Editing BBC Symphony Orchestra (section)

===Second World War and postwar===
On the outbreak of war in September 1939 the BBC put into effect its contingency plans to minimise disruption of broadcasting. The corporation withdrew from responsibility for the Proms, with which Wood went ahead, backed by the Royal Philharmonic Society, with the LSO replacing the BBC SO.<ref>Doctor, pp. 116 and 121</ref> The BBC SO was relocated from London to [[Bristol]]. More than 40 players were released for active service, including the 30 youngest members; the orchestra was reduced to a complement of 70, although it was increased to 90 later in the war.<ref>Kennedy, p. 187</ref> During 1940 and 1941 Bristol suffered devastation from German air-raids, and the BBC decided to move the orchestra again. In September 1941 the BBC SO took up residence in [[Bedford]], where it remained, giving live broadcasts and making recordings until it returned permanently to its London base at the BBC's [[Maida Vale Studios|BBC Maida Vale studios]] in 1945.<ref>Kennedy, pp. 200–202</ref> The BBC resumed its support for the Proms in 1942, with the BBC SO returning temporarily to London during the Proms seasons of 1942–45.<ref>Kennedy, p. 197</ref> For the rest of the year, the orchestra played in the hall of [[Bedford School]], and after the launch of the [[V-1 (flying bomb)|V-1]] raids in 1944 the remaining broadcast concerts of that year's Proms season were performed at the [[Corn Exchange, Bedford|Bedford Corn Exchange]].<ref>Doctor, pp. 127–129</ref>

Boult had striven to maintain the orchestra's standards and prestige during the war; as an instance of its prowess in the 1940s Kennedy cites a [[His Master's Voice (British record label)|His Master's Voice]] recording of Elgar's [[Symphony No. 2 (Elgar)|Second Symphony]] released in January 1945: "a performance that blazed with excitement and passion and is documentary evidence of the excellence of the orchestra in 1944".<ref>Kennedy, pp. 200–201</ref> With Reith long gone from the post of director-general, Boult found that the top management of the BBC was less concerned for the status of its Symphony Orchestra. The new director-general, [[William Haley|Sir William Haley]], was unwilling to approve the funding needed to keep the orchestra competitive with new rivals – [[Walter Legge]]'s [[Philharmonia Orchestra|Philharmonia]] and Beecham's [[Royal Philharmonic Orchestra|Royal Philharmonic]].<ref name=briggs>{{cite journal |last=Briggs|first=Asa|author-link=Asa Briggs|title = The BBC Symphony Orchestra: The First Fifty Years 1930–1980 by Nicholas Kenyon|journal = Music & Letters |volume=66 |issue=3|date = July 1985|pages = 256–259|jstor = 854584 |doi=10.1093/ml/66.3.256}} {{subscription required}}</ref> Some younger players felt that many BBC SO principals were past their best.<ref>Aldous, p. 55</ref> [[Steuart Wilson]], the new Director of Music who had previously been married to Boult's wife Ann, engineered Boult's retirement in 1950,<ref>Kennedy, pp. 215–219</ref><ref>Briggs, p. 674</ref> Wilson had neglected to secure a successor of similar eminence to take over the orchestra. His efforts to recruit [[John Barbirolli|Sir John Barbirolli]] and [[Rafael Kubelík]] were unsuccessful,<ref>Kenyon, pp. 220 (Barbirolli) and 228 (Kubelík)</ref> and he was obliged to offer the post to his third choice, [[Malcolm Sargent|Sir Malcolm Sargent]], on whatever terms Sargent demanded.<ref>Aldous, p. 159</ref>