The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa

Ahead of season 2 (covering the first year and a bit of the BBC, from November 16th 1922 to December 31st 1923), here's a recap of season 1 - told by the people who were there: eleven broadcasting pioneers.   GUGLIELMO MARCONI: Inventor of 'wireless' H.J. ROUND: First to send speech west across the Atlantic PETER ECKERSLEY: First regular British radio broadcaster WINIFRED SAYER: First woman on the radio, first professional radio performer DAME NELLIE MELBA: First star broadcaster ARTHUR BURROWS: First voice of the BBC KENNETH WRIGHT: First director of the BBC in the North JOHN REITH: First General Manager then Director General of the BBC ERNIE MAYNE: First British novelty record about broadcasting  HELENA MILLAIS: First broadcast character comedian  A.E. THOMPSON: Second voice of the BBC + LEE MACK DAVID HAMILTON ...who are a little more recent in terms of broadcasting. Hear them on season 2 of the podcast, as we explore the first entertainers, the first staff, Magnet House, Savoy Hill, Women's Hour, the Radio Times, battles with the press and the government and much more.   As ever, we are nothing to do with the current BBC. As ever, we're on Twitter.com/bbcentury and Facebook.com/bbcentury, with a more interactive group at Facebook.com/groups/bbcentury As ever, your support at patreon.com/paulkerensa is very much appreciated. Watch the full David Hamilton video interview there, tour Paul's radio history bookshelf, and know you're helping to keep us (me - there's no one else here) making podcasts.    Stay informed/educated/entertained/subscribed.   Season 2 soon...

In this fascinating discussion, playwright David Edgar brings to life the memoirs of his grandfather, Percy Edgar, an early BBC pioneer. Percy recalls the chaotic opening night of Birmingham's first broadcasting station and his whirlwind encounters with broadcasting legends like Reith. He shares the creative genesis of Children's Corner, introducing memorable characters and engaging young audiences. David reflects on how their family shaped early programming. Archival clips add a unique flavor to Percy’s captivating tales, showcasing a significant era in broadcasting.

