On Monday 5th March 1923, the British Prime Minister announced that a Government Long Wave Wireless Station, capable of world-wide communication was to be built. Technically (and politically) this was one of the biggest and most important projects the GPO had ever undertaken. Rugby Radio Station would soon be transmitting – and the world would be forever changed.
1926
1926 – RUGBY RADIO STATION OPENS / GBR SERVICE STARTS
On Friday 1st January 1926, Rugby Radio Station’s GBR transmitter opened for service… and the story of worldwide communications was forever changed.
Situated at Hillmorton, just a short distance from the town of Rugby, in the heart of Warwickshire, Rugby Radio Station transmitted official news broadcasts from the very heart of England across the oceans to every far flung corner of the globe.
Home to the world’s most powerful radio transmitter, Rugby Radio Station was capable of transmitting telegrams to ships anywhere in the world. Or, as it boasted in its advertising… “Any Distance! Any Ocean!! Any Ship!!!” A new era of communication had begun, with people now able to send private telegrams to friends and family, anywhere in the world.
In December 1927, almost a year after the station’s opening, Rugby Radio Station (call-sign GBR) began a new service, transmitting ‘time signals’ generated at the Royal Greenwich Observatory. This service provided a massive benefit to navigation and safety at sea, enabling ships all over the world to accurately set their chronometers to GMT, giving them access to a precise understanding of their Longitude.
1927
1927 – THE FIRST TRANSATLANTIC TELEPHONE CALL
In the history of communications, Friday 7th January 1927 stands as a hugely significant milestone. It was on this day that Rugby Radio Station’s second long wave transmitter (60 kHz / call-sign ‘GBT’) opened the world’s first telephone service across the Atlantic. *
These first telephone calls came to Rugby Radio Station from London by landline. Once here, they were transmitted to the Houlton Receiving Station in Maine, USA. From there they were carried once again by landline, all the way to New York.
The return signal came via the Rocky Point Transmitting Station and was received at Wroughton Receiving Station, which was little more than a wooden hut on the outskirts of Swindon. Actually, the receiving station moved north to Cupar in Fife later that same year.
Despite the very high cost and the quality was variable due to atmospheric interference, transatlantic calls proved enormously popular. Call charges were £15 for the first three minutes (over £600 at today’s prices) and then £5 a minute from there on. The enormous expense did not put people off however and there were long queues when the booking of calls opened at 1.30pm on Wednesday 5th January 1927.
1928
1928 – ‘SHORT WAVE’ TELEPHONY EXPERIMENTS
The Post Office had been experimenting for a while with ‘short wave’ for use on telephony services, when, in 1928, Archibald Gill (later to become Sir Archibald Gill) and his colleagues took over the Handley Cross farmhouse on the Rugby site to continue with the development work on telephony transmitters and directional aerials.
Gill’s team arranged for a short wave transmitter to be installed in the Annex Building, situated to the west of the main building. This transmitter was key to the first ‘short wave transatlantic telephone service’ which launched on Friday 6th July 1928.
Together with the long wave service, Rugby Radio Station now had two telephony channels to the USA. The short wave receiving station in America was at Netcong, New Jersey, and the return leg transmitter was located at Lawrenceville, New Jersey.
Within a year, a second short wave transmitter had been installed in the Annex Building. This allowed the creation of a third transatlantic service which was launched on Saturday 1st June 1929. The transmitter, housed at Handley Cross Farm, was later used for experimental services to South Africa and Australia.
1938
1938 – THE WORLD’S TELEPHONE EXCHANGE
The fact that ‘short wave’ radio telephone circuits required less power and smaller directional aerials led to a reduction in the cost of using the overseas telephone call service and, consequently, a massive increase in demand.
This increase was such that Rugby Radio Station needed an additional building to cope with the rising number of transmitters. The new Telephony Building (‘A’ Building) was constructed to the south west of the Main Building and opened in 1929.
