The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa

#096 Books on Broadcasting - and the Bodleian Library's 'Listen In' Exhibition

We're back! Season 7 begins with a Books Special - plus a visit to a special exhibition at Oxford's magnificent Bodleian Library - 'Listen In: How Radio Changed the Home'.
It's curated by Beaty Rubens, who has also written a book of the same name. I joined her at the exhibition for a tour and an interview, recorded live at the Bodleian. Thanks to them for their hospitality - and for caring for countless artefacts, including the Marconi Archive.
And we have authors galore, all with different takes on broadcasting history - I think I count three professors, a doctor, and several yet-to-be-titled too. 
We bring you:
Beaty Rubens - Listen In: How Radio Change the Home: https://bodleianshop.co.uk/products/listen-in
...and the Bodleian exhibition of the same name: https://visit.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/listenin
David Hendy - The BBC: A People's History: https://amzn.to/3X3SDuU
Simon J Potter - This is the BBC: Entertaining the Nation, Speaking for Britain 1922-2022: https://amzn.to/3CWfqSu
Tim Wander - 2MT Writtle: https://marconibooks.co.uk
 Edward Stourton - Auntie’s War: https://amzn.to/4b463g8
Amy Holdsworth - On Living With Television: https://amzn.to/41keqRi
Alan Stafford - Bigamy Killed the Radio Star: https://www.fantompublishing.co.uk/product/bigamy-killed-the-radio-star/
Martin Cooper - Radio's Legacy in Popular Culture: https://amzn.to/41iLTM6
...and his blog: https://prefadelisten.com/
Paul Kerensa - Hark! The Biography of Christmas: https://amzn.to/4iuULoB / audiobook read by the author: https://amzn.to/4gdlYud
 
- Original music is by Will Farmer.
- Support us on Patreon (£5/mth), for bonus videos and things - and thanks if you do!
- Paul's on tour: An Evening of (Very) Old Radio visits these places: www.paulkerensa.com/tour - come and hear about the first firsts of broadcasting, live.
- This podcast is nothing to do with the BBC.
- Comments? Email the show - paul at paulkerensa dot com. (Rerite that as an email address)
 
Next time: August 1923 on the BBC - new radio HQs in Birmingham and Manchester, developments in Scotland, the Radio Circle, a wireless elephant, and the first(ish) radio gardener Marion Cran.
 
More info on this broadcasting history project at paulkerensa.com/oldradio

#095 Five Gold Airings: Vintage BBC Christmases 1922-42

Episode 95 is our Christmas special for 2024 - looking back to five vintage BBC Christmases of 1922-42.
Well, I say 'five'. I mean nine. Christmas is a time for giving, so have four extra... Nine Gold Airings didn't sound as catchy.
You'll hear:
- 1922 – Rev John Mayo - the BBC's first religious broadcast for Christmas Eve 
- 1926 – Christmas Overture by Coleridge-Taylor, The BBC Wireless Symphony Orchestra conducted by Percy Pitt
- 1926-34 - Bethlehem, the BBC's first on-location radio drama, live from St Hilary's church in west Cornwall
- 1932 – The first royal Christmas message from George V
- 1934 – The bells of Armagh Cathedral, and Christmas on the Aran Islands
- 1936 – A Cornish Christmas Carol by the BBC Chorus
- 1936 – The Wassail Song by the BBC Chorus
- 1941 – Refugee children and their parents reunited across the Atlantic via BBC and NBC
- 1942 – Carols in the Desert, Godfrey Talbot, BBC Correspondent with the 8th Army in Tripolitania
 
 
SHOWNOTES:
- Paul's book Hark! The Biography of Christmas is available in paperback (https://amzn.to/4iuULoB) and audiobook read by the author (https://amzn.to/4gdlYud)
- Hear the full recording of 1934's Bethlehem play: https://youtu.be/WwC8BemyBtI?si=_m-p_5y3rHPKkrIX
- Hear the voices behind the Bethlehem play, on this wonderful 1986 BBC Radio Cornwall documentary: https://youtu.be/HqCO_0uSBFk?si=3AoPR2Gt3We_wgSn
- For more on Godfrey Talbot and his BBC career shadowing the 8th army in WW2, see this marvellous detailed biographical blog post:
https://war-experience.org/events/godfrey-talbot-voice-of-the-desert-and-8th-army/
- Episode 60 of this podcast has more on Rev John Mayo's first BBC religious broadcast, and other landmarks of the genre: https://pod.fo/e/160bd7
- Episode 72 of this podcast is on the first radio drama, on Christmas Eve 1922 - Phyllis Twigg's The Truth about Father Christmas: https://pod.fo/e/1d6747 - and I'll be writing more about her and this landmark radioplay very soon. Keep an eye out for it!
- Original music is by Will Farmer.
- Support us on Patreon (£5/mth), for bonus videos and things - and thanks if you do!
- A Christmas present, for us? Well if you'd rate and review the podcast where you found it... Thanks! You shouldn't have.
- Paul's on tour: An Evening of (Very) Old Radio visits these places: www.paulkerensa.com/tour - come and hear about the first firsts of broadcasting, live.
- This podcast is nothing to do with the BBC.
- Old clips are likely beyond copyright as they're so old. Newer clips may be BBC copyright content reproduced courtesy of the British Broadcasting Corporation. All rights reserved. 
 
