Frederick Blantford Bate
Encyclopedia
Frederick Blantford Bate was an American broadcaster of the early 20th century, and was a representative for NBC
in Britain during World War I
.. He was the husband of Vera Bate Lombardi
, the British socialite, and the father of Bridget Bate Tichenor
, the surrealist artist.
in 1886. His first marriage was to the Chicago candy-manufacturing heiress Mlss Plows, that ended in divorce on the grounds of his desertion.
He was active with the first automobile ambulance service during the First World War
and was a mechanical officer, involved with the organization of the first American Ambulance that became an ambulance
service connected with the First World War armies in the field. During his time in France he met Vera, then known as Sarah Gertrude Arkwright, who was serving at the American hospital in Paris. They married in 1916 though another source says 1919. They settled in Britain, and their daughter Bridget was born November 1917. Fred and Vera divorced in 1929.
Bate had lived in Britain for more than twenty years, coming from a background in the business and political worlds. He had served on a War Reparations Committee headed by Owen D. Young of General Electric
, and it was through Young that he had come to the attention of the network. He was a close friend of Edward, Prince of Wales
, as a result of his marriage in 1919 to Vera Bate Lombardi, who was known to the Prince of Wales. This would become quite significant for NBC in the not-too-distant future, when the Wallis Simpson affair would throw the British Government into a constitutional crisis. Because of Bate's connections, NBC provided more up-to-the-minute radio coverage of that story than any rival networks. Fred Bate was the NBC representative in London at the time and had access to King Edward VIII
. When the story of the king's affair with Wallis Simpson and the possibility of an abdication suddenly broke on a startled world, Bate was on holiday in New York. The fastest way back to London then took five days. He telephoned Alistair Cooke
and asked him to go immediately to Broadcasting House
and beam over a news dispatch for NBC before the midnight circuit, which the rival radio network, CBS
, had booked. Cooke did so, and for the next 10 days of the abdication crisis he broadcast to America
six or seven times a day.
At the end of the Second World War Bate moved back to the United States. He died, at Waterford, Virginia, in October 1970.
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
in Britain during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.. He was the husband of Vera Bate Lombardi
Vera Bate Lombardi
Vera Bate Lombardi, born Sarah Gertrude Arkwright, was a British socialite and close associate of Coco Chanel. The mother of Bridget Bate Tichenor, she may have been the illegitimate daughter of Adolphus Cambridge, 1st Marquess of Cambridge...
, the British socialite, and the father of Bridget Bate Tichenor
Bridget Bate Tichenor
Bridget Bate Tichenor , also known as Bridget Tichenor or B.B.T., was a Mexican surrealist painter of fantastic art in the school of magic realism and a fashion editor...
, the surrealist artist.
Career
Frederick Blantford Bate born in VirginiaVirginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
in 1886. His first marriage was to the Chicago candy-manufacturing heiress Mlss Plows, that ended in divorce on the grounds of his desertion.
He was active with the first automobile ambulance service during the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and was a mechanical officer, involved with the organization of the first American Ambulance that became an ambulance
Ambulance
An ambulance is a vehicle for transportation of sick or injured people to, from or between places of treatment for an illness or injury, and in some instances will also provide out of hospital medical care to the patient...
service connected with the First World War armies in the field. During his time in France he met Vera, then known as Sarah Gertrude Arkwright, who was serving at the American hospital in Paris. They married in 1916 though another source says 1919. They settled in Britain, and their daughter Bridget was born November 1917. Fred and Vera divorced in 1929.
Bate had lived in Britain for more than twenty years, coming from a background in the business and political worlds. He had served on a War Reparations Committee headed by Owen D. Young of General Electric
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
, and it was through Young that he had come to the attention of the network. He was a close friend of Edward, Prince of Wales
Edward VIII of the United Kingdom
Edward VIII was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth, and Emperor of India, from 20 January to 11 December 1936.Before his accession to the throne, Edward was Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall and Rothesay...
, as a result of his marriage in 1919 to Vera Bate Lombardi, who was known to the Prince of Wales. This would become quite significant for NBC in the not-too-distant future, when the Wallis Simpson affair would throw the British Government into a constitutional crisis. Because of Bate's connections, NBC provided more up-to-the-minute radio coverage of that story than any rival networks. Fred Bate was the NBC representative in London at the time and had access to King Edward VIII
Edward VIII of the United Kingdom
Edward VIII was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth, and Emperor of India, from 20 January to 11 December 1936.Before his accession to the throne, Edward was Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall and Rothesay...
. When the story of the king's affair with Wallis Simpson and the possibility of an abdication suddenly broke on a startled world, Bate was on holiday in New York. The fastest way back to London then took five days. He telephoned Alistair Cooke
Alistair Cooke
Alfred Alistair Cooke KBE was a British/American journalist, television personality and broadcaster. Outside his journalistic output, which included Letter from America and Alistair Cooke's America, he was well known in the United States as the host of PBS Masterpiece Theater from 1971 to 1992...
and asked him to go immediately to Broadcasting House
Broadcasting House
Broadcasting House is the headquarters and registered office of the BBC in Portland Place and Langham Place, London.The building includes the BBC Radio Theatre from where music and speech programmes are recorded in front of a studio audience...
and beam over a news dispatch for NBC before the midnight circuit, which the rival radio network, CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
, had booked. Cooke did so, and for the next 10 days of the abdication crisis he broadcast to America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
six or seven times a day.
At the end of the Second World War Bate moved back to the United States. He died, at Waterford, Virginia, in October 1970.