege of Kangamar; Carleton Hobbs/Frederick Treves/John Pullen/Betty Hardy
10.4.1968 Albury '34; Rolf Lefebvre/Alexander John/Antony Viccars/Russell Napier
4.11.1967 A Cargo of Rice; Lockwood West/Alexander John/Antony Viccars/Duncan McIntyre
20.5.1967 The Battle Before Alamein; Douglas Hankin/Garard Green/Harold Kasket/Frank Henderson
13.5.1967 The Bunyip; Geoffrey Matthews/Gudrun Ure/Preston Lockwood
1.4.1967 Ordeal at High Water; Wilfred Babbage/Alan Dudley/Victor Lucas/Duncan McIntyre
21.1.1967 The Scars of Freedom; Victor Lucas/Eva Haddon/Brian Hewlett
1.10.1966 The Feast of St. Luke; Patrick Barr/Walter Fitzgerald/Peter Claughton/Michael McClain
9.7.1966 The Day In Darkness; John Alderton/John Dearth/Susan Maudslay/Rolf Lefebvre
14.4.1965 A Cry In The Woods; Patricia Leventon/Anthony Hall/Malcolm Hayes
23.1.1965 The Waitoreke; John Collin/Mary Chester/Ralph Truman/Howieson Culff
MIDWEEK THEATRE
A Cry in the Woods; Light 24.5.1967/2015 Anthony Hall/Patricia Levenson
The Pipeline; Light 20.4.1966/2040 June Tobin/John Justin/Hector Ross/Cecile Chevreau
The First Command; Light 18.8.1965/2040 Frederick Treves/Gordon Faith
The Uncertain Witness; Light 27.11.1963/2040 John Darran/Andrew Brown/Gordon Faith/Andrew Sachs
SERIALS, MONDAY PLAY, THIRTY MINUTE THEATRE
none
Nigel Deacon / Diversity website
