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Past News

Page history last edited by Alan Hartley-Smith 10 months, 3 weeks ago

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The BBC has mounted this site recording events relating to their Centenary which followed on from our events. There is also this link .

 

Editors note - June 2022

A major exhibition is being mounted on the campus of Anglia Ruskin University in Chelmsford called "Chelmsford Innovation: Marconi and Beyond" from June 22 on selected days until July 15, featuring unique collections of equipment from the first radio signal detector to the first ever microprocessor.

 

Editors note - May 2022

There is now increased activity in the realm of space communications being carried out by our successors BAE Applied Intelligence details of which are being added to the Communications wiki.

 

Editors note - March 2022

The start of the 2MT celebrations

 

Editors note - February 2022

This year sees the celebrations of the start of radio broadcasting in the UK - see details above

 

Editors note - January 2022

A new book has been published that is very relevant to the purpose of the wikis, namely "All Ships, All Ships" - a history of the short-&- medium-range coast radio stations in Great Britain"  written by Larry Bennett, an ex-Radio Officer. The network was originated by Marconi and Lloyds then operated by the British Post Office, running from the 1920s to 2000. We have received a courtesy copy having cooperated as a source of information, currently held by me but destined for the Chelmsford archive when we get one, so I can be contacted for queries, or copies can be obtained via Amazon worldwide https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1800311451 or signed copies from Larry via the GKA website at www.portisheadradio.co.uk

 

A start to the celebrations of 2022 - more

 

An interesting item from  last-year's Marconi Day

 

A recent article on the development of airborne wireless

 

A new source of Marconi advertisements has come to light

 

This is from a press release - the full content is accessible from the link: 

 

Teledyne commends NASA on the successful landing of the Mars Rover Perseverance

This is a fantastic example that the Marconi legacy in Chelmsford is still very much alive and still entering new frontiers

https://www.teledyne-e2v.com/news/teledyne-commends-nasa-on-the-successful-landing-of-the-mars-rover-perseverance/

 

As part of the celebrations of Heritage Days and the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Britain the Chelmsford Civic Society is mounting a series of events

 

Good news on the heritage front - a new manifestation of a restoration activity - Broadcast Engineering Conservation Group - working mainly on television outside broadcast vehicles.

 

Recent good news re Essex Records Office Marconi Collection

 

All online Melba Centenary events have now taken place and recordings are available here  (scroll through to June)

 

A major announcement about the Melba Centenary event

 

Online presentations are now replacing the cancelled 2020 lectures - see here, here   and here

 

A somewhat late discovery of an event earlier this year from the Marconi Museum in Bologna

 

Unfortunately in common with many other national events those for the Marconi Centenary are being cancelled so as an albeit lesser substitute some short audio-visual clips are being produced and can be viewed here - 1.  2.  3.

 

Essex2020 podcast - Richard Freeman talks to retired engineers Chris Neale and Alan Pamphilon – both of whom owe their careers to the Marconi Company – about Marconi’s legacy, what made him choose Chelmsford and why Essex 2020 is honouring a very specific event that happened 100 years ago.

 

A set of Marconi-related events in Essex2020 has been mounted on the MVA website

 

With reference to previous notice the Essex-wide event for 2020 has now opened a website

 

CRH Radio has just produced a presentation of Marconi items held in the British Newspaper Archive 

 

We have learnt that a project is being carried out by BAE Systems at Baddow to refurbish an antenna at Goonhilly which will be used to support future lunar missions, 50 years after the Apollo 11 landing. Details of the work are in this this article, and in this article in the latest edition of Astronomy Now. So 50 years after the original Ascension station played an important role in the Apollo programme Chelmsford-based companies are involved in a new venture which should do the same in the coming decade.

Further to previous post the UK Space Agency has now published a set of "Memories" for download - ours concerning the satellite communications station on Ascension Island appears about two-thirds of the way through. Also a related exhibition has been mounted at the Telegraph Museum Porthcurno.

 

Noting the reference above to "putting a man on the moon" the celebration of the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11 is taking place this July 2019 and there will be a Marconi involvement through the UK Space Agency.

 

There will be an open meeting of  the Chelmsford Civic Society on 23rd May 2019 to discuss plans to make the Essex Record Office collection of Marconi photographs available for public view.

 

Work is underway in preparation for a major celebration in Chelmsford in 2020 with a holding page here, and there are now plans to extend this to an Essex-wide event. 

 

We have recently come into possession of a complete set of Mariner, the house magazine of the Marconi International Marine Communication Company which also contains extensive details of both the main MWT company and English Electric.

Recently an initiative of the Chelmsford Civic Society in association with the Marconi Heritage Group, the Marconi Veterans Association and Chelmsford City Council has resulted in the creation of a Hall Street Historical Information board using funds raised at the Hall St and Titanic exhibitions. It is installed opposite on the wall of the Woolpack highlighting the world's first wireless factory - residents would not allow us to put it on the actual building. Peter Turrall of Marconi Veterans unveiled it on 13th September - he revealed that in one of the photographs there was a picture of his grandfather! This is a collage of pictures of the event and a video is available here.