Part 2 of our parliamentary re-enactment is a dense and complex beast - but then so is Parliament. Good luck! Following last episode, we're re-enacting every political discussion on broadcasting in 1922: the year the word caught on, and the year the BBC was launched. So this episode is like listening to radio in the 1920s... expect to not get every word, but enjoy trying. You may need to tune your ears to catch what the House of Commons was echoing with a century ago.  We're between seasons, with a few specials. Here for the first time, our cast of 20 bring to life the MPs of a century ago. These are the full works, no editing to the highlights - we'll leave that for your brain to do. This episode the MPs accuse the Postmaster-General of a power-grab, over-regulation, and stopping greater discussion by scaremongering. The PMG says how awful (and dangerous) the airwaves will be if left to run wild, and defends the so-called monopoly he's put together by assembling this 'B.B.C'. The PMG is determined that only British manufacturers of wireless radios will be permitted for the first two years... but will that prevent foreign innovation? Our four debates are: July 28th 1922 - Our biggest debate, half an hour on The Wireless Telegraphy Act 1904. It's under this act that the PMG has assumed control of broadcasting, and this act forms the basis of the early licences. But he's being called out - is he seizing too much control? https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/1922-07-28/debates/4d8137d9-017d-494c-8eed-fb52ef2c9e27/Clause3—(CertainActsToBeContinuedTemporarily)?highlight=broadcasting#contribution-08349217-2ba4-41d0-9afd-c7f72b485063 July 31st - A snappier few questions about the Britishness of this company, concerns over forcing wireless manufacturers to join this 'combine', and whether buyers of radio sets will get a fair price: https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/1922-07-31/debates/b501f399-7f6c-42da-a635-64e351276ad8/WirelessBroadcasting?highlight=broadcasting#contribution-09b16f81-a3a1-4d71-bc51-d6cef6723c6e Aug 1st - Doubts over The Marconi Company's dominance of this new B.B.C... and what's taking so long in getting this broadcasting malarkey started? https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/1922-08-01/debates/5ac33a1e-790a-4064-ae15-a99e11698bfa/RelessBroadcasting Aug 4th - Mr Foot (Michael Foot's father) and Captain Benn (Tony Benn's father) are the main two MPs taking issue with price-fixing, the licence fee and government control of broadcasting. The PMG Mr Kellaway defends his decisions, gives his plans for eight radio stations, and offers a summary of how we've reached this point. Lastly, Captain Benn has a long rant at the PMG's attitude and actions, especially regarding overseas markets: https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/1922-08-04/debates/d3ec5956-d274-4b63-b554-f412313385bc/WirelessBroadcasting?highlight=broadcasting#contribution-3a20aee3-3859-4068-9f77-3d62486003be The text is all courtesy of Hansard; this episode contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0 (https://www.parliament.uk/site-information/copyright-parliament/open-parliament-licence/).   Our cast this episode: Wayne Clarke - The Speaker of the House Cameron Potts - Capt Benn Philip Rowe - Sir William Lane-Mitchell (his podcast: The History of European Theatre) Shaun Jacques - Mr Kiley (his podcast: Tell Me A Bit About Yourself) Jack Shaw - Sir Donald Maclean (his podcast: Wrong Term Memory) Paul Hayes - Sir Douglas Newton Alan Stafford - The Deputy Chairman James Maidment-Fullard - Mr Malone Philip Corsius - Mr Hailwood and Mr Raffan Andrea Smith - Lt Comm Kenworthy David Kirkland - Mr Ashley and Mr Percy Mike Simmonds - Lt Col Murray Daniel Edison - Lt Col Ward Paul Savage - Mr Foot Lynn Robertson Hay - Lt Col Hall Paul Kerensa - The Postmaster-General Mr Kellaway ...Thanks to them all!   You can support our work at patreon.com/paulkerensa, where you'll currently find our full unedited video interview with Diddy David Hamilton - we'll extract some audio nuggets of David's interview for future podcast episodes, but the full version will only be viewable on Patreon (after all, this is audio, that's video). It helps keep us in web-hosting and research books. We don't turn a profit on this podcast - it's just for the love of it, so thanks for keeping us afloat! For a one-off tip, there's also paypal.me/paulkerensa, and I thank you. Please do rate/review us too. It really helps get us out there, and this podcast is just a one-man band, run by me, Paul Kerensa. Thanks for your fab ratings thus far - all 5 stars on Apple Podcasts! Aw, you guys. We're nothing to do with the BBC, BTW, FWIW, ICYMI. Thanks for listening, if you did. And congrats for making it. You've done incredibly well. Next time: the recently discovered never-before-heard memoirs of the second voice of the BBC, Percy Edgar. Subscribe to have it land when it arrives. And do tell people. Don't keep us to yourself... Meanwhile, find us on Twitter, on our Facebook page and on our Facebook group. Do join/follow/like.

