All Ships, All Ships - Larry Bennett

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Résumé :
ALL SHIPS...ALL SHIPS....is the complete history of the short and medium range maritime Coast Radio Stations of Great Britain, including the stations in Ireland and the Channel Islands. The book takes us back to the pioneering days of wireless communication, with details of early experiments undertaken by Marconi and his peers. The introduction and development of the Coast Radio Station network, initially undertaken by Marconi and Lloyd's, and subsequently the British Post Office, is covered in detail. The role of the stations during World War I and World War II is explored, as well as the introduction of new services, equipment, and expansion throughout the 1960s and 1970s. As satellite communication technology took over in the 1980s, the network declined, the remote control of stations was introduced, and the service eventually closed in 2000. The history of each station is recalled, with photographs, diagrams, press articles and fond memories of both staff and sea-going Radio Officers adding to the technical information and historical timeline. Various appendices illustrate the development of the network from the 1920s to the 1990s, including details of wartime activities and a transcript of the last few minutes of Morse code operation in 1997. The devastating Humber Radio flood of 1952 is covered in detail, together with details of Coast Station involvement in the 'Princess Victoria', 'Herald of Free Enterprise' and 'Piper Alpha' disasters, all of which made national and international headlines. Much use has been made of press and magazine articles of the time, which in many cases provide an evocative and fascinating glimpse into what was at the time a revolutionary service. Many of the extracts have been left unedited so that the full impact of each article may be maintained.

Biographie:
Larry Bennett has been involved in radio communications for his entire life. He obtained his Maritime Radio General Certificate in 1979 before joining the BBC Monitoring Service at Caversham Park, Reading as an electronics technician later that year. He then found employment as a Radio Officer at the Post Office/BT's Portishead Radio Station for over 20 years, joining the service in 1980 and leaving BT in 2001 when the Aeronautical and Maritime service was sold. After a short spell of processing historical documents from the station for BT Group Archives, he worked as a Radio Signals Editor for the Admiralty List of Radio Signals section of the UK Hydrographic Office in Taunton. In 2011 he was promoted to Radio Signals Manager, overseeing the ALRS suite of publications. He subsequently served on various IMO and IHO radio communication committees and working groups as both Secretary and Chair of the IMO NAVTEX Coordinating Panel before taking retirement at the end of 2019. He is the webmaster of the Portishead Radio website www.portisheadradio.co.uk and has had numerous articles published in specialist radio magazines. He has also given illustrated lectures about the station to radio clubs and local history groups around the country. He is a licensed Radio Amateur (G4HLN) and lives in Somerset.