What's new - recently added or updated pages
May 2023: Type D desk in Studio 3G, Broadcasting
House.
January 2023: The BRT/2 tape machines at Alexandra
Palace.
May 2021: A description of the facilities at
Millbank, home of the BBC's coverage of Parliament.
February 2021: A description of a pair of restored RP2/9s, by
John Shaw.
Also by John, a page about the EMT 950 turntable.
David Savage's memories of
joining Engineering Lines Department at the age of 16 in 1944.
January 2021: Ian Astbury describes the BBC's
selection, specification and quality control of recording tapes and discusses
the various factors involved. The article also covers the digital media that
have gradually taken over from tape.
The structures built to protect the lower
floors of Broadcasting House and the damage caused by bombing during WW2.
October 2020: Document with advice on
the use and misuse of sound effects in radio plays.
August 2020: Documents from 1961 and 1989
regarding levels and dynamic range.
Playing some Blattnerphone tapes.
July 2020: The era of the Mutterbox.
A preserved item from Piccadilly
studios - the master clock, fully restored and working.
David Babsky remembers a childhood audition
for Chilrens Hour and meeting Trevor Hill.
February 2019: Three photos from Ariel
featuring the Today programme in Studio 3B, 1967.
December 2018: Four photos of either B13
or B14 with a Type B desk taken c.1969.
October 2018: A description of the
operation of the 1932 Control Room which appeared in the first issue of Ariel,
the BBC's in-house magazine.
March 2018: Memories of Mary Lawson who
worked in the Recording Unit during WWII.
Two photos of the transmitter hall at Alexandra
Palace taken in the 1930s.
October 2017: Picture Post magazine
reports on the BBC during WWII.
November 2017: Reporting war section
slightly re-organised and extra material about, and photos of, correspondent
Richard Sharp added.
Page describing the proposed 1930s BH extension
and the Stronghold now includes information about other underground war preparations.
October 2017: Picture Post magazine
reports on the BBC during WWII.
July 2017: An update on digital equipment
at Radio Leicester.
February 2017: The label and
a short audio clip of "Teddy Bears' Picnic", a record often used in studios
to check the grams.
April 2016: Memories of working in the script
printing department and the ticket unit by Sylvia Wredden.
March 2016: Some stories set in Continuity
Suites in 1943.
May 2015: Two photos of the Wurlitzer
organ console which was in the Playhouse, Manchester from 1970 to 1985.
June 2015: Memories of Horace Gregory.
May 2015: Two photos of the Wurlitzer
organ console which was in the Playhouse, Manchester from 1970 to 1985.
April 2015: Extra information about the
TD/7 grams player.
Jolly Japes and Wizard Weezes in BH Control Room.
January 2015: A 1960s photo of the Control
Room at Wood Norton
February 2014: Rita Jaye's memories of 'H'
Group transmitters during the war years.
January 2014: Rita Jaye's memories of 200
Oxford Street.
Photos of the Type D desk in Studio B6 during a late-night
jazz programme.
More info about the Navy Lark music
December 2013: A 1978 recruitment booklet
for Technical Operators.
November 2013: A photo of the 1970s/80s
Calrec desk at the Royal Albert Hall.
A photo of Joe Latham training in the Langham
in 1962 added to his memories page.
September 2013: Broadcasting House in the
1930s - section rebuilt with extra photos and text. Also a selection of articles
about the building from the BBC Year Books 1931-3.
July 2013: Extra photo of Type C
recorder.
May 2013: Extra photos of BT-H Carbon Microphone.
The 1944 Type A microphone Technical Instruction
which describes the development of the original Type A to the AXBT.
The 1937 Regional Dramatic Control Panel (Type DC/4)
Technical Instruction.
The 1943 Wartime Control Rooms and Studios Technical
Instruction.
April 2013: Trevor Hill's memories of 200
Oxford Street during the war years.
March 2013: Extra photo added to Camden
Theatre page.
January 2013: The 1936 Technical Instruction
for the Type A microphone.
December 2012: The 1937 Technical Instruction
for the Marconi-Stille Recorder.
Studio 8A in its final form before the rebuild of Broadcasting
House.
Plan of BH Stronghold added.
November 2012: Some record labels and audio
clips of station idents and signature tunes.
October 2012: Broadcasting House Extension
- the final years of the Basement stduios.
A memory of Sir Arthur Bliss added to Roy
Hayward's page.
More photos of the demolition of NBH, Manchester.
More test record labels added to Cue Grams section.
September 2012: Photos of the demolition of NBH,
Manchester.
August 2012: Extra material on Cardiff continuities
page.
May 2012: New (first) page added to section about
GP desks.
March 2012:
A tribute to the late Roy
Hayward who died in March 2012.
Memories of Frank Doran, who joined the BBC in 1942
and later worked at Bedford, the home of BBC music during World War II.
February 2012:
A tribute to the late Joe
Latham who died in February 2012.
Two extra photos added to Cardiff continuities page.
January 2012:
Photos of GP desks in Basement
studios (B9, B12, B14-16) in Broadcasting House Extension.
Two extra photos added to Cardiff continuities page.
October 2011:
A tribute to the late
Johnny Longden who died in September 2011.
Extra picture of a recording channel (Cardiff
W7) added to BTR/2 page.
And another shot of W7 showing the Marconi
BD545 desk.
September 2011:
A page about the Washford
Radio Museum with photos of some of the collection.
July 2011:
Colour shots of Type A desk
in PP1, 1977.
Photos of Studio B6 equipped with Type D desk, 1984.
June 2011:
GP desks and associated equipment in
Studios B6 and B7 of Broadcasting House, c.1985.
Colour photo of the Neve desk in the Concert
Hall added.
1960s photos of Wood Norton added to LG Smith's
account of the site during the war years.
May 2011:
Outside Studios: Some of
the converted London theatres and cinemas used for audience shows and music
recording.
Extra memory added to continuities section.
February 2011:
Extra information about the
BBC Coat of Arms.
January 2011:
Photos of World War II
press pass and uniform patches added to Reporting War page.
December 2010:
Two new stories
added to Continuities Memories page.
March 2010:
Cardiff Continuities updated.
February 2010:
Johnny Longden recalls joining
the BBC in 1940 and working in Outside Broadcasts. On
another page he also remembers building Continuity G in the Broadcasting House
control room in 1967.
January 2010:
Jim Butterworth
remembers restoring a 1930s tape recorder - the Blattnerphone.
November 2009:
Michael Cooke's memories of
his time working for the BBC (1943-54).
November 2009:
A picture of the 5XX 230kW
transmitter at Droitwich added to Joe Latham's "Early Days article.
Also minor changes on his page about 200 Oxford Street.
June 2009:
Joe Latham writes about the career
of Geoffrey Manuel in the "Memories" section.
June 2009:
New story by Len Green added to
his page in "Memories" section - a missed transmission.
February 2009:
New photo of war correspondents
and engineers in "Reporting from Europe" section.
November 2008:
A review of Mark Hines' book
"The Story of Broadcasting House: Home of the BBC".
July 2008:
Memories of Alexandra Palace in the
mid-1960s by Nick Flowers.
February 2008:
- The Proposed 1930s Extension and the Stronghold
- The 1940s BH Control Room
- The Wartime Women Operators
- L.G. Smith's memories
- Roy Maynard's memories
- A tour of BH in 1959
- Memories of BH in 1959
- A tour of BH in 1967
- Type B Continuities
- Type D Continuities
- Mixer 1A
- The 1960s BH Control Room - this section has been reorganised.
- GP Desks
- Demolition