Spry, Graham, 1900-1983 : Graham Spry was born in St. Thomas, Ontario in 1900. After receiving his public school education at various schools in Toronto, Montreal and Winnipeg, Spry attended the University of Manitoba where he graduated in 1922. He attended University College, Oxford, on a Rhodes Scholarship, graduating with a Master of Arts degree in 1925.
Spry began his working career in the Research Division of the League of Nations' International Labour Office in Geneva. By 1926, he returned to Canada where he served for six years as the National Secretary of the Association of Canadian Clubs.
Graham Spry is perhaps best remembered for his work as a founding member of the Canadian Radio League. The League took shape in 1930, the creation of Spry and Alan Plaunt. Its purpose was to pressure the Conservative government to support and legislate into being a national public broadcasting system. The Aird Commission (the Royal Commission on Radio Broadcasting) had been appointed in 1928 and had reported to Parliament a year later. The Commission recommended the formation of a Canada-wide, publicly-owned broadcasting system. When it appeared, by 1930, that the Bennett government would ignore the Aird proposal, the League was formed to rally public support for a national broadcasting system. The concerted lobbying efforts of the League ensured the eventual establishment of the Canadian Radio Broadcasting Corporation in 1932 which in turn led to the creation of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in 1936.
In 1932, Spry became the editor and owner of the Farmers' Sun. Spry later became the Vice-president of the Ontario C.C.F. and ran unsuccessfully as a C.C.F. candidate in a Toronto-Broadview by-election in 1934 and in the 1935 general election. It was in this period that Spry joined with other members of the League for Social Reconstruction, including F.R. Scott, Leonard Marsh and Eugene Forsey, to write the critical analysis of the breakdown of the Canadian economic system, Social Planning for Canada.
In 1937, Spry left Canada and became an executive for the American company, Standard Oil, in London, England. By 1942, Graham Spry became the personal assistant to Stafford Cripps, a member of the British Cabinet and in this capacity undertook a number of diplomatic assignments in aid of the Allied War effort. In particular, Spry assisted Cripps on his mission to negotiate independence for India after World War II ended. In 1946 Spry was appointed the Agent General for Saskatchewan in the United Kingdom and Europe. Spry served as a representative for the province on many issues, particularly the sale of wheat in Europe.
In 1968 Spry retired and returned to Canada. Actively involved as a lobbyist for public broadcasting for many years (he revitalized the Radio League as the Canadian Broadcasting League in 1958) he continued this work after his return to this country in 1968. He was made the Honorary Life President of the League and served it as a fulltime volunteer. In particular, he wrote many briefs on issues in communications for various C.R.T.C. hearings.
Spry's published articles include, "A Case for Nationalized Broadcasting," in Queen's Quarterly, 1931; "Radio Broadcasting and Aspects of Canadian-American Relations," Proceedings of the Conference on Canadian American Affairs, St. Lawrence University, 1935; "India and Self-Government," in United Nations Today and Tomorrow, 1943; and "Public Policy and Private Pressures: The Canadian Radio League, 1930-1936 and Countervailing Power," in On Canada: Essays in Honour of Frank Underhill, 1973.
Graham Spry married Irene Biss in 1938 and they had three children: Robin, Richard (deceased) and Elizabeth. Over his lifetime, Spry received many honours. In 1970, he was made a Companion of the Order of Canada. At the ACTRA Awards in 1972, Spry received the John Drainie Award "for distinguished contribution to broadcasting" and in 1981, the Canadian Conference of the Arts established the Graham Spry Lecture Series devoted to the study of issues in Canadian broadcasting. Spry also received five honorary doctorates: from Brock University and the University of Saskatchewan in 1968, from York University in 1976 and from Carleton and Mount Allison Universities in 1982. Graham Spry died in 1983.
