Background
Hibberd was the son of W.H. Hibberd, and was born in the town of Broadstone, in Wimborne (now East Dorset), in South West England, on 5 September 1893.
Hibberd was the son of W.H. Hibberd, and was born in the town of Broadstone, in Wimborne (now East Dorset), in South West England, on 5 September 1893.
Hibberd was educated at Queen Elizabeth"s Grammar School in Wimborne Minster, followed by two boys" independent schools in South West England: at Weymouth College, in the seaside town of Weymouth in Dorset in South West England and Plymouth College, in the city of Plymouth in Devonshire. He then won a Choral Scholarship to at the University of Cambridge.
He is perhaps most well-known for his announcements of the death of King George V in 1936, and of Adolf Hitler in 1945. Hibberd volunteered at the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, becoming an Army officer He served with the Dorset Regiment at Gallipoli (in Turkey), and then in India, reaching the rank of Captain.
Hibberd married Alice Mary Chichester in July 1923, and joined the British Broadcasting Corporation the following year, winning an Administration Member of the Order of the British Empire for his broadcasting in 1935.
He was the chief announcer on British Broadcasting Corporation Radio until his retirement from the post in 1951, but continued to present British Broadcasting Corporation radio programmes until 1964. Hibberd had a unique, immediately recognisable, voice.
lieutenant could be described like someone whispering aloud. His voice was ideal for grave and solemn occasions and he is best remembered for his announcement of King George V"s impending death on 20 January 1936 with the words: "The King"s life is moving peacefully towards its close".
From 1949, Hibberd presented The Silver Lining, a Thursday afternoon programme aimed at disabled and housebound people.
Hibberd retired as chief announcer in 1951, but continued to present The Silver Lining until it ended its run in 1964. Hibberd was the subject of This Is Your Life in May 1957 when he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews at the King"s Theatre, Hammersmith, London. He died on 1 November 1983, at the age of 90, and his funeral was held three days later, at Saint Peter"s Church in Budleigh Salterton in Devon.
Quotations: "The King"s life is moving peacefully towards its close".