Background

George Albert Manuel Hills was born on June 6, 1918, in Mexico City, Mexico. His father was from the United Kingdom and his mother was from Spain. He was the youngest of seven children and spent his youth in Mexico and Argentina.

Education

George Hills was educated by the Jesuits from the age of seven at Wimbledon College. He gained a Bachelor of Arts from King's College, London in 1939.

Career

During World War II, George Hills served in the Royal Artillery and was an intelligence officer in Asia until 1947. Hills' expertise in training was widely sought at home and abroad. Radio Canada Nacional brought him to Montreal in 1976 to organize and deliver various courses. In the emerging Democracy in Spain, following the death of General Franco, he was instrumental in establishing Training on TV and Radio, in the Basque Region as well as other areas of Spain, in particular, Madrid. In Madrid, he helped to found the new University of Francisco de Vitoria, dedicated to Broadcasting and the Media. Then he was hired by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), working as the Malay-Indonesian program organizer and then as a program organizer for the Spanish and Latin-American Spanish Services. His broadcasting career also included a position as Staff Training Officer for External Services. Sir Trevor McDonald and Angela Rippon were among the students. In 1962, he was asked to accompany H.R.H.Prince Philip on his Royal Tour of South America as BBC Representative. His bilingual ability and knowledge of the Continent were put to good use. He retired from BBC in 1977.

George Hills' interest in Latin America and Spain led to his writing several books. He published his first book, Franco: The Man and his Nation, in 1967. In researching this biography, he had been granted rarely given interviews with the General. Three more Hispanic tomes followed: Spain in 1970; Rock of Contention: A History of Gibraltar in 1974 and The Battle for Madrid in 1976. He was working on a fifth book in two volumes on the subject of a History of the Communist Party in Spain when he died.

Achievements

• George Hills was awarded an MBE for services to Broadcasting in the New Year's Honours List of 1992. Days before he died, he received the news that a TV and Radio Studio at the University of Francisco de Vitoria was to be named after him.

Works

More photos

• book

  • Franco: The Man and His Nation 1968
  • The Battle for Madrid 1976
  • Rock of Contention: A History of Gibraltar 1974
  • Spain 1970

Religion

A devout Catholic, Lourdes played a major part in George Hill's life. He had been a Member of the Hospitalité Notre Dame de Lourdes (a Roman Catholic religious confraternity) for 50 years. He had been elected as English speaking Representative on the Council of Lourdes in 1982, serving in this position until 1993. Apart from the War years, he had devoted one, more often two weeks to working with those on Pilgrimage in Lourdes every year. On one occasion he had walked the whole journey from Wimbledon to Lourdes. Two weeks prior to his death he returned to the Shrine, still giving help and relaying information in his fluent Spanish and French from his wheelchair.

Personality

Quotes from others about the person

• On George Hills' retirement from the BBC, Gerald Mansell, a former BBC executive, wrote of Hills that he "left his mark on more members of staff than any other person at Bush House. Above all, he sought to instill the virtues for which he cared and believed in so passionately, into successive generations of newcomers to broadcasting and the media."

Connections

George Hills was married to Marie Hills for 61 years until her death on 7th September 2001. He had a daughter Catherine Mary, and a son Edmund.

Wife:

Marie Hills

Daughter:

Catherine Mary Hills

Son:

Edmund Hills

Student:

Angela Rippon

Angela Rippon has been a familiar face and voice in British broadcasting for over 40 years. She worked for BBC Plymouth and the ITV station Westward Television before joining BBC National News in 1973. She was appointed the first woman journalist newsreader in 1975 and made two memorable appearances in the Morecambe and Wise Christmas Shows. Rippon was a founder member of the commercial breakfast service TV-am in 1982 and in 1984 moved to America to work for CBS in Boston. She has presented a wide variety of programs from hard news and current affairs, to quiz shows and magazine programs for both BBC and Commercial radio and television. Titles include Come Dancing; Top Gear, the Antiques Roadshow, Master team, Crufts Championship, and The Holiday Programme. The scope and quality of her work have been recognized by the Royal Television Society who entered her into their Hall of Fame in 1996. In 2002, she was voted European Woman of Achievement and in the Queen's Birthday Honours of 2004, she was awarded an OBE in recognition of her services to Broadcasting, Charity, and the Arts.

Student:

Trevor McDonald

Sir Trevor McDonald began his career in Trinidad in 1962, working in various branches of the media including local newspapers, radio, and television. He joined the World Service's Caribbean section as a producer before relocating to London in 1969 to work for BBC Radio. McDonald worked for the BBC World Service's Caribbean section. Moving to Independent Television News (ITN) in 1973, he rose steadily through the ranks. He served as a news, sports, and diplomatic correspondent before becoming a diplomatic editor and newsreader. Sir Trevor McDonald also became known for quipping "and finally" before reporting a light-hearted story at the end of each bulletin. He has interviewed such prominent world figures as former United States President Bill Clinton, Nelson Mandela, and Saddam Hussein and won acclaim for his coverage of the 1985 Philippine elections. He was made a knight in 1999 for services to journalism.