Next time: August 1923 on the BBC - new radio HQs in Birmingham and Manchester, developments in Scotland and Dublin, and the first radio gardener, Marion Cran.
 
More info on this broadcasting history project at paulkerensa.com/oldradio

#094 Wireless Manhunts on the BBC - in 1923 and 2023

Episode 94 finds us hunting presenters on the run... in 1923 and in 2023. 
But first, the tale of July 1923 in British broadcasting, which includes a pop-up non-BBC station in Plymouth (5DJ), the first BBC film critic G.A. Atkinson, a comedian asks an orchestra to laugh for him, the BBC's first Sunday afternoon radio concert, new nicknames for 'listeners-in' ('ethonians', anyone?), and my favourite of all... The Wireless Manhunt.
Here to tell us more, our Newspaper Detective Andrew Barker, and Associate Professor of Media Studies at the University of Amsterdam Dr Carolyn Birdall (whose book is 'Radiophilia').
They contrast 1923's Wireless Manhunt with 2023's uncannily similar Radio 1's Giant DJ Hunt, with Greg James searching for all of his co-presenters around Britain, and beyond.
Back in 1923, Uncles Arthur, Caractacus, Jeff, and Aunt Sophie all go on the run around London, and MANY listeners spot them, track them, nearly arrest them, and much more.
Oh and some lovely audio from Peter Eckersley - a song and the tale of his trip to Sheffield, where listening to the BBC was like "an insurrection in hell". Everyone's a critic. 
 
SHOWNOTES:
Buy Dr Carolyn Birdsall's book Radiophilia from https://amzn.to/4etpBe6 or wherever you get books (buy from that link, I get a few pennies, full disclosure!).
Original music is by Will Farmer.
Support us on Patreon (£5/mth), for bonus videos and things - and thanks if you do!
Rate and review the podcast where you found it? Thanks.
Tell people about the podcast? Thanks again. We're a one-man operation so tis HUGELY appreciated.
Paul's on tour: An Evening of (Very) Old Radio visits these places: www.paulkerensa.com/tour - come and say hi and hear about the first firsts of broadcasting.
This podcast is nothing to do with the BBC. Solo-run. So your listenership and support really matters - thanks!
Next time: August 1923 on the BBC - new radio HQs in Birmingham and Manchester, developments in Scotland and Dublin, and the first radio gardener, Marion Cran.
More info on this broadcasting history project at paulkerensa.com/oldradio

#093 On-Air Symphonies and 'Seeing By Wireless' in June 1923 - and Stuart Prebble

June 1923 at the BBC saw the first symphony concerts on-air (with an 'augmented orchestra'), musical criticism from Percy Scholes, 2,500 voices broadcast at once, and new staff led by Admiral Charles Carpendale as Reith's deputy. Plus Scot John Logie Baird advertises for help with his 'Seeing By Wireless' invention. You may know it as television...
...Our guest is celebrating 50 years since he began in television - Stuart Prebble has made World In Action, led ITV, created Grumpy Old Men and now brings Portrait Artists to Sky Arts. He talks about his new memoir, Still Grumpy After All These Years. Buy it now!
SHOWNOTES:
Buy Stuart's book from stuartprebble.com or wherever you get books.
We also mention Andy Walmsley's brilliant Random Radio Jottings blog.
Original music is by Will Farmer.
Support us on Patreon (£5/mth), for bonus videos and things - and thanks if you do!
Rate and review the podcast where you found it? Thanks.
Tell people about the podcast? Thanks again. We're a one-man operation so tis HUGELY appreciated.
Paul's on tour: An Evening of (Very) Old Radio visits these places: www.paulkerensa.com/tour - come and say hi and hear about the first firsts of broadcasting.
This podcast is nothing to do with the BBC. Solo-run. So your listenership and support really matters - thanks!
Next time: July 1923 on the BBC - a wireless manhunt and a cheeky pop-up station in Plymouth. 
More info on this broadcasting history project at paulkerensa.com/oldradio

