Last year I submitted Honor Balfour (1912-2001)’s former London home in Kensington for the award of a Blue Plaque to commemorate her many years there. It’s a long process with several stages of evaluation so it may be some while before the decision is made. I knew from my conversations with Honor what the drawing… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Honor Balfour
A visit to Royal Crescent – the London home of Honor Balfour
Years ago Honor Balfour described to me the décor of her London home in Royal Crescent, Kensington, acquired in the early post-war years long before the area became fashionable. So it was great when the London Gardens Trust Open Squares weekend in June brought the chance to visit Royal Crescent’s square.
Honour Balfour’s Broadcasting Career
With the publication of the article ‘What Honor did next, the pioneering broadcasting career of Honor Balfour (1912-2001)’, in the Journal of Liberal Democrat History, a very enjoyable period spent researching her remarkable life comes to a close.
BBC History Research: ‘Honor Balfour: the first significant woman in BBC Current Affairs’
In July 2019 as a guest contributor to the BBC history research website an introduction to Honor’s career at the BBC. The full article can be found here.
Honor Balfour’s contribution to British broadcasting
Research into Honor Balfour’s career as a journalist continues to yield rewards. It was against the backdrop of the early rivalry between the BBC Talks and News Departments that Honor forged her contribution to broadcasting which would span over the next three decades. The research continues but with the emphasis now firmly on Honor Balfour’s role as arguably the first significant woman current affairs commentator in broadcasting.
A Work in Progress talk: ‘A narrative from the archives: the life of the journalist and broadcaster Honor Balfour (1912-2001)’
A talk given to Friends of the Women’s Library, LSE, 20 November 2019
UK Vote 100: ‘Honor Balfour, Westminster and a Woman’s voice’
December 2018, as a guest contributor to the parliamentary archives vote100 blog. Honor regularly wrote and broadcast about Westminster politics. https://ukvote100.org/2018/12/17/honor-balfour-westminster-and-a-womans-voice/
Honor Balfour’s career as a journalist and broadcaster
I always believed Honor Balfour (1912-2001) was too modest about her life but even so I’ve been blown away by discovering the extent and range of her broadcasting career…