Kenneth Horne

Kenneth Horne first took to the airwaves in 1940 whilst in the RAF, where, instructed by an officer, he organised a broadcast. It was during the war that, teamed with Richard Murdoch, the airfield at Much Binding in the Marsh, took shape and formed one show in three of the forces programme Merry-Go-Round series. On demob he had reached the rank of Wing Commander and Much Binding became country club. The final series saw a periodical, The Daily Bind, being edited by the pair.

By 1958, Horne was at the helm of Beyond Our Ken, a sort of radio show, that was the forerunner to Round The Horne. More traditional in its structure, but with the same basic cast, this ran for several years until a dispute between the Beeb and the writer, Eric Merriman, lead to the creation of RTH.

Horne managed to combine radio with a successful career in British Industry and was chairman of Triplex Glass and Chad Valley Toys until his health began to deteriotate. He then made the decision to stick with the broadcasting, and despite a stroke and heart problems continued until the end of the fourth series of RTH. Preparation had already started for another season when, at a dinner, he stood up to make a speach and suffered a huge heart attack. He died before he hit the floor.