NEW (and OLD!) One of the best sites dealing with the BBC's past was Arthur Dungate's Direct Television from Alexandra Palace. The site has been absent for some time but many thanks to Chris Booth who has been able to reconstruct it, albeit with a few missing images. Well worth a visit.
The Notice Board for ex-BBC staff puts former colleagues in touch with each other and gives them a place to exchange thoughts and memories.
The Institute of Broadcast Sound web site has information about membership and meetings, some useful related links and a Wiki site hosting the IBS Audio Compendium for historical information and IBS FAQs for current technical and operational information.
More current info at Audio Oracle - a sound engineers' forum for broadcast audio and live sound.
The BBC Heritage web site has articles about the BBC's history, with archive clips and pictures. The site links to BBC Memories which is a part of the BBC's oral history project, featuring material mostly contributed by retired staff.
The London Twin-Wave Broadcasting Station at Brookmans Park is described in a site based on a 1930 souvenir booklet published by the BBC.
The Washford Radio Museum in Somerset contains photographs and technical information about the Washford Transmitting Station, many items of early BBC equipment and a collection of around 150 radios, radiograms and televisions. The site is still under construction.
BBCeng.info is a site of recollections of BBC engineering from 1922 to 1997. Among other treats are downloadable PDFs of copies of Eng Inf, the quarterly newsletter for BBC engineering staff.
Mike Jordan's site has stories from BH Lines and Comms Departments and pictures of the demolition of BH Extension.
A site linked to a book features Brian Hennessy's "The Emergence of Broadcasting in Britain". It covers the period from the dawn of wireless telephony to the granting of the Charter in 1926.
Ray White's site traces the engineering history of the Radiophonic Workshop at Maida Vale from its beginnings in the 1950s until its demise in the mid-90s.
Some photos taken at Bush House in the 1960s feature on Mike Baker's "Bakerlite" site. Areas shown include the control room, Green continuity and the VoA suite.
Ian Richardson's Back to Bush House offers a collection of assorted BBC World Service publicity material and personal photographs and documents from about 1950 to 2000.
The Alexandra Palace Television Society's aim is to preserve the oral and written history of the pioneers who inaugurated the world's first, regular, public high-definition television service from Alexandra Palace, North London, in 1936.
Alexandra Palace also features in the memories of Bob Taylor. He worked there from 1963 until News moved to Television Centre in 1969 and describes working practices in both places.
The Tech Ops Nostalgia Site features pictures and stories from 40 years of cameras, sound and lighting at BBC Television.
Another television site presents a record of BBC VT. Started to mark the 40th anniversary of videotape in the BBC in 1998 the site has many photographs from the age of sticky tape to that of digits.
For a nostalgic look at the BBC Radio programmes of the 1950s visit The Radio Days site. The Brains Trust, Childrens' Hour, Dick Barton, Down Your Way, Have a Go, Mrs Dale, Workers' Playtime - they're all here, and many more.
If you're looking for used books, magazines and ephemera on all aspects of the history and technology of broadcasting, hi-fi and audio, visit Kelly Books.
A vast array of microphones can be seen on Stan Coutant's site.
Of particular relevance to BBC mics is a page of downloadable pdfs of STC brochures from 1963.
For
some early history of recording and other articles about 78 r.p.m records
see this page at the Centre for the History and Analysis of Recorded
Music site - follow the links in the section headed "Guide to 78s".
Hopefully we'll add some
pages about BBC loudspeakers one day. Meantime, one of the best known designs,
the LS3/5a, is celebrated at the Unofficial LS3/5a Support Site.
There's
also a Yahoo Groups Site devoted to products designed by the late Spencer
Hughes - the Spendor BC-I, BC-II, BC-III and variants. Also covers
BBC speakers built under licence.
Away from broadcasting
equipment, Steve Ostler's Radiocraft site is a useful starting point
if you're interested in vintage radios. Steve provides a restoration service
and the site includes a page (free to use) where radios can be bought and
sold.
"Serving
the anoraks of the world with text and information on the fascinating world
of radio" says Keith Knight of his site Wireless Waffle.
The history of
the UK radio licence is the subject of a site by Mark Jones, with
examples from several decades.
OK, it's
not radio and not even BBC but you might like to visit Bob Cotton's Lichfield
Memories site. If you suffer from acrophobia please avert your eyes....
Philip Waterman has owned an unusual BBC vehicle for some thirty
years. It's a Canadian Military Pattern Heavy Utility Personnel truck which
is known to have been used in New York towards the end of World War 2. Philip
has lovingly restored the vehicle and would welcome any information about
it.
