John Snagge

John Derrick Mordaunt Snagge (8 May 190425 March 1996) was a British newsreader and commentator on BBC Radio. Life Born in Chelsea, London, Snagge was educated at Winchester College and Pembroke College, Oxford, where he obtained a degree in law. He then joined the BBC, taking up the position of assistant director at Stoke-on-Trent's new relay station 6ST. He broadcast his first sports commentary (of a Hull City versus Stoke City football match) in January 1927, after the BBC obtained the rights to cover major sporting events. In 1928, Snagge was transferred to London to work as one of the BBC's main announcers alongside Stuart Hibberd. From 1931 until 1980, he commentated on the annual Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race. He provided commentary for the coronation of King George VI in 1937 and again in 1953 for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. He also announced on 6 February 1952 at 11:15 the Death of King George VI. At the start of the Second World War, Snagge was made the BBC's presentation director and delivered important radio announcements as the war unfolded. By the time of the D-Day landings in 1944, he was presenting the magazine programme War Report which featured regular news from the beaches of Normandy. He announced that Allied Armies have started landing "on the northern coast of France" at 9.32 am on 6 June, but without giving the actual location (Normandy).