#092 The First Sports Broadcasts: from 'Yachts Slowly Drifting' to MCR21

Episode 92
The First Sports Broadcasts: from 'Yachts Slowly Drifting' to MCR21
 
Our moment-by-moment origin story of British broadcasting reaches 6th June 1923 - and what's sometimes thought to be the BBC's first sports broadcast: author Edgar Wallace giving his 'reflections on the Derby'...
...The trouble is, it wasn't the BBC's first sports broadcast.
But then... what is a sports broadcast? A live commentary? Or will a later summary do? Or how about a police radio transmission, where the Epsom Derby winner happens to be mentioned for anyone listening to hear?
This episode we bring you the tales of every early landmark sports broadcast we know about, including:
Special guest Nick Gilbey, trustee of the Broadcasting Television Technology Trust and one of the doer-uppers of the mighty MCR21 mobile control room van, first built in 1963, and now looking snappier than ever.
The BBC's actual first sports broadcaster - forgotten for a century - Willie Clissett, on Cardiff 5WA with a weekly 'Chat on Sport of the day' from 2 April 1923. Was it rugby? Let's say yes. It was Wales.
How jockey Steve Donoghue somehow became Britain's first broadcast sports champion... ion 3 occasions across 3 different years. He was on Britain's first sports broadcast, winning 1921's Epsom Derby. Edgar Wallace reported on his win at 1923's Epsom Derby. And his win was shouted on-air by a passerby, upsetting the press, at 1925's Epsom Derby. Three different horses, three landmark broadcasts, one incredible jockey.
The boxing and billiards on London 2LO in 1922.
Early clips of Wimbledon, the Boat Race and the Derby.
And was the first sports broadcast Marconi's 1899 Morse message 'Yachts Slowly Drifting'? In which case, was the first sports broadcaster actually Guglielmo Marconi himself?!
Correct us on any of the above! Seriously. Please do. We want this to be an accurate record of events! Email paul@paulkerensa.com with any feedback, suggestions, alterations or offers of big-screen adaptations.
SHOWNOTES:
Visit MCR21.org.uk for pics and words about the wonderful MCR21 mobile control room van. Click on their newsletter and subscribe to get info in your inbox.
Watch Nick Gilbey's half-hour BBC tribute documentary on Peter Dimmock: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0fw3c9c
See the Marconi van used at the 1921 Epsom Derby broadcast - and the airship pics from above: https://www.facebook.com/groups/bbcentury/posts/966054144965706/
See the 1923 Derby - plus a little of the police use of wireless traffic tech - on this Pathe video: https://youtu.be/s-qnFvgJMFY?si=bedG3HWmyui1VNmj
Original music is by Will Farmer.
Support us on Patreon (£5/mth), for bonus videos and things - and thanks if you do!
Rate and review the podcast where you found it? Thanks.
Tell people about the podcast? Thanks again. We're a one-man operation so tis HUGELY appreciated.
Paul's on tour: An Evening of (Very) Old Radio visits these places: www.paulkerensa.com/tour - come and say hi and hear about the first firsts of broadcasting.
Paul's walking tour of BBC's London landmark sites returns soon - from Broadcasting House to Savoy Hill via the home of the Electrophone! Email Paul via the Contact link on his website for more details.
This podcast is nothing to do with the BBC. We're talking about them, well, the only BBC, the Company. Not with or at the behest of today's Corporation...
...Although we gladly will. Corporation - call me!
Next time: Summer 1923 on the BBC - music, the first whisper of television, and a cheeky pop-up station in Plymouth. 
More info on this broadcasting history project at paulkerensa.com/oldradio

#091 The Electrophone: The 1890s' Streaming Device

Episode 91 goes back over 130 years to the 'broadcasting' device that far predates radio broadcasting. But the same ideas were there: entertainment, religion, news even, brought to your home, sent one-to-many, live from West End churches and London's churches.
Meet the Electrophone! 
Dr Natasha Kitcher is the Electrophone expert - she's a Research Fellow at the Science Museum, formerly PhD student to Loughborough University - and has spent years researching this unusual, largely unknown pre-radio cable streaming service, used by Queen Victoria and hundreds of homes in London and Bournemouth. Or you could visit the Electrophone HQ in Soho to listen in their saloon. (More on our walking tour that visits that exact building: birthplace of the headphones!)
We also talk about what broadcasting is nowadays: does streaming count as broadcasting? What about catch-up? Does it lose something when it's not live?
Join the debate from this, er, pre-recorded podcast (sorry we're not live) - email your thoughts to paul@paulkerensa.com - the same email address for any podcast correspondence, your Airwave Memories (earliest radio you recall?) or Firsthand Memories (ever see broadcasting in action?)  
We also move on our chronological tale of British broadcasting history into June 1923, with feedback from the first BBC Shakespeare and the sad demise of the first broadcast singer, Edward Cooper.
Next time? The First Sports Broadcast on the BBC... or was it? Nick Gilbey joins us - expert on outside broadcasts, Peter Dimmock, and the BBC van... 
 