In less than ten years, ten short wave transmitters were in operation, transmitting to global destinations such as: South Africa, USA, Canada, Australia, India, Egypt, Japan, Iceland, Argentina, Brazil, and Portugal. The return signals were received at the Post Office Radio Station, near the historic market town of Baldock, Herts.
Throughout this period, the only way to make a telephone call to far flung locations across the world (other than the near continent) was via Rugby Radio Station.
This fact was celebrated by the station staff with the creation of a float for the parade to celebrate the Coronation of King George VI in May 1937. Proudly emblazoned on the side of the float was the message… Rugby GPO Radio Station – The World’s Telephone Exchange!
1939-45
1939-45 – WORLD WAR II
On Sunday 3rd September 1939, at 11.15 am, the British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain broadcast to the nation that a state of war existed between Britain and Germany.
With war declared, all telephone circuits, with the exception of one circuit to the USA, were converted to telegraphy for use by the armed services.
Although the Rugby Radio Station was never actually bombed directly during the conflict, it did suffer two major disasters. The first was caused by the exceedingly cold winter of 1940. Freezing temperatures and atmospheric conditions caused a build-up of ice on the station’s Long Wave Aerial, bringing it crashing to the ground.
The second disaster happened on the night of Tuesday 30th March 1943 when the first floor of the main building caught fire. The flames completely destroyed the roof and the large wooden Aerial Tuning Inductor (ATI). The fire also seriously damaged both the GBR and GBT Long Wave Transmitters located in the room below.
Despite problems and hardships, the essential war work continued unabated. From 1943 to 1945, Rugby Radio Station’s 'A' Building played a vital role in Operation CORONA. The task of the radio operatives was to aid British bombers in their raids over Germany. This was done by using the High Power Short Wave (high frequency) Transmitters situated inside 'A' Building to send messages in German (and on their RT frequency), the intention being to mislead German night fighters by spreading misinformation and causing confusion within their defence strategies.
1950
Since 1927, time signals had been transmitted across the world by the GBR 16 kHz transmitter. However, in the late 1940s the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) at Teddington pressed for time signals to be more readily available to people and establishments within this country. It was at this point that the GPO was approached to set up the MSF Time Signal service.
So it was that, after a period of development, the new MSF Time Signal service started on Wednesday 1st February 1950, initially operating (for short periods only) on 5 MHz, 10 MHz and 60 kHz.
Unlike the GBR time signals, which were sent by landline from the Royal Greenwich Observatory, the MSF time signals were generated at Rugby. Crystal oscillators were used as the timing source and 1 kHz Phonic Motor Clocks produced the second/minute pulses. These clocks were designed by the Royal Greenwich Observatory and made by the Muirhead Company in London.
The Long Wave Transatlantic Telephone Transmitter was used for the 60 kHz signal – and this is the reason why the signals are still on this frequency today.
In April 2007, the transmission moved from Rugby to Anthorn Radio Station, near Carlisle, where it’s still in operation.
1955
1955 – RUGBY RADIO, AT ITS PEAK
The post-war period saw demand for overseas telephone circuits increase dramatically. Although the Post Office had taken over all British Cable & Wireless Radio Stations in 1950, most of the radio-telephone circuits still came through Rugby, so it was clear that an expansion was required. A further 700 acres of land was purchased on the Northamptonshire side of the A5 Watling Street. Here the ‘B’ Building, was constructed to house 28 short wave (high frequency) Marconi transmitters. New directional rhombic (diamond shaped) aerials were also created, giving almost 360 degrees coverage to anywhere in the world.
With a total of 57 transmitters, Rugby Radio Station was at its peak in the mid-1950s and was generally considered to be the largest transmitting station in the world.
The new ‘B’ Building was opened on Thursday 28th July 1955 by the Postmaster, General Dr Charles Hill, who had become widely known as the Radio Doctor during World War II. In his opening speech he talked about the first transatlantic telephone cable which was set to launch in September 1956. Sadly, this undersea cable was destined to be the undoing of Rugby Radio Station.
Today the site is scheduled to become the area of the expansion of the Daventry International Rail Freight Terminal, known as DIRFT III.
