Archive for Marconi Veterans Association

You will remember that we carried an article in the 2011 newsletter about the Marconi wireless station at Clifden, Connemara.  The Connemara Heritage Society have organised a commemorative Marconi event this year on 12 – 14 October.  The attachment below gives details and comes as you see with an invitation to as many Marconi Veterans as are able to go. It looks as if it will be a very good weekend but it would be good if some Marconi Veterans could make it.

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The radio station was set up in the grounds of Writtle College approximately 1 km from the site of the original 2MT broadcast in 1922.  Details of the station were published here on 1 August.  As will be seen the structure pays homage to the original Writtle hut and the early microphone with its cigar box mouthpiece.

The programme was broadcast for 1 1/2 hours each day between 11 and 18 September with a longer broadcast on Saturday 15 September.  The opening broadcast was given by Tim Wander giving a history of the early 2MT broadcasts and other broadcasts comprised readings, dramatic works, singing both solo and the Writtle voices, the Writtle All Saints bell ringers and music.  As can be seen from the photographs the action took place on an open stage so that it could be treated as both a live performance for the audience present, (there was a significant audience on the Saturday), and also the broadcast for listeners.

Unfortunately, due to the limited antenna height the station’s range was only about 2km when receiving on a portable radio and about 5km with a good rooftop antenna so the listener-ship was very limited and could not be heard over large parts of Chelmsford.

There is a community radio station broadcasting between 11 and 18 September at Writtle College.  The latest press release, number 3, is shown below.

On Saturday 7 July  2012 the Olympic Torch passed down New Street on its journey through Chelmsford.  The torch was carried on this leg by 14 year old Moesha Howard.  Pictures of the convoy and the torch as it passes the 1912 building are here.

The above festival will  be held from 10 to 14 July inclusive.  http://chelmsfordbeerfestival.com/

The Deputy Mayor of Chelmsford, councillor Paul Hutchinson, will open the festival but Marconi Veterans have been invited to be present on Tuesday 10th July at 12-30pm for the opening and to pull the first pints.

We look forward to meeting any veterans who can be present at the opening.

A symposium was held at Anglia Ruskin University to discuss the future of the ex Marconi New Street site.  The event was held under the auspices of “Changing Chelmsford” and was, appropriately, in the Marconi Building at the university.

The  symposium was divided into three parts.  The first comprised presentations by Barry Shaw, advisor to Essex County Council, and  Roger Estop from Chelmsford City Council planning.  Barry outlined what he called the heritage triangle formed by the Anne Knight Building, a former Quaker Chapel; the 1912 Marconi building itself, and the grade 2* listed Shire Hall.  Just outside this triangle is the railway station and Anlia Ruskin University campus.  Barry’s submission was that redevelopment of the Marconi site would open up this part of the city and draw the university campus closer to the centre.  Roger Estop then gave a brief description of the buildings on the Marconi site.

The second part of the event was the visit to the New Street site itself.  This was, unfortunately, very restricted in scope, partly because some areas had been boarded up, partly because vandalism had exposed asbestos in various places and partly because the dreaded Health & Safety would not allow anybody upstairs.  Nevertheless, some pictures were taken and these are included at the bottom of this article.

We then returned to the university campus for the third session which was a series of reports and ideas for the site from the groups that had visited.  Most of the ideas had been rehearsed many times before with Ashwells and others and in the present economic climate are unlikely to be viable so although Changing Chelmsford has done a good job of raising the profile of the site and the problems it presents it seems unlikely that development will take place in the near future.