SHOWNOTES:
Dr Natasha Kitcher's articles on the Electrophone include this Science Museum blog and Museum Crush.
There are some marvellous old pics of the Electrophone, its HQ and its flyers on the British Telephones site.
Watch Paul Kerensa on BBC1's Songs of Praise (while it's on iPlayer!) on 1922's first religious broadcast... er, via radio. Not including the Electrophone, obvs.
Original music is by Will Farmer.
Support us on Patreon (£5/mth), for bonus videos and things - and thanks if you do!
Rate and review the podcast where you found it? Thanks.
Tell people about the podcast? Thanks again. We're a one-man operation so tis HUGELY appreciated.
Paul's on tour: An Evening of (Very) Old Radio visits these places: www.paulkerensa.com/tour - come and say hi.
Paul's walking tour of BBC's London landmark sites returns soon - from Broadcasting House to Savoy Hill via the home of the Electrophone! Email Paul via the Contact link on his website for more details.
More info on this broadcasting history project at paulkerensa.com/oldradio

#090 The BBC's First Shakespeare (part 2) & John Henry: First Radio Comedy Personality

Is this the first full-length Shakespeare on the BBC I see before me? Yes it is. And the first radio comedy personality, in John Henry. 
We're in late May 1923 - 28th to 31st to be precise - and the BBC has suffering from a boycott of theatre producers. Performers are hard to come by, so the Beeb brings drama and comedy in-house.
The result? Cathleen Nesbitt (later from Upstairs Downstairs, An Affair to Remember and The Parent Trap) produces and stars in the first of many full-length Shakespeare plays, Twelfth Night on 28th May 1923. Prior to this, there had been scenes and Shakespeare nights. But this was a chance to broadcast the longest and most ambitious play of this new medium.
Illuminating us on this, the return of Dr Andrea Smith of the University of Suffolk - the expert on the BBC and Shakespeare. She'll tell us all about the legacy of Auntie and Shakey, including the only one of his plays that to date has still not been adapted for BBC radio.
And three days after that first Shakespeare, another BBC debut: comedian John Henry, set to become broadcasting's first comedy personality. His comic monologues, often surreal and downbeat, evolved into tales of his family life, then a dialogue with his beloved Blossom... while off-air, their domestic life became more tragedy than comedy.
Comedy historian Alan Stafford tells all. It's quite a tale. John Henry surely deserves mention in the history books...
...on which, both Andrea and Alan have books out soon. See below shownotes for details - and we'll mention more of them on the podcast and on our social mediums when they're published.
 
 
SHOWNOTES:
Look out for Dr Andrea Smith's book 'Shakespeare on the Radio: A Century of BBC Plays', published by Edinburgh University Press in 2025.
Look out for Alan Stafford's book 'Bigamy Killed the Radio Star - John Henry: BBC Comedy Pioneer', published by Fantom Publications in late 2024.
Clips are generally so old they're beyond copyright, or rights may be owned by, er, someone. If that's you, let us know. We can talk. We're friendly. We're just to inform, educate and entertain. 
Original music is by Will Farmer.
Support us on Patreon (£5/mth), for bonus videos and things - and thanks if you do!
Rate and review the podcast where you found it? Thanks.
Tell people about the podcast? Thanks again. We're a one-man operation so tis HUGELY appreciated.
Paul's on tour: An Evening of (Very) Old Radio visits these places: www.paulkerensa.com/tour - come and say hi.
Paul's book Auntie and Uncles is coming soon too.
A walking tour of BBC's London landmark sites is coming soon - from Broadcasting House to Savoy Hill via Marconi House and Bush House. Email Paul via the Contact link on his website for more details.
NEXT TIME: The Electrophone: Queen Victoria's Streaming Device of the 1890s. 
There may be some delay between episodes at the moment, due to summer holidays, and life throwing things at us. More soon, ASAP. Thanks for bearing with us.
More info on this broadcasting history project at paulkerensa.com/oldradio

#089 A History of Election Night Specials: 28 in 102 Years

Vote The British Broadcasting Century! 
Episode 89 is our Election Night Special special, covering Britain's 28 general election results broadcasts over 102 years. 
Broadcasting in both USA and UK have both launched were pretty much launched with election results.
On 2 November 1920, KDKA Pittsburgh launched regular commercial broadcasting with the presidential election results, giving listeners-in the latest at the same time as journalists. Revolutionary! On 15 November 1922, the BBC went national with London, Birmingham and Manchester announcing the election results and Bonar Law as PM. 
Joining us to tell the tale from here, dropping in at every election night special in Britain since, we have Gary Rodger (author of Swing: A Brief History of British General Election Night Broadcasting) and Harry White (host of The Modern British History Podcast).
...Hear first female liberal MP Margaret Wintringham on her gramophone election message...
...Discover the only person to have announced election results AND served as an MP...
...Find out how black-and-white TV converted the blues, reds and yellows of parties to the small screen...
...Meet pioneering producer Grace Wyndham Goldie, who created the TV election night special...
...Discover the origins of the swingometer...
...Oh and Dimblebys. There are many Dimblebys.
Vote with your ears by listening to this podcast - and vote with your vote by voting.
 
