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.
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#065 A Brief History of the BBC’s Archives
#064 Farewell Magnet House, Hello... Laundry Baskets? + Jeffrey Holland
#063 Glasgow 5SC: The BBC Launches in Scotland
#062 Radio’s First Political Debate... and Reeta Chakrabarti
#061 The BBC’s Listings Ban... and Gareth Gwynn’s Ministry of Happiness
#060 A History of Religious Broadcasting: 100 Years of God on the Beeb
#059 100 Years in 100 Minutes, part 3 (1988-2022)
#058 100 Years in 100 Minutes, part 2 (1955-87)
#057 100 Years in 100 Minutes, part 1 (1922-54)
#056 BBC100, Poetry Please?... and Roger Bolton
#055 The First Shakespeare on the BBC (pt 1) + Happy BBCentenary! (also pt1)
#054 The First Welsh Broadcast... and The Exhibitionists!
#053 SPECIAL: Radio as Propaganda in WW2... plus Peter Eckersley & Hilda Matheson
#052 SPECIAL: Auntie’s War - with Edward Stourton
#051 SPECIAL: Early Black British Broadcasters - with Stephen Bourne
#050 Hilda Matheson and the Radio Girls of Savoy Hill - with Sarah-Jane Stratford
#049 It’s That Man Again! Peter Eckersley - 1st BBC Chief Engineer
#048 Daimler, 5MG and 2BP: The In-Car Radios of 1923
#047 ”Hark, The Engine’s Failing”: The Closedown of 2MT Writtle
#046 Justin Webb on Leonard Crocombe... and January 1923
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