John Snagge reading the news c1944. (BBC publicity photograph)

John Derrick Mordaunt Snagge OBE (8 May 1904 – 25 March 1996) was a long-time and well-known British newsreader and commentator on BBC Radio. He was educated at Winchester College, a famous boys' independent school in Winchester, Hampshire, in southern England. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Commanders Badge of the Order of the British Empire (Military division) The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions; in decreasing order of seniority... May 8 is the 128th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (129th in leap years). ... Year 1904 (MCMIV) was a leap year starting on a Friday (see link for calendar). ... March 25 is the 84th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (85th in leap years). ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... ITV newscaster Mark Austin. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... BBC Radio is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927. ... Winchester College is a well-known boys independent school, and an example of a British public school, in the city of Winchester in Hampshire, England. ... An independent school is a school which is not dependent upon national or local government for financing its operation and is instead operated by tuition charges, gifts, and perhaps the investment yield of an endowment. ... Winchester is a historic city in southern England, with a population of around 40,000 within a 3 mile radius of its centre. ... Hampshire, sometimes historically Southamptonshire or Hamptonshire, (abbr. ... Southern England is a vague term referring to the south of England. ...

He joined the BBC in 1924 after graduating from Pembroke College, Oxford, taking up the position of Assistant Director at Stoke-on-Trent's newly-founded local radio station. He broadcast his first sports commentary (of a Hull City versus Stoke City football match) in January 1927, after the BBC obtained the rights to cover major sporting events. College name Pembroke College Collegium Pembrochianum Named after The Earl of Pembroke Established 1624 Sister College Queens College Master Giles Henderson JCR President Dawn Rennie Undergraduates 408 MCR President Ross Nicolson Graduates 119 College Homepage Boat Club The lodge and the entrance to Pembroke College in Pembroke Square. ... The University of Oxford, located in the city of Oxford in England, is the oldest university in the English-speaking world. ... This page is about Stoke-on-Trent in England. ... Hull City Association Football Club are an English football team based at the KC Stadium (Kingston Communications Stadium) in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire. ... Stoke City Football Club (known as Stoke Football Club until 1925) is a football club from Stoke-on-Trent in England. ... Football (soccer) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ...

In 1928, Snagge was transferred to London to work as one of the BBC's main announcers alongside Stuart Hibberd. From 1931 until 1980, he commentated on the annual Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race, once uttering the memorable line "I can't see who's in the lead, but it's either Oxford or Cambridge." He provided commentary for the coronation of King George VI in 1937 and again in 1953 for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... Andrew Stuart Hibberd MBE (5 September 1893 - 1 November 1983) was a British radio personality. ... Boat Race Logo Exhausted crews at the finish of the 2002 Boat Race The Boat Race is a rowing race between the rowing clubs of the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge. ... The coronation of Empress Farah, of Iran in 1967. ... George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George Windsor) (14 December 1895 - 6 February 1952) became the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, each of the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, upon the unexpected abdication of his brother, Edward VIII. He reigned from 11 December 1936... Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor; born 21 April 1926) is Queen of sixteen sovereign states, holding each crown and title equally. ...

At the start of World War II, Snagge was made the BBC's Presentation Director and thereafter delivered many important radio announcements as the war unfolded. By the time of the D-Day landings in 1944, he was presenting the magazine programme War Report which featured regular news updates from the beaches of Normandy. Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... |image= |caption=Assault landing One of the first waves at Omaha Beach. ... Flag of Normandy Normandy (in French: Normandie, and in Norman: Normaundie) is a geographical region in northern France. ...

In the early 1950s, Snagge played a key role in the negotiations that led to the ground-breaking radio comedy series The Goon Show being commissioned by the BBC. He subsequently provided many self-parodying announcements for the show, usually pre-recorded. Later, in the 1970s, he would echo his original wartime role by appearing as the Newsreader in the radio version of Dad's Army. 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Goon Show was a popular and influential British radio comedy programme, originally produced and broadcast by the BBC from 1951 to 1960 on the BBC Home Service. ... 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1970 calendar). ... Dads Army was a British sitcom about the Home Guard in the Second World War, written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft and broadcast on BBC television between 1968 and 1977. ...

On 5 July 1954, John Snagge read the first BBC television news bulletin. July 5 is the 186th day of the year (187th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 179 days remaining. ... 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Snagge retired in 1965, but continued to provide commentaries for the Boat Race until 1980. Around this time he also appeared on Noel Edmonds' Radio 1 show on Sunday mornings, a role subsequently taken up by Brian Perkins. Edmonds presenting Top of the Pops Noel Ernest Edmonds (born December 22, 1948 in Ilford) is an English television presenter, DJ and executive who made his name on BBC Radio 1 in England. ... Brian Perkins is a senior newsreader on BBC Radio 4. ...

John Snagge died in 1996, aged 91.

External links

• John Snagge at the Radio Academy's Hall of Fame.
• John Snagge announcing the D Day landings, June 6, 1944
• John Snagge announcing the death of King George VI, February 6, 1952