SHOWNOTES:
Buy Gary Rodger's book Swing: A Brief History of British General Election Night Broadcasting. 
Listen to Harry White's Modern British History Podcast.
The clips used are, we believe, beyond copyright due to age - but any BBC copyright content reproduced courtesy of the British Broadcasting Corporation. All rights reserved.
Original music is by Will Farmer.
Support us on Patreon (£5/mth), for bonus videos and things - and thanks if you do!
Rate and review the podcast where you found it? Thanks.
Tell people about the podcast? Thanks again. We're a one-man operation so tis HUGELY appreciated.
Paul's on tour: An Evening of (Very) Old Radio visits these places: www.paulkerensa.com/tour - come and say hi.
A walking tour of BBC's London landmark sites is coming this summer - from Broadcasting House to Savoy Hill via Marconi House and Bush House. Email Paul via the Contact link on his website for more details.
NEXT TIME: The first full-length Shakespeare on the BBC - and comedian John Henry. 
More info on this broadcasting history project at paulkerensa.com/oldradio

#088 Boycotts, Bands and The Sunday Committee: May 1923 at the BBC

On episode 88, it's May 1923, and the six-month-old BBC is settling into its new home at Savoy Hill. But it's not all plain sailing.
This time, 2-24 May 1923 is retold via press cuttings (thanks to our Newspaper Detective Andrew Barker), showing us that:
Some corners of the press were mounting an anti-BBC campaign, complaining it was offering "poor fare". A few days later, other articles refuted that claim. 
Some corners of the government were eager to renegotiate the BBC agreement, with the Sykes Inquiry under way to look at licences and obligations.
Some corners of the live arts scene were worried their box office takings would be hit by radio entertainment, so decided to boycott Auntie Beeb.
...A few too many opponents!
There are also bands (first Birmingham station director Percy Edgar tells of the Grenadier Guards, a small studio and not much ventilation), simultaneous broadcast tests and plans for new stations (first chief engineer Peter Eckersley tells of his ambitions for the signal-to-noise ratio), and Reith's plans for the Sunday Committee to determine the future of, well, Sundays.
Plus our guest is ITV's first head of technology Norman Green. He tells us about his innovations in colour film and Teletext (he's the double-height guy!). Norman will return on a future episode too...
 
SHOWNOTES:
The clips used should be far beyond copyright - but any BBC copyright content reproduced courtesy of the British Broadcasting Corporation. All rights reserved.
Original music is by Will Farmer.
Hear more of Percy Edgar, inc his memoir read by his grandson David Edgar, in this episode: https://pod.fo/e/c6b86
Support us on Patreon (£5/mth), for bonus videos and things - and thanks if you do!
Paul's on tour: An Evening of (Very) Old Radio visits these places: www.paulkerensa.com/tour - come and say hi
A walking tour of BBC's London landmark sites coming this summer - from Broadcasting House to Savoy Hill via Marconi House and Bush House. Email Paul via the Contact link on his website for more details.
NEXT TIME: We break from May 1923 for A Brief History of Election Night Specials.
THE TIME AFTER THAT: The first full-length Shakespeare on the BBC! May 1923 continues... 
More info on this broadcasting history project at paulkerensa.com/oldradio

#087 The Cello and the Nightingale: A Centenary Celebration

100 years ago the weekend of this podcast, the Cello and the Nightingale became one of the most cherished broadcasts in radio history.
It first took place on 19 May 1924, live from the Surrey garden of cellist Beatrice Harrison. In this centenary special, we celebrate the musician, the muse and the microphone that made this incredible feat possible: the first major outside broadcast of nature.
The renowned cellist petitioned the BBC for some time to broadcast this unusual duet, and while John Reith at first thought it wouldn't work, new microphones developed by Captain H.J. Round ensured that the birdsong would carry... so long as they sang.
Did they sing? (Yes.) Was it faked? (No.) Was it the first broadcast birdsong? (Not quite.) All of this and more will be answered and delved into this episode, with an interview with Patricia Cleveland-Peck, author of The Cello and the Nightingales: The Life of Beatrice Harrison - new edition just released.
We look at the scandalous rumours of fakery, the technical developments that meant the BBC's first fading, the Cardiff broadcast that just beat them to it, the bleak wartime duet between The Nightingale and the Bomber, and even John Reith's odd nightingale impersonation, the very same day he first heard radio in 1917.
 
