Khyber (radio serial) explained

Khyber
Format:	drama serial
Runtime:	30 mins
Country:	Australia
Language:	English
Home Station:	2BL
Director:	Lawrence H. Cecil
First Aired:	13 May 1935^[1]

Khyber is a 1935 Australian radio serial by Edmund Barclay set in the north west frontier of India. According to contemporary reports "Undoubtedly it has proved one of the most successful serials ever broadcast in Australia or any part of the world."

It was allegedly based on the experiences of Barclay's father in India.^[2]

Barclay said "I did not set myself a basic plot to work upon in ‘Khyber’. I have found that the best way to work is to create a number of totally different characters then turn them loose in a particular set of circumstances and leave it to them. This method of working, of course, sometimes pro-duces peculiar results —one or more of the characters running awTiy with the story."

The serial was very popular and Barclay later adapted it into a novel.^[3]

It was reportedly the first radio play in which Peter Finch and John Tate appeared.^[4] ^[5] ^[6]

Select episodes

Ep 1 By the Shalimar (13 May 1935) - "Our Serial opens in Simla, the Hill Station in North-west India. Captain Michael Garvey, of the Khyber Mounted Rifles, called by his friends, “Galahad Garvey,” is faced with a terrible alternative. Charged with causing the death of his betrothed brother, he must either break her heart or by his silence admit his guilt. His decision leads him into many strange adventures. "
Ep 2 Keeping the Gates (20 May)
Ep 3 Hand to Hand (27 May)
Ep 4 Domes of Mystery (10 June) - "Galahad Garvie finds himself entangled in a web of mystery, and Eastern cunning is matched against Western intelligence."
Ep 5 Friend or Foe? (17 June)
Ep 6 Down from the Hills (24 June) - "Down from the Hills they came in premature rising, the fanatical Afridis. But Colonel Dalrymple and his Khyber Mounted Rifles are waiting to meet them, and the rebellion is crushed at the outset."
Ep 7 (1 July 1935) With Edged Tools
Ep 8 (8 July 1935) Secret Service - "At long last the secret of Walazanee is revealed, but Captain Garvie is powerless to communicate his knowledge, and he is faced with a terrible alternative."
Ep 9 The Flying Fool (15 July) - "Galahad Garvie and his companions,, trapped by the rebellious Hillmen, are faced with a situation of grave peril, when once again the Royal Air Force comes to the rescue. "
Ep 10 Love to Hatred Turned (22 July)
Ep 11 High Diplomacy (29 July)
Ep 12 - The Secret City (5 Aug) "From the North comes strange tidings, and Captain Garvie and his gallant companions are sent to investi-gate in the secret city of Lhasa. They meet with many strange adventures. "
Ep 13 Dead Man's Hills (12 Aug)
Ep 14 Mystery of K21 (19 Aug) - "Who is K. 21, the mysterious agent of the Army Intelligence Branch —why does he hide his identity from his friends —no less than from, his enemies? Was K. 21 the mysterious man found on Dead Man’s Hill, or is K. 21 a woman? "
Ep 15 Turning the Tables (26 Aug)
Ep 16 Avalance (2 Sept) - "On the way back to North-west India from Lhasa in Thibet the Deemings in the Chinese Armpred Car Squadron are caught in a mountain pass by a blizzard, followed by an avalanche. A thrilling series of adventures follows the meeting of Captain Garvie and the storm-bound adventurers."
Ep 17 Armistice (9 Sept) - "Attacked by mutinous Chinese Troops, Captain Garvie and Septimus Deeming sink their common differences, and combine to beat off the attackers."
Ep 18 Saved and Lost (16 Sept) - "Beset by tbeir enemies on the Himalayan Snow fields, Captain Garvie and his companions are save in the nick of time by means of an astute trick. But in their attempts to cross the almost impassable mountains which, lie between them an: civilisation, once again they are brought face to fac< with death."
Ep 19 The Whispering Skull (23 Sept) - "Captain Garvie and his companions are caught up into the strange web of intrigue and adventure in the heart of the Himalayas. The arrival of Rustem Beg ends the truce between Garvie and American Adventurers."
Ep 20 Back to Walizanee (30 Sept) - "Through the intervention of the mysterious British Agent K2l, the activities of the Thibetist Conspirators are blocked. The Americans return to Walizanee, and the affair of the oil wells rapidly approaches a crisis."
Ep 21 Prelude to War (7 Oct) - "Now that the Deemings have sunk their wells, and struck oil in Walizanee, events with the rebel hillmen begin to move swiftly. Captain Garvie and his mysterious friend, K. 21, are faced with a momentous decision, which is the prelude to a thrilling series of adventures."
Ep 22 Diamond Cut Diamond (14 Oct) - "Myra Deeming and Ruth Conyers are brought face to face with the question at last! In temperament and upbringing they are as far apart as the Poles, but they share one thing in common, for each loves Garvie. One to win, and one to lose—which shall it be? "
Ep 23 Rebellion (21 Oct) - "Rustem Beg succeeds in framing the tribes of the Hindu Cush. Captain Garvie and his companions discover the plot and try to get the information back to British headquarters in India, but they have to fight their way against almost incredible odds, and their attempt to warn the army becomes a tragic race against time."
Ep 24 Nearing the End (28 Oct) - "Captain Garvie and his gallant company, beleaguered in the Hillman’s fort, put up a desperate fight against tremendous odds. "
Ep 25 K21 Reveals (4 Nov) - "Rustem Beg and his hillmen, in a desperate attack rush the gates of the fort, and the situation saved only by the intervention of the mysterious British Agent, K. 21, who reveals himself at last. "
Ep 26 Goodbye Khyber (11 Nov)
Final ep (18 Nov 1935)- last episode

