Parlour Games

Host

Various, mainly Freddie Grisewood, David Miller or Lionel Gamlin

Broadcast

BBC Radio, 1939-42

Synopsis

A (fairly) regular strand featuring various different panel games, produced by Neil Munro, who also usually set the questions and sometimes hosted.

  • Reactions (Regional Programme, 14 May 1939), host Freddie Grisewood.
    • Contestants attempt to identify famous people from the fewest possible clues.
  • Noah's Ark (Regional Programme, 16 July 1939), host Freddie Grisewood.
    • Contestants identify songs, poems and quotations featuring the names of animals.
  • Puzzle Corner (Regional Programme, 30 July 1939), host Lionel Gamlin.
  • Memory Test (National Programme, 13 August 1939), host Freddie Grisewood.
    • Audio version of an observation quiz.
  • Adverbs (Home Service, 7 September 1939)
    • One player asks questions, which are answered in the way suggested by a particular adverb. The player has to guess the adverb.
  • My Aunt Went To Town (Home Service, 10 September 1939)
  • Proverbs (Home Service, 17 September 1939)
    • The individual words of a proverb are hidden in the answers to successive questions. The player has to work out the proverb.
  • A.R.P. General Knowledge Test (Home Service, 24 September 1939)
    • Quiz about the work of the Air Raid Precautions service.
  • Coffee Pots (Home Service, 1 October 1939), host David Miller
  • Ghost Spelling (Home Service, 8 October 1939), host Norman Shelley
    • Adding one letter at a time to a word without completing it.
  • Word Splits (Home Service, 15 October 1939), host David Miller
    • Players make the most and longest words out of the letters of another.
  • Salted Almonds (Home Service, 5 November 1939), host David Miller
  • Christmas Shopping (Home Service, 17 December 1939), host David Miller
    • The '"I packed my bag" game in another guise.
  • Word Squares (Home Service, 28 January 1940), host David Miller
  • Emergencies (Home Service, 18 February 1940), host David Miller
  • Free Association (Forces Programme, 23 February 1940), host David Miller
  • How, When and Where (Forces Programme, 5 March 1940), host David Miller
  • I Went Sight Seeing (Forces Programme, 11 March 1940), host David Miller
    • Another "I packed my bag" variant.
  • Musical Proverbs (Forces Programme, 22 March 1940), host David Miller
  • Adverbs (Forces Programme, 27 March 1940), host David Miller
  • Alibi (Home Service, 31 March 1940), host Freddie Grisewood
    • Pairs of "alibists" are questioned separately about what they were doing when a crime was committed, and try to make their stories match.
  • Yes, Mmmm or No (Forces Programme, 1 April 1940), host David Miller
    • The "Yes/No interlude", some years before Michael Miles made it his own.
  • Ask It Basket (Forces Programme, 4 April 1940), host David Miller
  • Word Snooker (Forces Programme, 9 April 1940), host David Miller
    • Take a word, change a letter, do it again and you've got a chain! That's how you play Word Snooker...
  • Mystery Cruise (Forces Programme, 10 April 1940), hosts David Miller and Eddie Pola
    • Contestants try to identify mystery items packed for a cruise.
  • Alliteration (Forces Programme, 17 April 1940), host David Miller
    • Making up sentences that are alliterative.
  • Truth (Home Service, 21 April 1940), host David Miller
  • Reactions (Forces Programme, 22 April 1940), host David Miller
  • Paint Box (Forces Programme, 2 April 1940), host David Miller
    • Naming songs with colours in the title.
  • I Hide and I Find (Forces Programme, 17 May 1940), host David Miller
  • Telegrams (Home Service, 26 May 1940), host David Miller
  • Truth (Forces Programme, 2 June 1940), host David Miller
  • Ships (Forces Programme, 10 June 1940), host Raymond Glendenning
    • Involved alliteration somehow.
  • Limerick Race (Forces Programme, 26 June 1940), host Freddie Grisewood
  • How Many? (Forces programme, 17 July 1940), host Lionel Gamlin
    • Quiz on a numerical theme.
  • Rhyme, Initials, Celebrities' Names (Forces Programme, 25 July 1940), host Lionel Gamlin
    • Identifying celebrities from limerick clues.
  • Melody Match (Forces Programme, 29 July 1940), host not known
  • Analogy Bee (Home Service, 4 August 1940), host Frank Phllips
  • Small Ads (Forces Programme, 16 August 1940), host Freddie Grisewood
  • I've Heard It (Forces Programme, 18 August 1940), host Neil Munro
  • What? (Forces Programme, 25 August 1940), host Frank Phillips
    • General knowledge quiz.
  • The Working Man's Signature Tune (1 September 1940), host Reginald Foort
  • Rime Time (Forces Programme, 26 August 1940), host Lionel Gamlin
  • As Quick as You Can (Forces Programme, 3 November 1940), host Lionel Gamlin
  • More Salted Almonds (Forces Programme, 14 October 1940), host not known
  • Pedantic Proverbs (Home Service, 27 October 1940), host Freddie Grisewood
    • Identifying common proverbs phrased in an unusual manner.
  • Inanimate Animals (Forces Programme, 1 December 1940), host Lionel Gamlin
  • Word Snakes (Home Service, 8 December 1940), host not known
  • That Name Suggests (Home Service, 5 January 1941), host Lionel Gamlin
  • Backward Ballads (Forces Programme, 28 January 1941), host Lionel Gamlin
  • Rime Time (Forces Programme, 1 March 1941), host Freddie Grisewood
  • Hesitations (Forces Programme, 28 March 1941), host not known
  • Can You Beat It? (Forces Programme, 29 March 1941), host Carroll Levis
  • Free Association (Home Service, 29 March 1941)
  • Inanimate Animals (Home Service, 20 April 1941)
  • Progressive Thought (Home Service, 27 April 1941)
  • Snap! (Home Service, 18 May 1941)
  • Rime Time (Home Service, 17 August 1941)
  • Rhymes With Reason (Forces Programme, 27 September 1941)
  • Inventors In The Dictionary (Forces Programme, 12 October 1941), host Neil Munro
  • The Implausible Punster (Home Service, 22 November 1941), host Neil Munro
  • Rime Time (Forces Programme, 20 December 1941), host Neil Munro
  • Hidden Personalities (Home Service, 25 December 1941), host Neil Munro
  • Sing on the Dotted Line (Home Service, 26 December 1941), host Neil Munro
  • I Love My Love With A Song (Home Service, 26 January 1942), host Neil Munro

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