SHOWNOTES:
Iain Baird's excellent article on the technology and legacy of The Cello and the Nightingale is at https://journal.sciencemuseum.ac.uk/article/song-of-the-nightingale/
Buy The Cello and the Nightingales: The Life of Beatrice Harrison by Patricia Cleveland-Peck (NB: I get several pence commission if you click that affiliate link! I ambitously expect to retire on this money)
More on Patricia's books and career on her website: https://patriciaclevelandpeck.com/
A video version of Paul's interview with Patricia can be seen here on Youtube: https://youtu.be/CjaNILDlmZ0?si=Dp6fbbLbS-gZKVJu
We try to only use clips long beyond copyright - but any BBC copyright content reproduced courtesy of the British Broadcasting Corporation. All rights reserved.
Original music is by Will Farmer.
Support us on Patreon (£5/mth), for bonus videos and things - and thanks if you do!
Paul's on tour: An Evening of (Very) Old Radio visits these places: www.paulkerensa.com/tour - come and say hi
Walking tours of BBC's London sites coming this summer. Email Paul via the Contact link on his website for more details.
NEXT TIME: We're back in May 1923 for bands and boycotts on the early BBC.
More info on this radio history project at paulkerensa.com/oldradio
 

#086 1932 Off-Air Radio Recordings by Mr F.O. Brown of Greenbank

On the previous episode we explored the only 1920s BBC recording (that we know of), recorded off-air by Mr Jones of Croydon. 
This time on episode 86, we encounter the only other off-air radio recordings of the interwar years (that I know of): the 1932 recordings by Mr F.O. Brown of Greenbank.
His grandson Alex cleared out the family attic as recently as 2016, discovering these bizarre metal discs with no idea what they contained, or how to listen to them. Alex consulted the British Sound Library, the internet, and wherever else he could find knowhow on playing these records to preserve the sounds.
What he found was several dozen 1930s recordings, from BBC jazz bands to radio royalty, from George Bernard Shaw to his own grandfather giving a spoof tour of Edinburgh. 
This episode we chat to Alex about his painstaking work preserving these recordings, and we hear a few. Enjoy Henry Hall opening Broadcasting House, extracts from the 1932 Royal Command Performance, and Reginald Foort and his big organ (stop it).
Then head to http://greenbank-records.com/1930s-recordings#/samples/ to hear the rest! You'll also find Alex's illuminating blog at http://greenbank-records.com/blog
1932 was the year the BBC started recording themselves, but only very sparingly. Most of these recordings are the only surviving copy of each broadcast - and there aren't many more pre-WW2 recorded broadcasts at all.
Thanks to Alex for sharing his story and the recordings, and thanks to F.O. Brown for using his EKCO Radiocorder to do what so many of us have done over the years: in my case, push the record and play buttons on a cassette recorder while Steve Wright was on Radio 1... or in my children's case, recording themselves playing Radio 2 jingles on the Wise Buddah website... but in this case, assembling a recording device from scratch to preserve monarchs and music on disc, so we can still hear them today.
 
SHOWNOTES:
Head to Greenbank Records for the full works.
We try to only use clips long beyond copyright - but any BBC copyright content reproduced courtesy of the British Broadcasting Corporation. All rights reserved.
Original music is by Will Farmer.
Support us on Patreon (£5/mth), for bonus videos and things - and thanks if you do!
Paul's on tour: An Evening of (Very) Old Radio visits these places: www.paulkerensa.com/tour - any near you?
NEXT TIME: The Centenary of the Cello and the Nightingale
More info on this radio history project at paulkerensa.com/oldradio

#085 The Earliest BBC Recording and The First Monarch On Air

On 23 April 1924, a landmark broadcast took place - the biggest so far. And on day of podcast release, it's the centenary!
100 years ago at time of writing, King George V opened the Empire Exhibition at Wembley, becoming the first monarch to broadcast.
It also stands as the oldest surviving recording of a BBC broadcast - and the only excerpt of the BBC from the 1920s. 
The BBC couldn't record anything until 1932, when the Blattnerphone came along. So how did this 1924 broadcast manage to be retained?
For decades, it wasn't. A 1964 episode of Desert Island Discs tells the tale, of how their 1936/1955 Scrapbook for 1924 programme aired without the recording, but with a sad admission that there was none... till a listener got in touch. Dorothy Jones' husband had recorded the king off-air via a home-made device. Thanks to him, and her, and Scrapbook producer Leslie Baily, we have this sole recording of the 20s' Beeb.
It's quite a tale. The broadcast alone was revolutionary - with 10 million people listening via loudspeakers on street corners, brand new radio sets for their homes... even Downton Abbey hired in its first wireless set (but will Lord Grantham keep it? Oh go on then...)
Hear all about the momentous exhibition, the broadcast, the recording, and a rundown of royals who ruled the airwaves - and it goes back further than you might think.
Hear too of brand new research into an unheralded royal radio encounter from 1906 - before even 'the world's first broadcast' took place, King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra (Palace) were enjoying a 'radio' whistling solo and a personalised greeting.
Thanks for listening.
Do share, rate, review, rant, rave, tell people about the podcast. It's a solo operation - not made by the BBC, just by comedian & writer Paul Kerensa. So thanks!
 
