This is a list of events from
British radio in 1949.
Events
January
9 January – The death today in London of comedian
Tommy Handley is announced after the Sunday evening repeat of his popular series It's That Man Again by the Director General of the BBC, Sir
William Haley, who insists on making the announcement himself; ITMA is immediately cancelled[1] and succeeded by Ray's a Laugh with
Ted Ray,[2] while Take It from Here takes over its repeat slot.[3]
26 March –
The Boat Race 1949 is memorable for a
blooper in which BBC commentator
John Snagge, on a
launch whose engine has failed,[5] announces "I can't see who's in the lead, but it's either Oxford or Cambridge."[6]
5 September – Wagnerian tenor
Walter Widdop makes his last appearance at the
BBC Proms, singing an aria from Lohengrin, only one day before his sudden death.