We regret to report that David Speake, our President in 1994, died peacefully at his home on 8 January.
He was a former Director of Research at Marconi Research Establishment in Great Baddow.
A Memorial Service will be held at 2.00 pm on Thursday, 23rd January, at St Mary’s Church, Hall Lane, Shenfield, Essex.
Some of you may have noticed that this website looks a little different from what you were expecting. Â Unfortunately, the site has been compromised by spammers and hackers.
Luckily our ISP is on the ball and quarantined the affected files before I became aware of the problem. Â These files are mainly plug-ins that create functionality on the site and all the content is completely safe in an isolated database.
However, it will take a little time before all the functionality can be reinstalled. Please be patient.
We regret to report the deaths of the following Veterans and extend our sympathy to the families of those mentioned.
A G Barrett
D F Candy
R L J Cave
D C Creed
C P Freeman
K S Hewitt
K T D Hughes
M H Leveridge
G K Rogers
R Safe
N T J Sutterby
A K Thorogood
H J Williams
This list was correct on 05 December 2013 and supersedes the list published on 30 September 2013.
As part of the Chelmsford Ideas Festival the Marconi Heritage Group held a “Meet & Greet” day in Library Square.
As can be seem from the photographs (rather poor as taken with a camera phone) there were display boards showing the development of the New Street site over 100 years and many people came to talk about their experiences of working for Marconi.
Marconi Veterans who may be seen in the pictures are : Jim Selby, Owen Hawkes, Stan Atkins, Alan Hartley-Smith and Colin Page.
We regret to report the deaths of the following Veterans and extend our sympathy to the families of those mentioned.
D G Argyle
P W Boorer
P E Davidson
R V Hammond MBE
K A Hardy
R Kitchen BEM
B E Lingwood
R G Mitchell
D E Money
W L Peace
C Samms
G A Sheardown
A H Stoneham
A J Wickens
This list was correct on 30 September 2013 and supersedes the list published on 22 April 2013.
The local organisation Changing Chelmsford http://www.changingchelmsford.org/ is organising another Ideas Festival this year.  It will be held from 26 October to 3 November. This year there is a Marconi involvement in several events as detailed below:
Hosted by: Geoff Bowles, Sandford Museum
Venue: Library Square Drop in Workshop
Date: 28 October
Time: 10am-5pm
Audience: Children 8+ accompanied by an adult. Â
Experience Marconi’s! Â Join our wireless workshop mimicking the Marconi design / production process and commemorating a slice of what went on at New Street, Chelmsford. Â Wind a coil, assemble and test a Morse code receiver or drop in any time during the day and help build a giant mast from which to hang the aerials.
Hosted by: Dr. Catherine Pearson
Venue: Anglia Ruskin University Talk
Date: 31 October
Time: 7.30-9pm
Audience: 11+
The talk provides a fascinating insight on 20th century industry in Chelmsford, and in particular manufacturers such as Marconi’s and Hoffman’s Ball-Bearing Factory (now the site of the University’s Chelmsford campus). The international impact on developments in telecommunications and transportation is explored through personal stories revealed by the archive. The talk also illustrates how the Chelmsford Campus we know today retains echoes of its manufacturing heritage, allowing visitors to imagine its industrial past.
Hosted by: Marconi Heritage Group
Venue: Library Square Meet and Greet session
Saturday 2nd Nov
Time: 10am-3pm
The Marconi Company fostered a sense of family within its employees which is in danger of being forgotten. Â This event is part of an initiative to set up a Marconi Heritage Centre in Chelmsford. Â The aim is to provide a focal point for the housing and display of memorabilia, both personal and operational. Â Do you have any family or other associations with the company? Â Come and tell us all about them! Mike Plant from the MOGS has volunteered to front the “Meet and Greet” session to record the input and interest from ex-Marconi people visiting and would be pleased to see any veterans if they care to pop in – if any feel like helping out on the day that would be even better. There will be a display of Marconi panels from the ERO and details of any Heritage Centre progress to date will be shown. There will also be a supply of leaflets that were produced for the ERO conference on 6 July.
A full programme for the Ideas Festival is now available at:
http://www.changingchelmsford.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Ideas-Festival-2013-lo-res-3008.pdf
The venue “Library Square” is the atrium in front of the entrance to the main Chelmsford Library. Â This is accessed from Market Road.
We regret to announce the death of Ronald Victor Hammond M.B.E.  Ron, who worked for Marconi Radar, was 83.
There will be a funeral service at St. Andrew’s Parish Church in Heybridge on Thursday 12th September at 2.00 p.m.
This will be followed by a cremation at Chelmsford Crematorium at 3.30 p.m.
Next Thursday, 4 July at 9.00 am, BBC Radio 4 will broadcast a programme in the series “In out Time” titled “The Invention of Radio”. Â The trailer for this programme can be found at http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0368knw
This is one BBC series that is archived and is available as a Pod-cast if you are not able to listen live.
This site will continue to be updated as new pictures or other information becomes available.
Click on any image to open a full size version.
The site on 21 February
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Update 3 April
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Aerial view of the New Street site as it was on 5 May 2013.
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Update 29 May
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Update 5 June 2013
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Update 13 June 2013.
The building between the 1912 building and the railway line that housed, among other things, the New Street gatehouse and connected to the 1912 building by a bridge has now been demolished.
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Updates 19 June 2013 (twice)
The following pictures of Marconi house have been received from Tim Wander
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This award is in recognition of Geoff’s work in maintaining the collection of Marconi equipment and memorabilia at the Chelmsford Industrial museum at Sandford Mill.
As you will have seen from the report of the 2013 AGM the decision of the committee to elect Dr Geoff Bowles as an Honorary Veteran was approved by the members.
The picture shows Geoff being presented with his veterans tie and the coaster from this year’s reunion by our secretary Veteran Barry Powell during the International Marconi Day at Sandford Mill on 27 April 2013.
