On 23 April 1924, a landmark broadcast took place - the biggest so far. And on day of podcast release, it's the centenary!
100 years ago at time of writing, King George V opened the Empire Exhibition at Wembley, becoming the first monarch to broadcast.
It also stands as the oldest surviving recording of a BBC broadcast - and the only excerpt of the BBC from the 1920s.
The BBC couldn't record anything until 1932, when the Blattnerphone came along. So how did this 1924 broadcast manage to be retained?
For decades, it wasn't. A 1964 episode of Desert Island Discs tells the tale, of how their 1936/1955 Scrapbook for 1924 programme aired without the recording, but with a sad admission that there was none... till a listener got in touch. Dorothy Jones' husband had recorded the king off-air via a home-made device. Thanks to him, and her, and Scrapbook producer Leslie Baily, we have this sole recording of the 20s' Beeb.
It's quite a tale. The broadcast alone was revolutionary - with 10 million people listening via loudspeakers on street corners, brand new radio sets for their homes... even Downton Abbey hired in its first wireless set (but will Lord Grantham keep it? Oh go on then...)
Hear all about the momentous exhibition, the broadcast, the recording, and a rundown of royals who ruled the airwaves - and it goes back further than you might think.
Hear too of brand new research into an unheralded royal radio encounter from 1906 - before even 'the world's first broadcast' took place, King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra (Palace) were enjoying a 'radio' whistling solo and a personalised greeting.
Thanks for listening.
Do share, rate, review, rant, rave, tell people about the podcast. It's a solo operation - not made by the BBC, just by comedian & writer Paul Kerensa. So thanks!
SHOWNOTES:
More info on this radio history project at:
paulkerensa.com/oldradio
#084 Women's Hour on the BBC: 1923-24
#083 The Launch of Savoy Hill: The BBC's New Home, 1 May 1923
#082 The BBC at Marconi House: 14-11-1922 to 30-04-1923
#081 The Pips at 100! A Brief History of Time at the BBC
#080 SPECIAL: The First Religious Broadcast: Re-enacted
#079 Three More Authors: Doctor Who | R4 Sunday | Radio 1+2
#078 Three Authors on Broadcasting History: Love | Films | Education
#077 Loose Ends 2: 1920’s SS Victorian to 1980’s Tardis via Frank Milligan
#076 Radio Times at 100 - Part 2
#075 (The) Radio Times at 100 - Part 1
#074 The BBC and Music: from Percy Pitt to Johnny Beerling
#073 Comedy on Air: Hysterical History from The Co-Optimists to Bottom
#072 The First Radio Dramatist: The Truth about Phyllis Twigg
#071 Yesteryear in Parliament: The BBC vs The Government, April 1923
#070 The Press vs the BBC vs the Govt: 1923 + 2023
#069 Children’s Hour to Bedtime Hour: Uncles, Aunts and Iggle Piggle
#068 Major Arthur Corbett-Smith: Reith’s Rival
#067 SPECIAL: A Brief History of Coronation Broadcasts
#066 The BBC’s News, Weather and SOS Broadcasts of March 1923
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