Bruce Campbell
Bruce Campbell had a long and wide-ranging involvement with wildlife broadcasting, introducing numerous programmes and spending three years as the head of the BBC's Natural History Unit (NHU).
Taking a keen interest in radio in his early years, Bruce wrote his first script whilst still at school and went on to work extensively within the industry, appearing on shows such as the Naturalist and Birds in Britain. Passionate about ornithology he released many books on the subject including, in 1959, the popular handbook, Birdwatching for Beginners.
After World War II Bruce championed the work of German sound recordist Ludwig Koch, bringing Koch's wide collection of bird songs to the attention of the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO). 1948 saw him becoming the secretary of the BTO and serving on the panel of the Wildlife Collection with renowned naturalist Julian Huxley.
During this time he was involved with the BBC appearing not only on radio broadcasts but from 1958, presenting the monthly children's television programme, Out of Doors. Around this time Bruce began discussions with the NHU's founder, Desmond Hawkins and in April 1959 took up the post of senior producer. Despite having no experience as a producer, Bruce quickly settled into the role producing a wide range of programmes for the Unit.
Early on he presented a special programme on the successful hatching of osprey eggs in Scotland. The Return of the Osprey went to air in the August of 1959, proving hugely popular. While still senior producer, Bruce travelled to Oxford and came across the work of Gerald Thompson, a lecturer in forest entomology and founding member of Oxford Scientific Films. Hugely impressed by his pictures, Bruce arranged for him to meet Peter Scott and Eileen Molony, the producer of Look, a meeting that convinced Gerald to seriously take up wildlife cinematography.
After a successful three years at its Head, Bruce left the Unit in 1962. Continuing with writing, Bruce has since produced many works including, in 1974, the very successful publication, A Dictionary of Birds.