Westminster, 1922: Parliament learns a new word, 'Broadcasting'. And they LOVE to argue about new words. In this special, our cast of 20 brings to life EVERY broadcasting debate from 1922, no matter how big or small. No editing here. On our specials we outstay our welcome and we dig a little deeper. So approach this episode as if you're tuning into the BBC Parliament channel, only it's a century ago and they're deciding if and how there should be a BBC. Some parts may be an easier listen than others. You may need to tune your ears to their 'old-fashioned Parliament' setting. But listen closely and your ears will be rewarded with never-before-heard insights into how and why we've ended up with today's broadcasting landscape: how the licence fee, protectionism, public service broadcasting, innovation, French weather reports, and so much more all jostled for attention a hundred years ago. MPs' decisions then affect us now. While the engineers and broadcasters were pioneering this new tech, Postmaster-General Frederick Kellaway adopted a strict approach. You'll hear how the chaos of America was to be avoided, but how MPs differed on whether the PMG was taking too firm a line on this fledgeling invention. We have eight debates of varying sizes to bring you - too many for one podcast, so part 2 will pick up the tale. We're grateful to our cast; in this episode you'll hear: Paul Hayes - Sir Douglas Newton Mike Simmonds - Lt Col Murray Paul Stubbs - Mr Kennedy Wayne Clarke - The Speaker of the House James Maidment-Fullard - Mr Malone Andrea Smith - Lt Comm Kenworthy Adam Hawkins - Capt Guest Paul Kerensa - Postmaster-General Mr Kellaway + Sir Henry Norman The text is all courtesy of Hansard; this episode contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0 (https://www.parliament.uk/site-information/copyright-parliament/open-parliament-licence/). You'll hear the following moments: The first written mention of 'broadcasting' in Parliament, April 3rd 1922, ten days after Peter Eckersley seized the mic of 2MT Writtle, starting a broadcasting craze in Britain: https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/1922-04-03/debates/5fa46744-068c-45f7-be31-daef38c64cc6/WirelessTelephony?highlight=broadcasting#contribution-54b7ff39-2321-4503-8114-4a0625d01fc4 May 4th, the first verbal mention of 'broadcasting' in Parliament: https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1922/may/04/wireless-messages-broadcasting May 23rd, a fob-off answer while the 'big six' wireless manufacturers meet to thrash it all out, settling on one British broadcasting company: https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/1922-05-23/debates/f6abd513-b5f3-41e3-902a-0a07404868dd/WirelessBroadcasting  June 16th, a reading of the Wireless Telegraphy and Signalling Bill is seen by some to be a power-grab by the Postmaster-General, but by others as a necessary part of the development broadcasting, something many MPs in the house, like Sir Douglas Newton, were keenly interested in: https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/1922-06-16/debates/4a1e7b29-0c59-4681-b86f-7acdd98a06e1/WirelessTelegraphyAndSignallingBill?highlight=broadcasting#contribution-71376b97-ca94-4d9d-938b-f6b2a727a4d6   June 28th, Parliament started looking across the Channel for what radio could do next: Weather Reports... https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/1922-06-28/debates/d34b1736-e64e-4547-8e75-e6bfcb5bf117/WirelessTelephony(WeatherBulletin)?highlight=broadcasting#contribution-2d1571f4-9a60-45e6-b820-c3ef39ce450b July 26th, the PMG wants to keep British broadcasting British: https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/1922-07-26/debates/14a1dd4a-2a48-4602-87aa-450aeb2c89e1/WirelessBroadcasting?highlight=broadcasting#contribution-f77d3eb0-a4cc-4db4-8c98-2b6cf61a94e8 Part 2 will pick up the story. Elsewhere in this episode we mention the Irish Broadcasting Hall of Fame blog, re May 16th 1922's first Irish singer of the wireless: Isolde O'Farrell. Do have a read of their marvellous blog and support their work. You can support our work at patreon.com/paulkerensa, where you'll currently find our full unedited video interview with Diddy David Hamilton - we'll extract some audio nuggets of David's interview for future podcast episodes, but the full version will only be viewable on Patreon (after all, this is audio, that's video). THANK YOU if you support us there... It helps keep us in web-hosting and research books. We don't turn a profit on this podcast - it's just for the love of it, so thanks for keeping us afloat! For a one-off tip, there's also paypal.me/paulkerensa, and I thank you. We also mention Shaun Jacques' Tell Me A Bit About Yourself podcast (which includes an interview with Paul, host of this podcast) and Jack Shaw's Wrong Term Memory podcast. Have a listen. We're on Twitter and have a Facebook page and a Facebook group. Do join/follow/like. + Subscribe to get all of these podcasts in your podtray. Next time, the Parliamentary debates continue! Please do rate/review us too. It really helps get us out there, and this podcast is just a one-man band, run by me, Paul Kerensa. We're nothing to do with the BBC, BTW, FWIW, ICYMI. Thanks for listening, if you did. And well done. More soon.

