Our Warden, Robert Hannigan, welcomed Lord Bragg to the Holywell Music Room, where he was in in conversation with Emeritus Fellow, Professor Jane Garnett. At the event, which was fully booked with Wadham students, alumni and colleagues, Melvyn and Jane discussed Melvyn’s time at Oxford and how it compared to his early life in Wigton, interspersed with some readings from his book on the subject, Another World – The Oxford Years: A Memoir.
Although Oxford was described as ‘another world’, and by some as a ‘different world’, Melvyn and Jane highlighted various similarities between the city and Melvyn’s hometown. Melvyn reflected on his road to Oxford, made easier by his supportive parents and by his inspirational History teacher, Mr James. Melvyn reflected on how important teachers can be for improving educational opportunity: then, as now, teachers can light ‘the flame of encouragement’ and point out the paths ahead.
When at Wadham, he was delighted to introduce his father to his tutors and for his father to see his son become part of this world, although one who frequently returned to Wigton.
Melvyn was one of the three ‘genuine working-class boys’ in Oxford, according to dramatist and screenwriter Dennis Potter, who studied at New College in the same period. Despite this, Melvyn soon felt at home. His time spent in the choir and the rugby team soon meant that he was soon on ‘nodding terms’ with most of the College, and his fellow members of Staircase 2 and some of his tutors became lifelong friends. Not all of Oxford life was for Melvyn – he went to one Oxford Union debate before realising this and never went back.
In Another World Melvyn reflects on the unique experience of tutorials, particularly with historian Lawrence Stone, who was senior tutor at the time. ‘By the end of the tutorial – if you had been lucky – there was a sense of comradeship and scholarship,’ he writes. In conversation, he also remembered the distinct pleasure of spending his student days reading and writing as a route to understanding the world.
People’s kindness and his own luck were other frequent themes. However, it was his own gift for friendship that opened doors throughout his Oxford years and beyond, from becoming the film critic for the Cherwell to interviewing his hero, Ingmar Bergman (Melvyn was not disappointed).
These many experiences ultimately led to his long and successful broadcasting career, including his renowned Radio 4 programme, 'In Our Time', which he presented for twenty-six years before stepping down in 2025. Many of Wadham’s fellows have themselves appeared on 'In Our Time' over the years: Emeritus Fellow, Christina Howells, Honorary Fellow, Marcus du Sautoy, Fellow, Margaret Hillenbrand, and Emeritus Fellow, Claudia Pazos Alonso, have discussed topics as varied as existentialism, prime numbers, maths and music, Fermat’s last theorem, Euclid’s Elements, Alan Turing, Fernando Pessoa, Confucius and Zeno’s paradoxes. This diversity of subjects reflects the curiosity and depth of both Wadham’s research and Melvyn’s long career.
By the end of the evening, the audience felt that Melvyn, a man who is interested in people, is one of the most interesting of all. We hope to see him back at Wadham again very soon.
Robert Hannigan welcomes Melvyn Bragg, Jane Garnett, and the audience to the Holywell Music Room.
Melvyn Bragg and Jane Garnett in conversation.
Robert thanks Melvyn and Jane for a wonderful event.
Melvyn Bragg meets Wadham students after the event.
Melvyn with Wadham students.