TO watch BBC Look North at 6.30pm is a joy. If you find yourself in another part of the country and you watch their regional programme, there is something missing.
Look North seems to work effortlessly and is uplifting with a strong sense of humour. The feeling that comes across is of a happy team which works together, and Harry Gration, who worked for the BBC for over 40 years held it together. The younger presenters showed how much they admired and enjoyed working with him.
Harry was born in Bradford on October 22, 1950. He lived in a back-to-back house. He recalled fondly as a child being taken on Sundays to Shipley Glen and Baildon Moor. His father managed a Boots store in the city but promotion meant the family moved, firstly to Leeds then to York. Harry attended Guy Fawkes’s old school, St Peter’s, in York then trained as a teacher and worked for five years in the classroom, becoming Head of History at the Rodillion School, Rothwell.
He enjoyed teaching but began sports commentating on rugby league matches part-time. It led to a three-month BBC contract and he later went into fulltime broadcasting, working for BBC Radio Leeds in 1978, and quit teaching. He commentated on a variety of sports, highlighting his versatility.
To gain further experience, he worked for BBC South Today (1993-1999). But Harry was a proud Yorkshireman and was returned North, eventually becoming the presenter on BBC Look North. His ebullient personality and humour made him popular with the audiences. Broadcasting about the county he loved gave him so much pleasure. He put guests at ease and created a warm atmosphere with his fellow presenters.
As we know from his appearances over the years, he wasn’t just a presenter. He took on challenges to raise money for charities such as Children in Need. He appeared in pantomimes at York Theatre Royal. When not performing he loved his Yorkshire and was pleased it was given a high profile with such events as cycling.
Harry was thrilled by the broad acres siting Clapham in the Yorkshire Dales, one of his favourite spots. He particularly enjoyed the bird song and sound of rushing water. Scarborough was another one of his favourite places, and he enjoyed nothing better than the Scarborough Cricket Festival. He enjoyed walking. Living in York he strolled down to Lendal Bridge and along the Ouse with his dog.
Yorkshire had a profound influence on his everyday life, and he regarded it a privilege to present it to the public for a living. He was also proud of the people born in Yorkshire who achieved so much. He was a great admirer of Sir Len Hutton, and more recently, Jonny Bairstow, and former Leeds Rhinos star, Kevin Sinfield.
Being from Bradford, he was overcome by the Bradford City Fire in 1985 which he still remembered with deep sadness. He was regarded highly, not just by the many viewers, but in the media industry, which gave him awards. In 2009 he was made the Honorary Mayor of Burn.
He was elected Vice President of the Yorkshire Society. He was awarded honorary degrees by Yorkshire universities, and in 2013 was presented with an MBE for services to broadcasting.
* June 25, 2022: I was busy painting a fence, listening to Radio 5’s Test Match Special from Headingley. England were in dire straits at 55 for 6. Then Jonny Bairstow, the Bradford lad, turned it round. His batting performance was breathtaking and I couldn’t help thinking that Harry Gration would be so proud of his ‘hero’. Then I went indoors and watched Look North. Right at the end Amy Garcia emotionally announced that Harry Gration had died suddenly. With millions of others, I was shocked and stared outside in disbelief.
The tributes to “our Harry” started to pour in. He was remembered during the test match commentary and many paid their respects around the ground. Friends of mine, and my daughter, who had met him, remarked what “a lovely man” he was. He was always interested in other people whatever their background or status. He was not one of these ‘sensational’ journalists, but was concerned about the ‘human story’.
His banter with Paul Hudson, or his friend Dickie Bird, were always a joy. His sense of humour came through strongly . He was instructed to rush down to Elland Road to try to get an interview with Brian Clough, who’d just been sacked by Leeds United. Intercepting him on his way back to his office, Harry shouted out breathlessly: “Mr Clough, have you got a couple of words for Radio Leeds?” To which Cloughie replied : “Yes. F*** O**.”
Harry was once chairing a public meeting at Odsal when a rather inebriated member of the audience started berating the Bradford Northern coach. Harry quickly took control of the situation with humour, asking the gentleman to sit down: “You are swaying about like an MFI door.”
He was a man of integrity who people trusted. He was good at getting the best out of an interview. When he retired from Look North the day before his 70th birthday, he was inundated by viewers who regarded him after all these years as a ‘member of the family’. He was greatly missed by colleagues and the general public alike.
His style was a model for anyone in the media to look up to. This priceless asset to the BBC was always genuine and had time for others. No one had a bad word for him.
And now he is gone, and we are devastated. We feel for his wife and children who he adored. But one thing’s for sure, he will never be forgotten. Thanks, Harry.
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