A London commemorative plaque for every day in 2016. The plaques are selected from all walks of life, and all points of the London compass – and I'm taking requests too!
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Edward R. Murrow 84 Hallam Street, Westminster
Edward R. Murrow (1908 – 1965), the American broadcast journalist who worked at CBS for his entire career, moved to London in 1937 to head up the network’s European operations.
During the war he reported on air from Blitz-beleaguered London. He is famed in both broadcasting circles and the folklore of World War Two for his famous intro and sign off.
His broadcasts always began with the words “This… is London” – always with a slight, but dramatic pause after the word “This”. There were few places more dramatic than London in 1940.
His sign off is equally famous: “Good night. And good luck.”
Murrow’s ear had been caught with the oft-repeated simple phrase “good luck”, which was appended to many a conversation at the height of The Blitz – a time when Londoners knew not what the night would bring, or indeed if that would ever usher in a morning. Even Princess Elizabeth (the future Queen Elizabeth II) had used it in a radio broadcast (“good night and good luck to you all”). Murrow incorporated it as an off the cuff ad-lib in 1940 and a catchphrase was born.
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