- Graham Spry
Graham Spry, CC (
February 20 1900 -November 24 1983 ) was a Canadian broadcasting pioneer, business executive, diplomat andsocialist . He was the husband ofIrene Spry and father ofRobin Spry .Profile
Graham Spry was born in
St. Thomas, Ontario . While a student at theUniversity of Manitoba Spry became an editorial writer at the "Manitoba Free Press ", where he was mentored by editor and Canadian nationalistAllan Dafoe . He also edited the student newspaper, theManitoban . He then studied history atOxford University as a Rhodes Scholar. Upon his return to Canada, he became Secretary of theCanadian Clubs , and organized a nation-wide broadcast to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary ofCanadian Confederation . The accomplishment, achieved despite the lack of a national radio network, convinced Prime MinisterWilliam Lyon Mackenzie King to appoint the Aird Commission on Radio Broadcasting, aroyal commission which recommended the creation of a national broadcaster.Following the defeat of King's government Spry and
Alan Plaunt formed theCanadian Radio League to rally support behind the Aird Commission's recommendation, arguing that it amounted to a choice between two alternatives, "the State or the United States". [Peers, Frank. (1969) "The Politics of Canadian Broadcasting, 1920-1951." Toronto: University of Toronto Press, p. 91. ISBN 0-8020-5214-2] The League mobilized public opinion in both English- and French-speaking regions of Canada, and convinced the Conservative government ofR.B. Bennett to form theCanadian Radio Broadcasting Commission , which later became theCanadian Broadcasting Corporation .A socialist, Spry cofounded the
League for Social Reconstruction (LSR), contributed to the writing of theRegina Manifesto , and purchased both the "Farmer's Sun" (publication of theUnited Farmers of Ontario ), renamed the "New Commonwealth", and the "Canadian Forum " to propagate the LSR's views. He served as chairman of the Ontario Cooperative Commonwealth Federation from 1934 to 1936. He twice ran unsuccessfully for theCanadian House of Commons in a 1934by-election and the 1935 general election as aCooperative Commonwealth Federation candidate. He lost on both occasions to ConservativeTommy Church .During the
Spanish Civil War Spry helped organize theMackenzie-Papineau Battalion that fought on the Republican side.Ontario New Democratic Party, [http://www.westernnewdemocrats.ca/?page_id=9 "History of the NDP"] , accessed February 14, 2008]In 1938, Spry married Irene Mary Biss. Unable to find work in Canada because of his socialist convictions, however, Spry accepted a job offer from an old Oxford friend and served as a British-based executive for
Standard Oil from 1940 to 1946, managing subsidiaries operating in theMiddle East and elsewhere. From 1942 to 1945, he also served as personal assistant to SirStafford Cripps , a Labour minister in the wartime Britishcabinet , and travelled with Cripps to India. After the war, Spry was named agent-general ofTommy Douglas 's CCF government in London representing the province ofSaskatchewan from 1946 to 1968 in Britain, including responsibility for Europe and the Middle East.Spry played a crucial role during the 1962
Saskatchewan Doctors' Strike against Medicare by recruiting British doctors to move to the province. In 1968 he reactivated his involvement with broadcasting, founding theCanadian Broadcasting League over which he presided until 1973. In 1970, Spry reputedly turned down Prime MinisterPierre Trudeau 's offer of a Senate seat. That same year, he was made a Companion of theOrder of Canada . Graham Spry died in Ottawa on November 24, 1983.A federal government building dedicated in the name of Graham Spry is located at 250 Lanark Avenue in Ottawa. It houses several directorates of
Health Canada .References
External links
* [http://archives.cbc.ca/IDC-1-75-1631-11232/science_technology/early_radio-tv/clip4 1961 interview with Spry recounting the activities of the
Canadian Radio League in establishing public broadcasting.]
* [http://www.com.umontreal.ca/spry/spry-e.html Graham Spry Fund for Public Broadcasting]
* [http://www3.cbc.ca/facilities/Museum.html Graham Spry Theatre] (CBC Broadcasting Museum)Further reading
Babe, Robert. (2000) "Graham Spry" in "Canadian Communications Thought: Ten Foundational Writers." Toronto: University of Toronto Press. ISBN 0-8020-7949-0.
McChesney, Robert W. (1999) [http://www.cjc-online.ca/viewarticle.php?id=504 "Graham Spry and the Future of Canadian Broadcasting"] , "Canadian Journal of Communication" 24(1).
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