SHOWNOTES:
If you enjoyed this, make sure you've listened to our episode on The History of Coronation Broadcasts and A Brief History of the BBC Archives.
Listen to the 1924 recording of the Prince of Wales and King George V.
Listen to the 1923 gramophone record of King George V and Queen Mary.
Listen to the 1923 recording of President Woodrow Wilson - the world's earliest recording of broadcast radio.
See the picture of Edward VII and Queen Alexandra encounter 'the talking arc' via our Facebook group or on Twitter. (search for 'talking arc')
We try to only use clips long beyond copyright - but any BBC copyright content reproduced courtesy of the British Broadcasting Corporation. All rights reserved.
Original music is by Will Farmer.
Support us on Patreon (£5/mth), and gain bonus videos and writings in return - we're reading the first book on radio, Cecil Lewis' Broadcasting from Within, for example. Hear all instalments read to you: patreon.com/posts/patron-vid-savoy-75950901
...Interested in joining a live actual walking tour around those first BBC landmarks? I'm thinking of running one, summer 2024. Email paul at paulkerensa dot com for details of when.
Paul's on tour: An Evening of (Very) Old Radio could be playing in your town. If not (likely), book it! Details: www.paulkerensa.com/tour
More info on this radio history project at: 
paulkerensa.com/oldradio

#084 Women's Hour on the BBC: 1923-24

When Dr Kate Murphy became a BBC's Woman's Hour producer in 1993, the received wisdom was that women's programming began in 1946, when Woman's Hour launched. 
Kate did some digging in the archives, and discovered the long lost tale of the early BBC's Women's Hour (rather than Woman's Hour), which ran from 1923-24. Why so brief? What impact did it make? Which listeners did it cater for? She's here to tell us everything.
Hear the topics, the tales, some of the voices, how the regional stations nipped in first, how Men's Talk didn't last quite as long, and how it Women's Hour had one of the first examples of listener feedback. 
Next time: The earliest BBC recording, as we leap forward a year for one episode, for the centenary of King George V's landmark broadcast - plus the bizarre tale of how we now get to hear it. 
 
SHOWNOTES:
Dr Kate Murphy's books are a must if you're interested in this area (and if you're reading this, sorry to break it to you, but you're interested). Behind the Wireless: A History of Early Women at the BBC and Hilda Matheson: A Life of Secrets and Broadcasts. Buy them both - I did. 
This is an independent podcast, nothing to do with the BBC.
Any BBC copyright content reproduced courtesy of the British Broadcasting Corporation. All rights reserved.
Original music is by Will Farmer.
Support us on Patreon (£5/mth), and bonus bits include this video meander around (the outside of) Savoy Hill: patreon.com/posts/patron-vid-savoy-75950901
...Interested in joining a live actual walking tour around those first BBC landmarks? I'm thinking of running one, early 2024. Email paul at paulkerensa dot com for details of when.
These recently uploaded plans of Savoy Hill show you everything from Reith's Thames view to the office of Women's Hour boss Ella Fitzgerald: https://www.facebook.com/groups/bbcentury/posts/932696548301466/  
Catch Paul on tour with An Evening of (Very) Old Radio - for where/when, see www.paulkerensa.com/tour
Find us on Facebook or Twitter, or Ex-Twitter.
Your ratings/reviewings of this podcast REALLY help get the podcast noticed. It's solo-run, so thanks!
More info on this radio history project at: 
paulkerensa.com/oldradio
Thanks for listening (-in).

#083 The Launch of Savoy Hill: The BBC's New Home, 1 May 1923

Welcome to the Savoy Hill era of the BBC!
Episode 83 opens the doors to the first permanent home of Auntie Beeb, with a grand launch night on 1 May 1923. I think it's one of the most crucial - and funniest - 24 hours in the BBC's history. 
So we recreate as much as we can of that one day:
A last-minute dress code sees senior management in far-too-big suits...
John Reith's tee-total buffet goes terribly wrong....
The closing speaker goes missing - and is found, sozzled. Will Reith let the drunken lord on the air, and will he string a sentence together? 
All will be revealed, plus the music, the speeches (from Lord Gainford, Sir William Bull and Lord Birkenhead), the first Men's Talk (next time, it's Women's Hour, the next day) and the launch of the Sykes Inquiry - just that minor thing of the govt and the press loathing the BBC. A reminder: this was 1923. 
Our guest too covers more recent years of broadcasting - Charles Huff, producer of Tomorrow's World and The Great Egg Race, tell us about radio days of his youth, from Educating Archie to Eastern Bloc jamming. 
Next time: Dr Kate Murphy joins us to talk about the first Women's Hour progamme, as well as other 1920s women's broadcasting - and why it stopped.
 
