Rediffusion (Hong Kong) Limited....... Memoirs of Peter Hammond

Excerpt from “Pete - the Memoirs of Peter Hammond”
Episode 12: Hong Kong
July 1958 - September 1966 Page 3

Although generally speaking the programmes seemed to go with a swing and without any major problems surfacing on viewers' television screens, there was one extremely hairy incident about half way through the series, stemming from one of the questions I put. It all began at one of my regular meetings with Lesley Sung at which he challenged my inability to find any suitable local news in the "Tiger Standard" during the week in question. He quickly browsed through the relevant editions of his paper and suggested I should include a question on a press release issued by Hong Kong's Beer Brewers "San Miguel" containing an emphatic denial of a rumour that had been circulating in the Colony to the effect that one of the Brewery's workmen had fallen into and drowned in one of the Brewery's beer vats. I told Lesley I had quite intentionally omitted this item as it seemed to me fraught with legal pitfalls. "Nonsense!" was his reaction; "if San Miguel choose to issue a public statement on a matter of concern to them, they will surely welcome any additional publicity given to their statement". So I agreed to include it in my next quiz. At the recording I asked the participant whose turn it was (it was a bright little girl) to explain the nature of a recent press release put out by a local Hong Kong Brewery. Without batting an eyelid she replied: "There's a dead man in the beer at San Miguel". To which I instantly responded: "Right - three points!" Then, at the back of my mind sensing I might somehow be skating on thin ice, I added: "What actually happened was that San Miguel issued a statement denying the rumour that one of their workers had fallen into the beer"; and I then moved on to the next question. Now Len Thorne was supposed to view all recordings before they were broadcast, in order to guard against anything being included that might cause offence of one kind or another. As it happened the question about the dead man in the beer did not register with him as falling into such a category; and the programme was broadcast in its entirety, just as it had been recorded.
The day following the broadcast I received a telephone call at my office asking me to make my way to Rediffusion House as soon as possible, as "George" (Oldridge) and the Company solicitor wanted to question me about something in the previous evening's "Right You Are" quiz. This was my first ever - and only - face to face meeting with "George", who turned out to have a most gentle and kind personality, almost to the point of appearing shy. He received me in the conference room, where I found all senior staff members gathered, together with the Company solicitor. "Now Peter", he reassured me, "there is nothing for you to worry about; but we would just like to know why you chose the question about "San Miguel". Was it your own choice or did someone suggest that you should include it?" When I told him that Lesley Sung had asked me to include it "George" asked me whether I had the impression that Lesley might have had an ulterior motive. Did I remember, he then asked, precisely what I had said.
As I did not he had a recording of that item played back for me. Why had I used the words "what actually happened".... was this intentional or did it just slip out on the spur of the moment? He realised that under the stress of a live broadcast no one could be expected to weigh every word he used. I was then told that "San Miguel's" solicitors were proposing to sue Rediffusion for damages amounting to HK$ 1,000,000 in respect of lost business; but that this would be of no concern to me and that on returning home I could forget about the whole business. As I learned subsequently, "San Miguel" ultimately came to the conclusion that to press their claim would merely have had the effect of revitalising the damaging rumour; so they decided the drop it in the hope that it would soon be forgotten for once and for all.

In June I told Stephen Chou I'd arranged to take some local leave during the second half of July and would very much like to take him up on his kind offer of sending me on a "duty visit" to Japan during that period. Arrangements were duly made for me to fly to Tokyo on Tuesday, 12th July by Pan American World Airways (co-sponsors of our main 9 pm television news broadcasts). During the previous few weeks I had made it my business to learn a bit of basic Japanese by getting a Japanese-speaking girl from Taiwan whom I'd met through Stephen Chou to read passages from a Japanese textbook into my tape recorder; and then listening to the passages being repeated over and over again as I dozed off for my siesta or before retiring to bed at night. The day before my departure for Japan I received a surprise invitation to lunch at "Jimmy's Kitchen" from Rediffusion's Roddy Warren - whom I had always regarded simply as being "George's" deputy. Over lunch Roddy explained that he was, in fact, the Managing Director of Rediffusion (Hong Kong) Ltd, which was a subsidiary of Rediffusion (Overseas) Ltd, "George" being the Managing Director of the latter. Roddy went on to tell me that Len Thorne had recently been suffering from one of his recurring bouts of depression, had taken to the bottle and locked himself into his office for long periods during which he had petulantly refused to communicate with anyone. "George" and Roddy had reached the conclusion that this state of affairs could no longer be tolerated and it had, therefore, been decided to terminate Len's contract. The purpose of our lunch was to sound me out as to whether I might be interested in taking Len's place as Controller of the English Television Channel. He regretted not being able to make me a formal offer at this stage, as this would need "George's" prior approval; and "George" happened very recently to have left on a duty trip to the UK. However, Roddy had made up his mind that I was ideally qualified for the job and, as my nomination had the whole-hearted backing of other senior staff members, including that of the Controller of the Chinese Television Channel, Robert Chung, he saw no reason to anticipate any opposition from "George". At this preliminary stage, however, he asked me to keep our conversation strictly under wraps and definitely not to do anything about terminating my present employment until "George" returned to give the matter his blessing. Needless to say, I told Roddy I was delighted to be nominated and greatly looked forward to receiving a formal offer.

Back in Hong Kong I again picked up the threads of the burning question that had been left unresolved before my departure for Japan - for its outcome would be decisive in shaping the pattern of my future life. "George", I discovered, had not yet returned to the Colony to give - or withhold - his blessing in respect of the tentative offer of a dream job made to me by Roddy Warren; and my second four-year Ministry of Defence tour in Hong Kong was due to end in just a few weeks time, when I was supposed to be leaving the Colony on posting back to "BSSO" in Germany, a prospect that sent shivers of horror and despair down my spine especially when notification was received at the very last moment that I was to re-join the staff of "BSSO's" Berlin office!
I was left waiting on tenterhooks for three more interminable weeks! Then I got a call from Roddy to tell me he very much regretted having disappointing news for me; and he invited me to join him for lunch at the Hong Kong Club when he would explain what had happened. It transpired that while in London "George" had made the acquaintance of an experienced BBC man who was looking for a change of jobs; and he had decided to sign him up on the spot to replace Len Thorne as Controller of the English television channel - an unforeseeable development that had taken Roddy by stunned surprise; and, in view of the offer he had made me, one that had left him with a painfully guilty conscience. He apologised profusely for having raised my hopes in vain.
Although utterly shattered by this sickening bombshell, once I had recovered from the initial shock I sought consolation by reappraising whether, after all, I really was ideally cut out for the Rediffusion job. One of the principal tasks confronting the Controller of the English television channel was to draw up programme schedules which, in the main, were made up of
American entertainment series, about which I knew precious little and for which I cared even less! At all events, there was no point in crying over spilled milk! The only way ahead now was to come to terms with reality by trying to muster some sort of enthusiasm over returning to my old, grimly familiar beat of yesteryear, only this time in the guise of a permanent and pensionable civil servant.