1966
1966 – THE COLD WAR
By the early 1960s, the Admiralty had sole use (with the exception of the Time Signal service) of the GBR 16 kHz long wave (now called ‘very low frequency’ VLF) transmitter. Apart from its long range, one of the other advantages of VLF transmissions was that they could penetrate deep oceanic waters.
In the middle of the 1960s, at the height of the Cold War, the Admiralty, with its fleet of new Polaris submarines, was preparing to take on the role of ‘nuclear deterrent’. To be of maximum effectiveness they sought improvements to VLF communications and asked the Post Office to provide an enhanced service from Rugby Radio Station. The design of the transmitter had remained virtually the same since it was originally constructed in 1925, so the Post Office decided it was time to totally rebuild the GBR transmitter incorporating a new design that used just three valves. Three very large valves!
The new transmitter was opened for service by Captain CBH Wake-Walker, Director of Naval Signals, on Wednesday 30th November 1966. The output power had increased from 350 to 500 kW and, as well as sending out messages in Morse code, the new set-up could transmit teleprinter messages using Frequency Shift Keying (FSK).
1986
1986 – THE CONVERSION OF SHORT WAVE SERVICES FOR MARITIME USE
With the reduction in short wave (high frequency) Point-to-Point services due to the transfer to telephone cables in 195-66, and then the arrival of ‘satellite’ services from 1975 to 1985, spare equipment began to become readily available. This allowed for the development of an improved Maritime Service in telephony and telegraphy (Morse and telex).
During the mid-1980s most of Rugby Radio Station’s Point-to-Point rhombic (diamond shaped) aerials were replaced with omni-directional aerials. Following this, the 30 kW transmitters were steadily replaced with lower power 8-10 kW versions. Some of these transmitters were recovered from the Ongar Radio Station at in West Essex. A number of these were brand new Marconi H1141 fast-tune transmitters. These greatly enhanced the Maritime Service as they could be tuned to any frequency within the 1.6 MHz to 30 MHz range in just a few seconds.
The Control Centre for the Maritime Service was at Highbridge, near Burnham-on-Sea. The Radio Officers housed there used remote control technology to operate the transmitters at Rugby and the receivers at Somerton. For historic reasons, the long-range Maritime System was always referred to as Portishead Radio.
The demolition of the last masts on Rugby’s ‘B’ Building (DIRFT III) and the ‘A’ Building (SUE) also took place around this time.
2000
2000 – THE END OF MARITIME SERVICES
By the early 1990s an increasing amount of the Portishead high frequency (short wave) maritime traffic was switching to satellite, causing a considerable reduction in Rugby’s service requirement. This led to all of the remaining services being housed in the ‘B’ Building.
By the end of 1992, Rugby ‘A’ Building had officially closed as a transmitter site. It’s clear today that two significant changes were responsible for the demise of the Maritime Service:
1. Ofcom removed the licensing requirement that stated that BT must be responsible
for supplying the Maritime Service, even where it’s not commercially viable for them
to do so.
2. The Marine Distress System moved to satellite. Now, when a ship owner purchased a satellite distress system, a 24-hour watch by Radio Operators was no longer necessary.
The final message sent by the Radio Operators at Burnham-on-Sea and transmitted from Rugby ‘B’ on 30th April 2000 was:
“CQ de GKB2/4/5/6
This is the last broadcast from Portishead Radio. For 81 years we have served the maritime community. We say thank you to those who have supported us and used our Station. We pay tribute to Marconi who made it all possible. His first transmissions across the water were made from nearby here and so started the ‘radio era’. We are proud to have been part of that era. As this historic time in the commercial messaging world comes to a close, the Manager and Radio Officers wish you farewell from Portishead Radio/GKB AR VA”
2003 – THE GBR VLF SUBMARINE SERVICE CLOSES
In 2003 a new contract for the Royal Navy’s ‘very low frequency’ (VLF) service was won by Babcock International and not BT. So, at midnight on Monday 31st March 2003, the Rugby GBR transmitter finally closed.
