 At the University of Cambridge, he was encouraged by Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch, editor of the "Oxford Book of English Verse", whose rooms in college were near his, and in 1931 he was awarded the Chancellor's gold medal for English verse.In 1933, Gittings was elected a research fellow of Jesus College and became a history supervisor in 1938.In 1940. he took a job with BBC Radio as a producer and writer, remaining with the Corporation twenty-three years.