A special minisode championing Gertrude Donisthorpe: one of the world's first female broadcasters and arguably Britain's first DJ. Yet she's hardly to be seen in any of the history books. Google her now, go on. What do you find? Radio silence. We mentioned her a couple of episodes ago but didn't even know her first name. So thanks to a tweet from Dr Elizabeth Bruton of the Science Museum, I now know what the history books and the internet at large couldn't tell me. So now I want to tell you. Gertrude Donisthorpe. This one's for you. In 1917, she was spinning discs (of a sort), announcing the hottest tracks (the valve in the radio set was quite hot anyway) and doing shout-outs for her audience (of one, her husband). Later, wireless concerts for local troops increased her (and his) audience. But I think they need a bigger audience yet. No recordings exist from back then, so all you have is my impression - but her words. Also on this episode, a sneak-peek of next episode's Parliamentary reconstruction, plus Alan Pemberton's glossary of our Captain Round episode. If you struggled with any of the old lingo last episode, Alan's here to help - here on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/BBCentury/posts/246631957055981  ...which you can of course 'like', or 'join' our Facebook 'group'. We're also on Twitter and on Patreon with extra bonus things, including unedited video interviews with some of our previous guests, who you'll have heard in bitesize audio form on the podcast. Or your tips are always welcome on Paypal, to keep us in books and web-hosting. Thanks if you do! Here's a little blog post I've written about Gertrude Donisthorpe. Why? Because: see bit above about her ungooglability. If she is Britain's first DJ, and one of the first female broadcasters IN THE WORLD, she needs a bit more on the internet about her. + I mention in the episode a 1922-23 booklet written by Captain H Donisthorpe: Wireless at Home - one of the earliest books on radio, a how-to guide written before there was much to listen to. Well I couldn't resist - I found a copy online, and there's a video of me flicking through bits of it here. We're unaffiliated with the BBC - in fact we're just one person, more an I than a we - it's Paul, hello. So your help with this podcast is hugely appreciated. Tell the world! Your ratings and reviewings are most welcome, and subscribe to each episode direct to your podbox. Happy listening!   facebook.com/groups/bbcentury

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!

Ending season 1, here's episode 21 to tie up some loose ends, correct some clarifications and clarify some corrections from our previous 20 episodes on the prehistory of the BBC, radio and life as we know it. There's also an exclusive wide-ranging interview with TV presenter (Get Fresh, How 2), podcaster (Gareth Jones on Speed) and science enthusiast Gareth Jones, known for a brief spell on children's TV as Gaz Top. Find more on his podcast via his website, or his clips 'n' films on Youtube.  Next episode we'll begin a run of 'specials' before we embark on season 2. But first on this episode: Back on episode 1, we covered the first radio entertainment programme... but we DIDN'T cover the first radio entertainment in Britain. So we'll meet Lieutenant Crauford on the good shop Andromeda, in 1907. Then in 1917, there's Captain and Mrs Donisthorpe cycling to and fro in a field in Worcester, to check if each other heard them transmit. On episode 16, we talked about the first broadcast comedian Helena Millais... but we DIDN'T cover some of the other turns vying for the crown: Will Hay, M'Lita Dolores, Wilfrid Liddiatt, Peggy Rae (mother of Peter Sellers), Charles Cory, William Parkyn, Herbert Dickeson, Ernie Mayne... We delve into Will Hay's 1922 stage revue Listening In - you can see a silent clip of it here. Ernie Mayne's Wireless on the Brain can be heard on Youtube, and you can hear more of Ernie and other music hall performers on Earl Okin's podcast, ep138 or older episodes here. We also zoom in on who the BBC's first four employees actually were - and how it depends how you define 'employees'. (We reckon the first 9ish were Burrows, Lewis, Jefferies, Anderson, Reith, Edgar, Palmer, Shields, Eckersley...)   Your thoughts are welcome on this and everything broadcasting-history-based - email me with anything, including your AMs (recorded Airwave Memories - a minute or so of you speaking into a Voice Memo with your earliest memories of radio/TV) or FMs (written memories of when you saw broadcasting in action).     We also recommend Mark Heywood's Behind the Spine podcast, especially their recent episode with archivists from Paramount and Zoetrope.   And we mention Cecil A Lewis' 1924 book Broadcasting From Within. It's the earliest book on broadcasting - I'm reading it at the moment... and you can too! Thanks to the fab BBCEng website, it's here for all to read.   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...). I thank you!   Find us on Twitter - and especially our new Facebook group, which is a nice community of sharings and findings, as well as our Facebook page, which is more me telling you when the next episode is here. Subscribe of course, and you'll get the next episode automatically. My mailing list has more on my upcomings, books, TV shows etc. Our clips are either public domain or the BBC's, to whom we doff our caps, and thank them... or we've been unable to track down the rights-holders, but the clips are OOOOOLD, so we believe them to be a-ok. If you disagree and own a clip we've got, we'll gladly remove anything. We're just here to tell a good (hi)story: to inform, educate and entertain.

Join Christmas expert James Cooper, founder of whychristmas.com, as he jingle-bells back to 1922, uncovering the BBC's inaugural festive broadcasts. Discover the first-ever religious broadcast featuring Rev John Mayo, delightful radio plays like 'The Truth About Father Christmas', and laugh along with comedy from Fred Gibson. Listen in as stations across the UK bring holiday cheer with unique broadcasts, including ghost stories and Handel's Messiah, showcasing how Christmas on the radio created a sense of community and joy.

