FW Ogilvie

Sir Frederick Wolff Ogilvie (1893-1949) was an economics academic and former Vice-Chancellor at Queen’s University, Belfast.

He was appointed Director-General after John Reith left the post in 1938. He took on the role at a difficult time, during the early years of World War II, when the press and Government questioned the BBC's existence. He defended BBC independence but is thought to have shown lack of leadership.

Programme services, especially Overseas broadcasting increased in his time. However, delays and overspending meant he was replaced in 1942 by a joint team of RW Foot and Cecil Graves. Reith wrote in his autobiography "I was quite sure he was not the man for the BBC".

Ogilvie later became Principal of Jesus College, Oxford and was a vocal critic of the post-war BBC.