The BBC and our heritage

[harbethpr]

Ahhh. Nostalgia. Here are some wonderful stories and pictures about happy days in the BBC when they made all their own equipment. Harbeth's roots are in this happy era. Money was not an issue. Nor was styling. The total focus was on functionality, performance and durability - built to last.

[Thanos]

You have just opened the box of memories... Just marvelous!

During the dark years of German occupation, many Greeks managed to hide a nymber of those wonderful tubed radios in their house basements -anywhere you can imagine- in order to learn some good news, praying for it...

It was of course the BBC service that put a light and some compassion into their dark hours. Having everything covered with curtains & clothing -even their heads and the radio itself- they were sitting in the dark waiting for that relieving voice ..."Here is the BBC..." My grand-father and my father told me the story, when I was still a child, mid-sixties it was... They lived this, they would never forget it for the rest of their lives...

I'd love to be informed by you how this affectionately waited voice reached Greece. Where were the transmitters located, how far? One may understand how vital and important any wartime information was back then, also that amongst various kinds of info that would pass through the radio- undercover "innocent" messages could very well play a very important role...

Thanks so much for refreshing all those magnificent memories,
Thanos

[EricW]

Looks like a wonderful archive but nothing on loudspeakers and BBC's great history of loudspeaker engineering and design. Does Harbeth have material in its own archives that could be added to the website?

[A.S.]

Here is a link to the final and brilliant part of The Empire of the Seas, presented by Dan Snow. It covers the history of the British arriving on Hong Kong and the military power of the new steam-powered warships to today's navy. As he says in the closing moments of the program, the British Navy moulded the concept of free international trade between nations. Wonderful entertainment. This is how history should be presented to the youngsters of today: with passion and enthusiasm.

I hope you can receive it outside the UK - please advise if you can. It's also available on the BBC Free-HD satellite service.

BBC iPlayer link here in normal quality or here in HD quality.

[EricW]

The message I get says that television programs are only viewable from inside the UK owing to rights agreements, but radio programs on iPlayer are accessible from outside the UK.

[harbethpr]

We'll see if we can solve that issue.

In the meantime, at 16.30 today, on BBC Radio 4, will be a programme about the BBC's Research Department. BBC Research has been in at Kingswood Warren, a historic country house for about 60 years. Within weeks they will vacate it. The land has been sold for "millionaire housing" and as far as we know, the buildings will be pulled down. A sad end to a long chapter.

BBC radio's Material World here. We'll record it.

Last weeks at BBC Kingswood Warren here. Note that these days, research is about software and computers. The last loudspeaker developed at KW was over twenty years ago. A policy decision was taken by BBC management in the 80s to cease all further work.

The brochure published by the buyers of the site is here. It shows some wonderful pictures taken from the air, and inside the house. Attached is an extract, which shows the anechoic chamber, in which all the BBC LS3/x and LS5/x were developed, and also the Harbeth C7ES3 and M40.1.

[A.S.]

Can the trailer be seen outside the UK?

Here. And here.

[Thanos]

Can the trailer be seen outside the UK?

Here. And here.

Unfortunately not. In Greece, the notification "not available in your area" shows up into the first picture, in both links.