Chelmsford Civic Society Heritage Open Days - several with Marconi content

A new initiative reinvigorates the technical landscape of Chelmsford.

A recent newspaper article

A new company in the system

Titanic Exhibition

95 YEARS - A CELEBRATION OF RADIO STATION 2MT

A new resurgence in the the display of Marconi Heritage in the Chelmsford Industrial Museum

Chelmsford ideas Festival 22 October to 15 November - Open day at Sandford Mill 23 October

An Exhibition was held in the Hall Street factory during March to May - a series of video clips is here and there is an accompanying  book

An interesting BBC Radio Essex programme (go to 2hr 7min until 2hr 15min)

New book by Tim Wander - Guglielmo Marconi - Building the Wireless Age - for details see here

BBC Essex - 7th May - live broadcast from Hall Street 

International Marconi Day - displays and demonstrations by Chelmsford Amateur Radio Society 

Changing Chelmsford Ideas Festival 2015 - lecture by Tim Wander "Guglielmo Marconi - Building the Wireless Age"

Brooklands celebrated 100 years of Airborne Wireless on 20th June 2015

Crowdfunding Project for Hall Street

Changing Chelmsford Ideas Festival 2015

Relocation for Community Radio

Potential establishment of a Marconi Heritage Centre in Hall Street factory

Byrne-Bussey Marconi Fellow 2014 - Dr. Elizabeth Bruton  One-day symposium at the Bodleian Library 16th June 2015   Space, place and landscape in the history of communications

International Marconi Day 2015

Chelmsford Science and Engineering Society -"Birth of the Signalling War: The Marconi Company’s key role in WW1" Dr. Elizabeth Bruton - Anglia Ruskin University - 2nd March 2015

Airadio 60th Anniversary celebrations - in September the Basildon site of Selex ES held this event

Now available - the "new" New Street

Essex at War - there is now a short video record here - a passing glimpse of our Marconi exhibit is included. 

 The international aspect - it is both gratifying and irritating that there is more interest abroad than at home - these events are typical of such:

http://sippican.villagesoup.com/p/events-planned-for-100th-anniversary-of-marions-marconi-tower/1245616

http://rochester.wickedlocal.com/article/20141001/NEWS/141009980

http://www.nps.gov/pore/planyourvisit/events_marconi_centennial.htm

http://www.chathammarconi.org/

Byrne-Bussey Marconi Fellowship 2014 - Dr. Elizabeth Bruton (University of Leeds) - 'Geographies of Marconi: Mapping the early history of Marconi and his Companies, 1896-1901'

Changing Chelmsford Ideas Festival 2014 - programme available here. Amongst the highlights was a talk by Professor Francesco Paresce Marconi, the grandson of Guglielmo. This was complemented by an account of the extraordinary space technology that e2v produces today. Additionally, Chelmsford’s legacy as the birthplace of broadcasting was brought bang up-to-date with an event involving the BBC, Heart and Chelmsford Community Radio.

Marconi Wireless in the First World War - there is now a comprehensive account on the Marconi Heritage website here. This is part of a major initiative to highlight both the participation in the conflict and the major development of the Company activities resulting from the technical progress achieved during these four years, which included the formation of the broadcast radio industry.

Essex at War - this event was held in Chelmsford to commemorate the effects of WW1 on Essex - see here for details.

Latest on New Street development - February 2014

Byrne Bussey Marconi Fellowship lecture 2014

February 2014 - opening of Marconi Heritage website

Participation in Centenary Commemorations of WW1

Oct/Nov2013 - Changing Chelmsford Ideas Festival (follow their Facebook link for photographs) - four Marconi-related events all very successful. 

July 2013 - the final indignity  look back  new start

June2013 - BBC Essex interviews about ERO Conference - Roy Simons, Marconi - Stuart Worburton - Essex CC

June2013Current views of demolition of New Street

May 2013 - The Essex Record Office is organising a conference in July investigating Essex's industrial past. One subject being included is "Marconi, the Father of Wireless"  to be covered by Prof Roy Simons, formerly of Marconi Radar and a leading researcher of early Marconi history.

April 2013 - there is a new initiative in progress, namely the formation of a Heritage Centre in Chelmsford under the auspices of the Marconi Heritage Group working with the BAE Heritage Product committee. See here for details.

November 2012 - BBC 90th birthday two programmes featuring the 2LO Marconi transmitter in Marconi House and the 2MT transmitter in Writtle.

October 2012 - over the past few months numerous stories appeared about the parlous state of the New Street site, in particular the original 1912 front building. See here for latest details of the proposed development by Bellway.

 

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