Remember Sir Isaac Shoenberg’s role in development of TV and the BBC | Letters

In your article (Export bar imposed on John Logie Baird archive, 30 June), the culture minister, Ed Vaizey, is quoted as saying: "Britain led the world in the development of television technology in the 1920s, all due to the pioneering work of John Logie Baird and his colleagues."

While not wishing to diminish the contribution made by Logie Baird, I think it is unfortunate that Vaizey completely omits to mention the key role played in the development of television in this country by my grandfather, Sir Isaac Shoenberg. It was Shoenberg's vision and leadership as director of research at EMI that guided his team of gifted electronic engineers in developing the high-definition television system, which was adopted in preference over Logie Baird's system at Alexandra Palace in 1936 and which resulted later that year in the opening by the BBC of the world's first public television service.