LARRY BENNETT’s NEW BOOK “THE MARCONI BEAM WIRELESS STATIONS OF SOMERSET”

THE MARCONI BEAM WIRELESS STATIONS OF SOMERSET

Former Radio Officer and Maritime Radio Historian Larry Bennett is proud to announce his third book.

Featuring the ‘Beam Wireless’ receiving stations at Bridgwater and Somerton alongside their ‘sister’ transmitting stations at Bodmin and Dorchester, the book details the construction and operation of the stations, together with the political wranglings which accompanied the new service.

Providing secure and efficient radio links between the United Kingdom and various parts of the world, the stations had a fascinating history; the Bridgwater station, located just outside of North Petherton, was only operational from 1926 until 1939, its services being taken over by other stations in the UK Beam Wireless network as part of a rationalisation programme.

The Somerton station was involved in many technological ‘firsts’ and was the station responsible for receiving the first news of the Argentine invasion of the Falkland Islands in 1982. The station latterly acted as the receiving aerial installation for Portishead Radio until closure in 2000.

An overview of the complete Beam Wireless service is also included to allow the reader the opportunity to understand the context and requirements of the Somerset stations, and details of the Post Office’s Experimental Radio-Telephone station at Chedzoy are also provided.

Running to some 418 pages, the book contains numerous rare photographs and diagrams of the stations, as well as scans of documents relevant to the service.

The book is priced at £15.99 and is available from Amazon UK and other on-line booksellers, and a limited number of author-signed copies can be obtained by sending an email to portishead.radio@btinternet.com to request payment details.

It is hoped that the book will appeal to not only radio history enthusiasts but also to local historians and those fascinated by early wireless technology.