Khyber and Beyond

The serial led to a sequel Khyber and Beyond which began the week after Khbyer ended.

Episodes

Ep One 'The Storm Clouds Gather' (25 Nov 1935) - "From the “roof of the world,” which lies far beyond the North West Indian Frontiers, come strange tidings which threaten to change the whole course of world events. Asia, so long asleep, now stirs in her age-old slum-ber. and the guardians of Empire Frontiers are given cause for great anxiety. Six months ago, Michael Garvie, now promoted to Major, thought that nothing- could disturb his happiness with Myra Deeming, his betrothed, but alas for human hopes! Fate deals him a sinister blow, and once again he finds himself gambling with death in those bleak in-hospitable regions which lie through “Khyber and Beyond”."
Ep 2 (2 Dec) Kabul
Ep 3 The Trap Closes (9 Dec) - "Major Garvie is much closer on Malikoff’s trail than that gentleman appreciates, and he takes drastic steps to hold up the pursuit, and succeeds in so doing. Chunder Lai is powerless at present to do more than be a silent encouragement to Myra Deeming. At last Zwani and Myra Deeming are brought face to face, and the high-spirited girl finds herself threatened with a terrible fate. "
Ep 4 Nobby's Idyll (16 Dec) - "Vanya, the daughter of the Tartar chief, who has captured Major Garvie and Sergeant Nobby Clark,proves to be the “friend in need” who is “a friend indeed.” She conceives a fondness for the rough-and-ready Cockney sergeant, and her tender and delicate sentiment finds a responsive echo in the heart of a man who has scorned sentiment all his life."
Ep 5 (23 Dec) - Catching a Tartar
Ep 6 (30 Dec) "Largely owing to Vanya’s aid, Garvie and Clark make good their escape from the Tartar stronghold, but meet danger after danger, while traversing the lonely desert. At last they are brought face to face with the one man on earth they are desperately anxious to meet."
Ep Seven - The Tempest
Ep 12 Temple Intrigue
Ep 13 Mutiny
Ep 18 Check

Notes and References

News: "Khyber," New A.B.C. Serial from 2BL . . 1247 . New South Wales, Australia . 10 May 1935 . 2 September 2023 . 26 . National Library of Australia.
Marion Consandine, 'Barclay, Edmund Piers (Teddy) (1898–1961)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/barclay-edmund-piers-teddy-9425/text16569, published first in hardcopy 1993, accessed online 2 September 2023.
News: Khyber . . New South Wales, Australia . 20 June 1938 . 2 September 2023 . 6 . National Library of Australia.
Book: Inglis, Kenneth Stanley. 52. This is the ABC : the Australian Broadcasting Commission, 1932-1983. 1983.
News: The Sun-Herald Features . . 289 . New South Wales, Australia . 8 August 1954 . 2 September 2023 . 21 . National Library of Australia.
News: Stars of the Air . . 47 . 12,202 . Western Australia . 8 August 1941 . 2 September 2023 . 7 . National Library of Australia.