...and the Midlands, as Birmingham and Manchester join the party. We revisit the second day of the BBC: November 15th 1922. Also, how Manchester launched the first BBC children's programmes, how Birmingham had the BBC's first live music, and how London needed to tweak their microphone. All on election day, so just before the first Election Night Special. You'll also hear of the bizarre Birmingham fog that delayed launch - and bizarrer still, how ANOTHER Birmingham fog delayed The Settlers from reaching a studio, 40 years later. From that band, Cindy Kent is our guest, recalling being at the BBC as the Light Programme became Radio 1 in 1967.  You'll also hear playwright David Edgar reading from the memoirs of his grandfather Percy Edgar, the founding manager of Birmingham 5IT. (For the full reading of that, just wait 3 episodes...) From the archives, we've also got the voices of Kenneth Wright and Hugh Bell of 2ZY Manchester, both there on that launch day in 1922. Plus Newspaper Detective Andrew Barker returns with what the printed press thought about this two-day-old upstart... broadcasting. ----- Thanks for supporting the podcast. Your kind donations at ko-fi.com/paulkerensa or patreon.com/paulkerensa have helped fund books, that fuel these episodes, or hosting, that keeps us online. Your ratings/reviewings/sharings are equally welcome. Thanks! Find us on Facebook and Twitter. Paul's mailing list has more on his upcomings, inc. the next series of Not Going Out. Paul's festive history book Hark! The Biography of Christmas is in audiobook (Listen free via an Audible free trial here if you've not had one before). If you'd like to order a signed paperback copy, email Paul. You can also use that to send us a 2min audio clip of an Airwave Memory to include on the show. Clips are either public domain or the BBC's, to whom we doff our caps, and thank them. We're unaffiliated with the BBC - we're just here to inform, educate and entertain about its wondrous origins. Happy listening!

"You know, this broadcasting is going to be jolly good fun." ...That adlib ended the very first BBC broadcast, given by Arthur Burrows on November 14th, 1922 - and re-enacted on this special birthday episode.  Yes we've made it! After 17 episodes building up to the big launch, the BBC is on air. This episode lands on the Beeb's 98th birthday - and to celebrate, we've done something that we THINK is a first: a complete reconstruction of the very first BBC broadcast. Well, not a complete reconstruction... because Arthur Burrows read the news bulletin twice, once at a normal speed, and once slow. We've spared you the slow version - because the normal speed was slow enough. Just listen back to it again straight away after, on 0.5x speed setting. We include the precise news items in the right order - weather first, shutdown after 7 minutes - so it's as accurate as can be, thanks to Andrew Barker (who excellently researched and wrote the bulletin), Will Farmer (who gave us the tuning organ and tubular bells, plus the original podcast music) and Tim Wander (who checked for errors and has written many marvellous books about all this). After that re-enactment, we dissect, fill in the gaps, and generally inform, educate and entertain about day 1 of Auntie Beeb. Plus more from the mighty Emperor Rosko. That full 10min re-enactment is also on Youtube here, or an edited, more palatable 2min version is here. Feel free to share, broadcast and do as you wish with them - get the story out there by all means. Speaking of which, Tim Wander's plays, on some earlier parts of broadcasting history, can be watched online here: - The Power Behind the Microphone: A centenary celebration of Dame Nellie Melba's historic broadcast from Chelmsford - Voices over Passchendaele: Peter Eckersley's war years - The Man Behind the Microphone: Peter Eckersley's Writtle/BBC years This podcast continues thanks to your support - it's bought us books that have spawned entire episodes. So thank you if you've visited ko-fi.com/paulkerensa and tipped £3 or more, or patreon.com/paulkerensa and helped us with £5 or more a month (with perks in return). If you've not, you know where they are. We're on Facebook and Twitter with accompanying pics and other details. If you'd rate and review this podcast wherever you found it, that helps others find it too. Thanks! Do subscribe to get future episodes direct to your device. Join Paul's mailing list for more info on his goings-on.  Clips are public domain as far as we know. They're old. We're happy to be corrected on that. We're nothing to do with the BBC - we're just here to talk about their origins and wish them happy birthday. Here's to the next 98!