The man who set up BBC Radio York remembers the part Harry Gration and Pope John Paul II played in the station's foundation.

The Papal visit in 1982 gave the future award-winning broadcaster the chance to show the skills that enabled him to change from history teacher to TV presenting.

It also gave those behind BBC Radio York a "dry run" at broadcasting from the city. 

Ex BBC York station manager John Jefferson said: "Harry was a star example of the hidden broadcasting talent unearthed by BBC Local Radio and nurtured by its training-ground mission.

"As a history teacher, Harry’s part-time sports reports and commentaries for BBC Radio Leeds demonstrated his early potential and encouraged him to risk abandoning the classroom for the uncertainty of a freelance radio contract.

"Unscripted live radio needed people like Harry, instinctive broadcasters who could calmly fly by the seat of their pants in pressurised situations and who never ran out of things to say or fail to find the right words; his relaxed, amiable style and well-stocked mind also helped to get the best out of the many people he interviewed whether linked to a breaking news story or his great passion, sport.

"Many may not realise that his long list of achievements included his role 40 years ago as a pioneer of an early experimental BBC Radio York, when his embryo abilities as a presenter and reporter were clear to all of us.

"Before launching BBC Radio York in the summer of 1983, I had an opportunity for a dry run with a ‘pop up’ radio station to provide coverage of the Pope’s visit to York Racecourse in May 1982. It was, in effect, a very large outside broadcast and with no significant resources available it was achieved by local stations in Yorkshire sharing engineering kit and expertise, production nous and presenters to create a dawn-‘til-dark radio station that embraced everything that happened that day, minute by minute.

"Crucial to its success were a tiny group of broadcasters who could be relied upon to ‘keep it going’ and although Harry was still a radio novice, we soon discovered why BBC Radio Leeds suggested that he would be perfect for the situation. He didn’t disappoint.

"I recall him roaming the racecourse, hour-after-hour, mic in hand, to reflect this historic event not just for North Yorkshire, but for local radio listeners across the whole of the North. When holes suddenly appeared during these long hours of live radio, I knew that an instruction to ‘go to Harry’ was always a safe option.

"Harry was never a script-bound presenter. When he moved from local radio to regional television, everyone knew that when the autocue failed Harry would make sure you couldn’t ‘see the join’. Whilst natural broadcasting skills can be honed, they are not something you learn. You’ve either got it or you haven’t. It’s a rare gift that Harry was able to turn into an exceptional career that made him a much-loved household name in Yorkshire.

"I also had the privilege of working alongside Helen, Harry’s wife, when I moved from York to BBC Leeds in the late 198Os and I offer her and her family my deepest sympathy."