New Street Chelmsford Skyline

90 years of British Broadcasting
1920 – 2010

January 15, 1920 saw the first broadcasts from MZX in Chelmsford and June 15 will be the 90th anniversary of the famous Dame Nellie Melba broadcast

On the 15th of June 1920 the famous Australian Prima Donna, Dame Nellie Melba gave her historic 30 minute concert from the Marconi New Street works in Chelmsford. The experimental Station MZX transmitted on a wavelength of 2,750 metres using a 15KW transmitter and a 'T' aerial.

Although the Dame Nellie concert, the first by a recognised professional artiste, is generally recognised to have been a turning point in British Broadcasting history, it was not the first broadcast. Two Marconi engineers, W T Ditcham and Captain H J Round started what was probably the first ever true telephony 'broadcasts' months earlier.

On the 15th of January 1920 they transmitted a program of speech and gramophone music from the Chelmsford works using a 6KW transmitter. Hundreds of appreciative reports were received from amateurs and ships at distances of up to 1,500 miles.

This was followed up for a brief period from the 23rd of February to the 6th of March 1920 when Ditcham and Round transmitted a regular series of 30 minute programmes from MZX using a 15KW transmitter on a wavelength of 2,750 metres; the same station as was later to be used for the Dame Nellie concert.

British Broadcasting had begun!

NOTE The famous station 2MT at Writtle did not start transmitting until two years later on the 14th of February 1922.

Geoff, G0EVW
South Dorset Radio Society
http://www.g3sds.org.uk/

2MT and New Street Page
http://www.g0mwt.org.uk/new-street/index.htm

Chelmsford Amateur Radio Society (CARS) http://www.g0mwt.org.uk/

Marconi Calling
http://www.marconicalling.com/