First on this week's agenda is a big thank you to Ken Watson for providing
gen on Jayne Kemsley's recent appeal for info about her great great
grandfather Capt Jack Cutler and the trawler Gloria. I've relayed it to
Jayne. Thanks also to Richard Barnes for helping out.
Now for an interesting email received from Kevin Davies, of Simpson Cross.
"Dear Jeff, Not strictly about a Pembrokeshire port, but something happened some miles off the coast in July 1964.
You may remember the event. 1964 was the beginning of the offshore "pirate radio" revolution in the UK. Radio Atlanta from the MV Mi Amigo and Radio Caroline from the MV Fredericia (photo attached) were anchored off
Frinton-on-Sea and Felixtow respectively.
"The two stations merged in July 1964 and the MV Fredericia carrying Radio Caroline North upped anchor and set sail for the Isle of Man broadcasting all the way.
"Details of their planned position off the Pembrokeshire coast can be
heard on https://www.offshoreradio.co.uk/audio/north5.mp3.
As an avid listener to Radio Luxembourg on 208 metres Medium Wave
in the 1960's, the arrival of these "watery wireless" stations playing pop
music was something we could only dream about, and that one was motoring past the Pembrokeshire coast was unbelievable.
"A plan was hatched by myself and a friend, who's dad owned a 12 foot
clinker built boat and Seagull outboard motor.
"We would "borrow" the boat along with the Seagull outboard, and motor
out of Newport, Pembs, to wave at the ship as she motored by!
"The plan hit rock bottom, luckily for us, when his dad found out and hid
the outboard, oars and rowlocks.
"A trip up the local Carningli mountain revealed nothing, due to the mist
and the fact she was far off the coast. The radio signal on a portable
transistor was outstanding as would be expected.
"You may well have seen my sometimes printed letters in the Western
Telegraph every month, when Radio Caroline North link up with Manx Radio
to remember those days.
"Radio Caroline continues via DAB in certain areas, online, smartphone
streaming and at long last their own Medium Wave frequency of 648khz
from, ironically, the ex BBC World Service aerials at Oxford Ness using a 4kw transmitter.
"Happy, innocent times all those years ago, and who would have thought
that Radio Caroline would still be broadcasting today."
Many thanks, Ken, and you're right, it has stirred up some memories for
me. I too, have always been an avid listener to the wireless.. I don't know if
it's to do with being a "war baby," when, in the late 1940's and early 1950's,
very few families had one TV in the home let alone one in every room!
But ever since I can remember, I've been a radiophile.
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And not just to the musical content. In the Fifties we were captivated by
comedy shows like "Life with the Lyons", "Educating Archie," "The Navy Lark," "Take it from Here," "Round the Horn," "Beyond our Ken" etc.
My two personal favourites were "The Goon Show" (not my parents' cup of
tea, though), when I'd seclude myself in the parlour, with a hot cup of cocoa and plate of ginger biscuits, giggling at the manic nonsense of Spike Milligan, Peter Sellers and Harry Secombe; then there was Hancock's Half Hour with the East Cheam lad reducing me to tears of laughter in a way that few others have ever achieved. Many of the Hancock episodes, scripted by the superb team of Galton and Simpson, have become classics.
And of course, Radio Luxembourg wasn't just pop music it was also the
home of Dan Dare and his dreaded foe The Mekon!
But when it came to the wireless's musical content, back in the Fifties
it included chart hits like: "Here in my Heart," by Al Martino (1952); "Don't
Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes," by Perry Como (1953); "Secret Love," by Doris Day (1954), and "Stranger in Paradise" by Tony Bennett (1955).
Then, in the later 1950's, America, unleashed rock'n roll, and our lives changed forever. We were thrilled by a kiss-curled, plumpish guy, called Bill Haley who, with his Comets, made us "Rock around the Clock" followed closely by the pelvis pushing Elvis Presley, the unforgettable Buddy Holly and The Crickets, the beautiful harmonies of the Everly Brothers, and the mesmerising voice of the Big O, Roy Orbison.
The Sixties music was mostly dominated by the British, led by The Beatles
and The Rolling Stones.
Radio Luxembourg was a must listen to station, and transistor radios were carried round as a prequel to today's smartphones.
Every generation of youngsters believe that theirs produced the "best" music, indeed, I remember my mum and dad saying to me "I don't call that music...not like it was in our day!"
But I know one thing, I'll always be eternally grateful to have grown up in
the early post war days when all you needed for happiness was love and a
steam radio.
Here are two old snaps from way back to those carefree days: One of local
combo The Coasters with Mike Owen, Jimmy Hughes and Bill Wildey, and
the other showing a happy gang outside the Horse & Jockey, a few of
them I recognise, maybe someone might help with the names.
That's this week's TRM meeting concluded, except for AnyOtherBusiness,
which includes this quote from Benjamin Franklin: "Those who love deeply
never grow old; they may die of old age, but they die young."
Take care, please stay safe.
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