SHOWNOTES:
This is an independent podcast, nothing to do with the BBC.
Original music by Will Farmer.
We're hugely grateful to the BBC Written Archives Centre for access and permission to recreate the Savoy Hill launch speeches. BBC copyright content reproduced courtesy of the British Broadcasting Corporation. All rights reserved.
Books consulted include Sir John Reith by Garry Allighan, The Emergence of Broadcasting in Britain by Brian Hennessey, Savoy Hill by Brian Hennessey, and Never Look Back by Cecil Lewis. Among others.
Support us on Patreon (£5/mth), and bonus bits include this video meander around (the outside of) Savoy Hill: patreon.com/posts/patron-vid-savoy-75950901
...Interested in joining a live actual walking tour around those first BBC landmarks? I'm thinking of running one, early 2024. Email paul at paulkerensa dot com for details of when.
Paul's on tour with An Evening of (Very) Old Radio - for where/when, see www.paulkerensa.com/tour
Find us on Facebook or Twitter, or Ex-Twitter.
Your ratings/reviewings of this podcast REALLY help get the podcast noticed. It's solo-run, so thanks!
More info on this radio history project at: 
paulkerensa.com/oldradio
 

#082 The BBC at Marconi House: 14-11-1922 to 30-04-1923

Welcome to season 6 of The British Broadcasting Century Podcast - and our 82nd episode.
Back in our podcast timeline, telling the moment-by-moment origin story of British broadcasting, we reach a bittersweet moment: the BBC moves out of its first studios, the temporary studio on the top floor of Marconi House.
We pay tribute with a look at the Beeb's final day at MH, 30 April 1923 - a broadcast promoting Women's Hour (by a man) and Hawaiian guitar music (hear it here!).
And we spend much of the episode re-examining Auntie's first day at Marconi House - indeed BBC Day 1 - as I've just discovered a 1942 memoir from Arthur Burrows, first voice of the BBC. And he says some things I've never read anywhere else before. Was there music on the BBC's first day? He thinks so...
..but we don't! And by 'we', I mean our invited guests: Newspaper Detective Andrew Barker and The Great Collector Dr Steve Arnold. We look at the evidence, from newspapers to the archives to best guesses, and try to piece together the jigsaw of the BBC's first 3 days.
Also some more recent BBC memories, as Radio 2 leaves Wogan House, Paul reflects on his memories of broadcasting from there - and working briefly with Steve Wright - a tribute to the great DJ, now Jockin' in the Big Show in the sky.
 
SHOWNOTES:
This is an independent podcast, nothing to do with the BBC or anyone else for that matter.
Original music by Will Farmer.
BBC copyright content reproduced courtesy of the British Broadcasting Corporation. Al rights reserved.
Huge thanks to the BBC Written Archive Centre for help and permission regarding the memoir in this episode - and to the Burrows family... if you're out there, I'd love to say hi!
Listen to the Burrows memoir without interruption here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/audio-first-bbc-96829718
Some Patreon links for patrons only (do join! £5/mth, cancel whenever)...
Steve Wright - a video of my waffling away about him a little aimlessly, and walking between Broadcasting House and Wogan House: https://www.patreon.com/posts/vid-steve-wright-98460958?cid=129996334
I mention on the podcasat a Patreon video of my walk around (the outside of) Savoy Hill: https://www.patreon.com/posts/patron-vid-savoy-75950901
...and the walk from Magnet House (first BBC HQ) to Marconi House (first studio): https://www.patreon.com/posts/magnet-house-to-68777192
...Interested in joining a live actual walking tour around those first BBC landmarks? I'm thinking of running one, early 2024. Email paul at paulkerensa dot com for details of when.
My Radio 2 Pause for Thought in tribute to Steve Wright: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0hbpwgr
Paul Gambaccini's moving tribute to Steve Wright/Wogan House: https://twitter.com/airchecks/status/1759491760827351416
I also mention my son's Minecraft version of Marconi House. It's got quite a few inaccuracies - but it was made by a 10-year-old with little-to-no knowledge of the Marconi House history - just access to a few plans. So admire the effort if not the accuracy! It's here, if you'd like: https://youtu.be/TatzKmF1z3k
Details of Paul's tour of An Evening of (Very) Old Radio at www.paulkerensa.com/tour
Find us on Facebook or Twitter, or Ex-Twitter.
Join us on Patreon.com/paulkerensa, from £5/mth, and get written updates and videos.
Your ratings/reviewings of this podcast REALLY help get the podcast noticed. It's solo-run, so thanks!
Next time: We've closed Marconi House, so let's open Savoy Hill!
More info on this radio history project at: 
paulkerensa.com/oldradio