I started my working life when I left school in 1945 and enrolled as a Youth-in-Training at Baldock Radio Station. In those days the GPO overseas telephone service was via HF radio and Baldock was the main receiving station while the outgoing side of the transmission was from Rugby Radio Station.
Apart from two years national service in the Royal Signals I stayed at Baldock until promoted to ETE Headquarters in London in !963. I continued in the International Service ( BTI ) until, after 40 years, I took early retirement in 1985.
The picture shows that life on a Radio Station in the middle of nowhere was sometimes not so good.
It is my recollection that I took it during that terrible winter of 1962/63. Getting to and from work was quite an adventure. The road was the A505 just by the entrance to the Radio Station; it was like that for weeks. The icicle picture was one end of the main 'receiving room'. They made a good subject for Harold Woodhead the Station E in C at the time and of course myself, both keen photographers.
A nice warm sunny day was always a good time to have a fire practice. This meant getting the pump out and using the hose to water the vegetable garden. The picture shows the effort required to start the pump - from the E-in-C downwards, all knew how it should be done....but very rarely seemed to manage it.
Picture location: Baldock Radio Station
Date: 1963
Sent by: Denis Holland
Category: Communication systems
