The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa

#022 SPECIAL: Capt H.J. Round, a speech from Dec 1952

Feb 17, 2021

Listen to the incredible Captain H.J. Round, a pioneering radio engineer who worked alongside Marconi and shaped modern broadcasting, as he delivers his 1952 Armstrong Medal acceptance speech. Discover his remarkable contributions, including radio direction-finding that impacted World War I and the design of early BBC transmitters. Hear tales of his viral test transmissions that kicked off broadcasting in 1920 and a captivating mention of celebrity broadcasts like Dame Nellie Melba's. It's a deep dive into the technical and the historic!

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ANECDOTE

Melba Sang Eleven Songs

Henry J. Round recounts broadcasting Dame Nellie Melba and technical hiccups during her performance.
When a valve failed he told Melba

ANECDOTE

From Grammar School To Marconi Recruit

Round describes his start with Marconi and being taken on after a trial with pay and food.
He recalls training at Frinton-on-Sea and being sent to Chelmsford for further work.

ANECDOTE

Babylon And The Coherer Era

Round describes Babylon and Riverhead stations with primitive spark transmitters and coherer receivers.
He remembers the helplessness of relying on a tapper relay as the only link to the outside world.

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Our first special stars radio pioneer Captain H.J. Round, in a true piece of history. We're on a break between seasons, so here's the first of a few specials... about one of the last of a few, a genius cigar-chomping engineer who shaped the modern world. We've mentioned Captain H.J. Round on season 1 of the podcast, but we've not heard from him till now - in fact few people have ever heard him. This recording, as far as we know, hasn't been publicly released in its entirety before. Henry Joseph Round worked with Marconi since the turn of the 20th century. His radio direction-finding innovation helped decide the fate of the First World War in The Battle of Jutland, earning him the Military Cross in 1918. Round co-created broadcasting in 1920, when his test transmissions 'went viral', with amateur radio owners tuning in (oh, he helped invent 'tuning in' too) and listening in. He designed the first BBC transmitter and early BBC microphones. Away from broadcasting, he developed radar and sonar, and stumbled on electroluminescence 50 years before it was rediscovered in the modern LED. In this episode, you'll hear his acceptance speech after being awarded the Armstrong Medal by the Radio Club of America on December 12th 1952. Many thanks to Captain Round's grandson David Jervis for sharing this recording with us. If you understand even most of it, I'll be very impressed! It's technical, and it's thorough. There are tales too of Dame Nellie Melba's famous broadcast, of Marconi, of applying for a job with Edison (but Edison wasn't paying enough), and so much more. My advice: lose yourself in a nostalgic, sometimes unfathomable world of thermionic valves and often incomprehensible jargon. Treat it like a hedge maze: enjoy being lost, knowing someone has carefully built this. You'll hear: - Harry Hobb’s citation and awarding of the medal - Round on working for Marconi’s in America, inc transmitters in Babylon, NY and Riverhead, NY - Round in search of food at Cape Race, Newfoundland - Marconi’s in England, inc. the Melba broadcast - The Marconi Company later years - Other places referenced include Glace Bay in Nova Scotia, Clifden in Ireland, and Chelmsford in Essex. Then you'll hear E Howard Armstrong's tribute. On the night that came first, but for this podcast I've moved it to the end of the podcast. Armstrong covers WWI's Battle of Jutland and Round’s radio direction-finding innovation. There is plenty more reading matter here: http://www.r-type.org/timeline/time-012.htm http://www.r-type.org/timeline/time-119.htm https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/people/ap30311/round-henry-joseph Listener Alan Pemberton has kindly made us a helpful glossary, explaining a few of the terms in Captain Round's speech: Find it here on our Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/BBCentury/posts/246631957055981 We're unaffiliated with the BBC - in fact we're just one person - it's me, Paul, hello. So to help us spread word of this small project, please do rate/review/rant about it on social media - it's always hugely appreciated and really helps us reach more ears. If you LOVE the podcast and find some £ in your pocket, paypal.me/paulkerensa helps keep us in books and web-hosting (and the more books we get, the more accurate we'll be!) or patreon.com/paulkerensa also adds extra writing extracts, articles and advance videos from me (not just broadcasting-based, across my other writings too...). Lately that includes a full interview with Diddy David Hamilton - to be included in extracts on season 2 of the podcast. We're on Twitter and have a new Facebook group as well as our Facebook page. My mailing list has more on my upcomings, books, TV shows etc. The recording in this episode has been sent our way by David Jervis - thank you David! Subscribe where you found this podcast to automatically get the next episode - another special.