Editing BBC World Service (section)

=== World War II ===

The BBC would continue to claim independence from the Government during the war,{{sfn | Plock | 2021 | p=}}{{rp|25}} but as Asa Briggs noted, a complete picture of the wartime BBC would have to include 'persistent references' to the various connected agencies of the government.{{sfn | Briggs | 1995 | p=}}{{rp|393}} Chiefly, the [[Political Warfare Executive]], responsible for all broadcasts to Europe.{{sfn | Milland | 1998 | pp=353–373}}{{rp|354}}

On 3 January 1938, the first foreign-language service was launched—in Arabic. Programmes in German, Italian and French began broadcasting on 27 September 1938 projecting the British quest for peace in the days prior to the conference on the [[Munich Agreement]].

By the end of 1942, the BBC had started broadcasts in all major European languages. The Empire Service was renamed the '''BBC Overseas Service''' in November 1939, supplemented by the addition of a dedicated BBC European Service from 1941. Funding for these services—known administratively as the '''External Services of the BBC'''—came not from the domestic [[radio licence|licence fee]] but from government [[grant-in-aid]] (from the Foreign Office budget).{{Citation needed|date= July 2017}}

[[File:Aldwych, Bush House, WC2 - geograph.org.uk - 668798.jpg|thumb|right|[[Bush House]] in London was home to the World Service between 1941 and 2012.]]

The External Services broadcast propaganda during the [[Second World War]], on the German-language service {{ill|Londoner Rundfunk|de}} especially against Nazi rule, believed in the early days of the war at least to have weak support.{{sfn | Seul | 2015 | pp=378–396}} Its French service ''{{lang|fr|[[Radio Londres]]}}'' also sent coded messages to the [[French Resistance]]. [[George Orwell]] broadcast many news bulletins on the '''Eastern Service''' during the Second World War.<ref>{{Cite book|title= Orwell: The War Broadcasts|isbn= 0-563-20327-7|editor-last=West|editor-first= W. J.|year= 1985|publisher= Duckworth & Co/BBC}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Orwell: The War Commentaries|isbn=978-0-563-20349-0|editor-last=West|editor-first=W. J.|year= 1985|publisher= Duckworth & Co/BBC}}</ref><ref name="WS 40s history">{{cite web|title= Historic moments from the 1940s|url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/specials/1122_75_years/page3.shtml|publisher= BBC World Service|access-date= 16 July 2012|archive-date= 8 June 2012|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120608142236/http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/specials/1122_75_years/page3.shtml|url-status= live}}</ref> The [[Belgian government in exile]] broadcast from [[Radio Belgique]].