The final message transmitted in Morse code was:
“VVV DE GBR VVV DE GBR - After 77 years 3 months of almost continuous operation, the GBR 16kHz service from BT Radio Station Rugby ceases today.
A thank you to our customers, mainly the Royal Navy, without whom the service would not have been required and whose cooperation has enabled the service to run so smoothly.
A big thank you must go to all of those who over the years have been involved in the design, construction, maintenance and operation of GBR. They can feel very proud of providing a consistent high level of reliable service and a job well done.”
After a 30 second break – repeat above once more – then as below.
“This is the final transmission and GBR will now be shut down for the last time. GBR GBR QRT”
In October 2003, the GBR transmitter was dismantled, with parts of it going to the Cold War Museum at Hack Green Bunker, Cheshire. On Saturday 19th June 2004, eight of the twelve 820ft masts were felled. And in December 2004, the Aerial Tuning Inductor (The Rugby Coil) was dismantled and donated to the Science Museum. It went into storage at the Science Museum’s Large Objects Store at Wroughton, Wiltshire, which, by coincidence, is on the site involved in the first transatlantic telephone call, back in 1927.
2007 – THE END OF RUGBY RADIO STATION
When the MSF 60 kHz Time Signal service moved to the Anthorn Radio Station near Carlisle in April 2007, it brought to an end over 80 years of time signal transmissions from Rugby Radio Station.
From 2005, a temporary Loran ‘C’ Navigation Service on 100 kHz had been run for the General Lighthouse Authorities. This used a large aerial suspended across the ‘C’ building from the 820ft Mast No. 1 and Mast No. 2. This was the last remaining transmission from Rugby, and this too transferred to Anthorn in July 2007.
On Thursday 2nd August 2007, the Rugby Radio Station’s four remaining 820ft masts were felled, no more to grace the skyline of Hillmorton and Rugby. No longer to be glimpsed from Coventry and the A14. Gone, those welcoming red lights that, for so long, reassured travellers that they were almost home.
Few people today will remember the time before the radio station was built. All those voices, the Morse and telegraph messages beamed around the world, to vessels across and beneath the vast oceans… all now just a wonderful history.
But, what history! What a magnificent heritage. 83 years of pioneering technology and indomitable engineering, all of it driven by humanity’s shared and unquenchable desire to communicate.
2014
THE RUGBY COIL AT THE SCIENCE MUSEUM
December 2004 saw BT donating the Rugby Coil (Aerial Tuning Inductor ATI) from the GBR transmitter to the Science Museum. After being carefully dismantled the Rugby Coil was taken to the Science Museum’s Large Object Store at Wroughton, near Swindon.
In 2011 John Liffen, Curator of Communications and Electricity Supply at the Science Museum, suggested using the Rugby Coil as part of a display in a brand new gallery. This gallery, which was called The Information Age was opened by Her Majesty The Queen and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh on Friday 24th October 2014. It was at the opening ceremony that The Queen sent Her, much publicised, very first ‘Tweet’. The Rugby Coil is proudly positioned centre stage in this fascinating gallery designed to highlight the mechanisms of communication through the ages and the vital role they’ve played in all of our lives.
If you visit the London Science Museum you’ll see the Rugby Coil for yourself. And whilst you’re there, be sure to look out for part of the original 1927 Rugby transatlantic telephone transmitter which is also on display there.
2015
RUGBY AND HOULTON – AN HISTORIC CONNECTION
On Friday 7th January 1927 the world of communication changed. This was the day that Rugby Radio Station’s second long wave transmitter opened the world’s first telephone service, spanning the great divide that was the Atlantic Ocean.
Arriving by landline at Rugby Radio Station, that first call from London was transmitted across thousands of miles to the engineers waiting at the Houlton Receiving Station in Maine on America’s East Coast, and then sent onwards, all the way to New York.
It was an historic connection, one that Urban&Civic and its partners in RadioStation Rugby are delighted to help celebrate and continue to build upon. The development will be named Houlton in honour of that first transatlantic call; a true milestone of the ‘communication age’.
