Stephen Tallents

Sir Stephen George Tallents KCMG CB CBE (20 October 1884 – 11 September 1958) was a British civil servant and public relations expert.

He began his career as a civil servant at the Board of Trade in 1909 before being transferred to assist William Beveridge and Hubert Llewellyn Smith in establishing labour exchanges.

He was commissioned in August 1914[1] and served as an officer in the Irish Guards in World War I until severely wounded at Festubert.

There he employed the British documentary film-maker John Grierson and commissioned artists including: Clive Gardiner, E. McKnight Kauffer, and Frank Newbould to produce a series of large posters, promoting British and Empire produce.

Tallents went on to work for the BBC as its first Controller of Public Relations and Deputy Director General under Lord Reith.