William Ibbett

Commander

William Ibbett
Born(1886-06-21)21 June 1886
Oxted, Surrey, England
Died28 June 1975(1975-06-28) (aged 89)
Burgess Hill, West Sussex, England
Allegiance United Kingdom
Service / branch Royal Navy
RankCommander
Other workRadio presenter

Commander William Ibbett (21 June 1886 – 28 June 1975) was an English submariner, and later a BBC Radio broadcaster.

Life

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Ibbett was born in 1886[1] at Oxted, Surrey, England.[2] After growing up in Wiltshire,[3] he joined the Royal Navy, serving during the First World War, including an attachment to the Russian submarine service, during which the October Revolution occurred,[3] and until 1922, then re-enlisting in the Second World War.[2] Between the wars, his various jobs included tea-planting in Ceylon and work on a whaling ship in the Antarctic.[3]

He appeared in the BBC in the 1930s,[4] and, during the 1950s, appeared regularly on the BBC radio programme Woman's Hour, reminiscing about his career.[5] He was also featured on a 1969 BBC record, Voices From Woman's Hour Past And Present.[6] His radio work was credited simply as "Commander Ibbett".

He appeared as a castaway on the BBC Radio programme Desert Island Discs on 21 October 1957.[7]

He died in June 1975 at the age of 89 in Burgess Hill, West Sussex.[2]

References

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  1. ^ His naval service records give his birth year as 1887
  2. ^ a b c "Royal Navy (RN) Officers 1939-1945 - I". Unit Histories. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  3. ^ a b c Transcript of Desert Island Discs appearance, in BBC archives
  4. ^ "Broadcasting". The Times. 13 September 1939. Retrieved 1 August 2014. (subscription required)
  5. ^ "Woman's Hour, Mrs RD Keynes". BBC Online. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  6. ^ "Ruth Drew Nancy Spain Anne Jones Commander Ibbett Voices From Womans Hour". Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  7. ^ "Desert Island Discs - Castaway : Commander Ibbett". BBC Online. BBC. Retrieved 27 July 2014.
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