Editing Richard Murdoch (section)

===''Band Waggon'' and ''Much-Binding-in-the-Marsh''===

In 1938 the BBC teamed Murdoch with Arthur Askey in the radio series ''[[Band Waggon]]'', where they were soon billed as "Richard ('Stinker') Murdoch and "'Big-hearted' Arthur Askey". The smooth West End style of Murdoch contrasted with the down-to-earth humour of Askey, whose background was in seaside concert parties. Their main slot in the weekly show took up only about ten minutes, but caught the public imagination. They were depicted as occupying a flat on top of [[Broadcasting House]]. Took comments that their humour was a forerunner of much radio comedy to come:
{{blockquote|… the fantasy of their living in Broadcasting House, and the creation of such mythical characters as Mrs Bagwash the charlady and her daughter Nausea and their pet animals, a goat called Lewis, and two pigeons Basil and Lucy, preceded ''[[ITMA]]'' and ''[[Hancock's Half Hour]]'' and was a strong influence on many nascent comedy scriptwriters.<ref name=odnb/>|}}

Towards the end of 1938, after two series on the BBC, ''Band Waggon'' became a stage show. The impresario [[Jack Hylton]] presented the two stars and a supporting cast in a show that toured the provincial music-halls and finished with a run at the [[London Palladium]] in 1939.<ref name=odnb/> ''[[The Observer]]'' commented that they worked so well together because "they find the same things funny. Each has a special line of humour that sets the other going".<ref>"From 'The Band Waggon' to the Films", ''The Observer'', 4 December 1938, p. 11</ref> The stars featured in a film adaptation in 1940.<ref>Lejeune, C. A. "In the Cinemas", ''The Observer'', 28 January 1940, p. 11</ref>

Murdoch was conscripted into the [[Royal Air Force]] in 1941, serving as a [[pilot officer]] in the intelligence section of [[RAF Bomber Command|Bomber Command]], before being posted to the Department of Allied Air Force and Foreign Liaison as a [[flight lieutenant]]. In 1943 he joined the Directorate of Administrative Plans at the [[Air Ministry]], where he shared an office with [[Wing commander (rank)|wing commander]] [[Kenneth Horne]], being responsible for the supply of aircraft and air equipment to Russia. He finished the war with the rank of [[Squadron Leader]].<ref>Johnston, pp. 58–61</ref> Horne and Murdoch quickly became friends and as both were regular broadcasters they invented a fictitious RAF station [[Much-Binding-in-the-Marsh]] for a programme of the same name. It went on air in January 1944, and when peace came in 1945 it became a civilian airport and the show continued successfully; the last programme was in March 1954.<ref name=odnb>Took, Barry. [https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-39942 "Murdoch, Richard Bernard (1907–1990), actor and comedian"], ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004. Retrieved 18 June 2020 {{ODNBsub}}</ref>